Ask The Brewmasters

Hello, 

The CFIA has recently added a new labeling requirement for beer that states beer can contain no more than 4% by weight of residual sugars - see inspection.Canada.ca/food-labels/labelling/industry/alcoholic-beverages/Eng/1624281662154/1624281662623?chap=8

How do you calculate the residual sugar in beer? Can you just use the apparent extract and report that number? 

Thank you!
Rachael

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Rachael Bepple
Pacific Western Brewing Co
Prince George BC
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Hi Rachael - from what I've been able to find, the CFIA residual sugar definition is limited to mono- and disaccharides, so it's not really as straightforward as the apparent extract. My understanding is that that most standard beers will have negligible residual sugars, and this will apply more to any sugars added that aren't fermented (for example, a radler).

I have reached out to CFIA in the past, here's the response I received:

As indicated in the Definitions portion of the Labelling requirements for alcoholic beverages section of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) Food Labelling for Industry tool (ILT), residual sugars are sugars that are still present in beer after the fermentation process has been completed. Subsection B.01.001(1) of the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) provides the following definition for the term sugars: "means all monosaccharides and disaccharides". This definition does not include polysaccharides.

 

While most beers have a low level of residual sugars, the 4% limit was established to take into account various beer styles. Targeted sampling by the CFIA and Beer Canada (a voluntary trade association of over 40 brewers) indicated that most beers are below the 4% limit with the exceptions being beer with juice blends and some barley wines.



Hope that's at least mildly helpful!

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Robert McWhinney
Little Brown Jug Brewing
Winnipeg MB
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No, apparent extract and residual sugar (RE, residual extract, etc.) are two different things. Ae is used in reference to fermenting beer, because the alcohol will interfere with the actual sugar content, as alcohol is lighter than water, and hydrometers are calibrated to water. RE is the actual extract in the beer and has a correction factor for the amount of alcohol.
You can google equations that can calculate RE using original and final gravity. There's also a document on the MBAA site with useful calculations, including RE. 

 Real Extract = [0.1886x Original Extract (OG)] + [0.8114 x Apparent Extract (FG)] in degrees Plato (°P). 

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Lauren Behrmann
Technical Brewing Manager
Mark Anthony Brewing
Fort Worth TX
lbehrmann@mabrewing.com
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for your info; 
re : the requirement for beer to contain no more than 4% by weight of residual sugars in the final product offered for sale to consumers.
For testing purposes, sugars would include all monosaccharides and disaccharides.
Cheers
Keith Armstrong

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Keith Armstrong
Head Brewer
Great Western Brewing Co Inc
Saskatoon SK
(306) 361-4074
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To clarify RE residual Extract is non-alcohol solids. This link allows RE calculation <https://www.omnicalculator.com/food/alcohol-by-volume> and for the record,  is based by an extensive analysis which is a more updated calculation than mentioned in other posts.

Thanks,  Alex

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Alex Speers B.Sc. (Agr.), Ph.D.,FIBD
Kootenay Consulting
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2023 13:34
From: Keith Armstrong
Subject: How to calculate residual sugar

for your info;
re : the requirement for beer to contain no more than 4% by weight of residual sugars in the final product offered for sale to consumers.
For testing purposes, sugars would include all monosaccharides and disaccharides.
Cheers
Keith Armstrong

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Keith Armstrong
Head Brewer
Great Western Brewing Co Inc
Saskatoon SK
(306) 361-4074
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Regulations Amending the Food and Drug Regulations (Beer): SOR/2019-98

Maximum percentage of residual sugars

The standard requires beer to contain no more than 4% by weight of residual sugars. Residual sugars are sugars (as defined in the FDR) that are still present in beer after the fermentation process has been completed. This provides an objective measurement to distinguish beer from malt-based beverage products (e.g. coolers), which are generally sweeter and associated with a percentage of residual sugars above the 4% by weight limit.

While most beers have a low level of residual sugars, the 4% limit was established to take into account various beer styles. Targeted sampling by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Beer Canada (a voluntary trade association of over 40 brewers) indicated that most beers are below the 4% limit with the exceptions being beer with juice blends and some barley wines.

Products not meeting this requirement could be reformulated to lower the residual sugars below the limit to meet the beer standard or be sold as an unstandardized beverage with an appropriate common name (e.g. "blend of beer and grapefruit juice").

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Keith Armstrong
Head Brewer
Great Western Brewing Co Inc
Saskatoon SK
(306) 361-4074
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Calculating Residual Sugars;
Testing for RFE (Residual Fermentable Extract) can be done via a std. method (ASBC) after fermentation is complete; (very similar to Limit Fermentation testing).
but you will be within 0.1% to 0.5% residual, typically.
And, this residual is not likely to be only the "simple" mono and di-saccharide sugars.

If you are adding sugars/juices after fermentation for sweetness/flavour; then you should have a pretty good idea of just how much sugar you are adding.
Therefore, legally, you only need to "worry" about testing if you are pushing the 4% simple sugars limit.

Labs that do not regularly do this work tend to be inconsistent; so be careful if reaching out to have your beers tested for you.

Cheers, Keith

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Keith Armstrong
Head Brewer
Great Western Brewing Co Inc
Saskatoon SK
(306) 361-4074
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