How to make tapioca syrup

So I am very interested in using tapioca syrup to brew with instead of sorghum syrup. But the only supplier I can find is Barry Farms and at 14 bucks for 1 1/2 lbs I'm thinking there has to be a better way.

This is all I have been able to find when it comes to making tapioca syrup.
http://worldplates.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/mango-bubble-tea/

Does that look viable? Can anyone with better brewing chemistry knowledge tell me if I made that tapioca syrup recipe I could then use that as one of my main bases to brew with?

Since the syrup is just sugar and tapioca pearls, you could probably skip the syrup part and just brew with the hydrated tapioca. Not sure, but you may want to make sure the pearls aren't colored or have other ingredients added. Maybe try tapioca flour or some other pure form of tapioca or Cassava. Just some ideas...good luck!

That link is in regards to tapioca pearls and a simple syrup to make a bubble tea. I'm not sure why she called it tapioca syrup.

Tapioca is just starch. To be converted to a syrup, it has to be "mashed" with enzymes and probably concentrated since it's probably pretty liquidy.

Of course the issue is converting the starch. Usually fungal and bacterial enzymes are used. (Alpha).

I'm dense..so a "tapioca simple syrup" would or wouldn't work as a replacement for sorghum?

A simple syrup is: sugar (usually white table sugar) and water.
While some people brew with white table sugar, it's probably not what you want to do.
That person misnamed what they made called it tapioca syrup. It's not tapioca syrup.

You want to either try to buy tapioca syrup, or use enzymes to make your own.

ChasidicCalvinist said:

I'm dense..so a "tapioca simple syrup" would or wouldn't work as a replacement for sorghum?

Click to expand...

From what Kevin is saying, it will not work. Aparently tapioca does not have fermentable sugars, but starches that need to be converted to fermentable sugars (mashing). Tapioca syrup suitable for brewing will have been put through this process to make it fermentable, just like the sorghum syrup has (again...all this just coming from previous posts).

Everything I've read about tapioca syrup sounds like it adds little to no flavor. I would think substituting rice syrup 1:1 would not alter the final flavor in any perceptible way. Alternatively, you could try a 50/50 mix of rice syrup and corn syrup.

Yeah, from what I can tell, tapioca root has no sugar, just starch and has to be converted. (I've eaten the things before, and even cooking at a low simmer seemed to do nothing, until you toss them into coconut milk and sugar and server with rice and a pandan leaf for dessert).
Tapioca starch is just starch and is used as a thickener for foods.
Looking up tapioca syrup, they talk about the process used to convert and it's like this: http://www.bdbiosciences.com/documents/Hydrolysis_to_Hydrolysate.pdf

It'd probably be good for adding dryness without offflavors when you want a higher alcohol beer, but the cost effectiveness for us seems kind of detrimental.

I make more wine than beer these days, but I've used brown rice syrup a few times and it will be in every beer I make from now on. I do like the flavor it provides in GF beer and will most likely comgine it with other things in the future.

The last batch I made had 3lbs sorghum and 1.5lb brown rice syrup. I'm hoping that might downplay the sorghum "twang."

Another thing that has me wondering about the sorghum flavor is does buckwheat enhance the citrus flavor? I read this "A rule of thumb with buckwheat is not to use more than 30% of the grain total otherwise it can impart too much of a cidery/floral type flavour." here http://grantsglutenfreehomebrew.webs.com/roastingthegrains.htm

Maybe buckwheat and sorghum are a bad combination?

try this link for 5lb for $15
http://www.naturesflavors.com/organ...e-from-tapioca-vegan-gluten-free-high-de.html