Clown Juice

This is either a REALLY good idea, or the worst idea ever. Here's what I was thinking....

"Clown Juice"

Base: Strong Belgian Style Ale, ~10-12%ABV; 10% Light Crystal (should be sweet); Maybe 30% Wheat Malt?

Yeast: Wyeast 1388?

Hops: No bittering hops, but lots of late addition fruity hops- Amarillo if I can source them. Maybe some Nelson Sauvin as well? Dry hopped with more Amarillo.

Other Additions: Cotton Candy Syrup in place of Belgian Candy Syrup
Like this one?
http://www.amazon.com/Jelly-Belly-Cotton-Candy-Syrup/dp/B004KKXHZG
+ Citrus Zest (tangerine, grapefruit, lemon).

Would ferment this warm (probably wait until summer to do this) to encourage ester formation (bubblegum, even would not be amiss?).

Am I insane? :fro:

I couldn't find the ingredients for that syrup anywhere but I am betting it had preservatives which might mess with your yeast. But I guess you could buy some and see whats in it. Sounds interesting though to say the least.

cotton candy syrup... are you speaking about like the flavoring put on top of snocones?
the only cotton candy stuff i can think of is floss sugar which goes into cotton candy machines.

honestly, when i first saw the title, i immediately thought of this syrupy nasty icky nana.... or you had a bunch of left over juice that you wanted to throw yeast on lol

There is also cotton candy flavor extract too...
I know, its a little strange!

I think this is an awesome idea (I lmao when I read the thread title)!! If it's bubblegum you want then I would suggest a different yeast. I get very little of that flavor/aroma from wy1388/wlp570. I would think wy1214 or wlp530 might be more appropriate but hey, what do I know. Either way I think you should definitely give this a shot and see how it comes out. Just make sure whichever syrup you use doesn't have any nasty preservatives that will inhibit fermentation. Rock on sir, I salute you! :rockin:

Most likely, their flavoring syrup is a combination of water, possibly some alcohol, proylene glycol (to make it thicker without using so much sugar), then a few sugars and maybe non-sugar sweeteners, and finally, the one flavor that actually makes it taste like cotton candy:

Ethyl Maltol, which is also available from a number of places in it's dry form, and can easily be dissolved in something like beer (either with a little vodka first, or pg, or directly)
Hell, I'm relatively certain that it's non-fermentable, so you could probably just toss a bit into your boil.

I have no idea whether or not this will ferment well and taste good, but the name "Clown Juice" just sounds...icky.

Fascinating, thank you! It might be a while before I get around to this one, but will keep you all posted.

I made a label, lol.

I say do it. I like the idea, label is great also.

I would think the citrus might clash with the bubblegum esters and more so the cotton candy flavours. Personally, while it was fermenting I would take the citrus and soak it in some decent vodka to make an extract, then post-ferment spike some samples to see if the citrus works. I made a citrus-vodka extract once to top up the flavour in a wit, it worked really well.

It would be interesting if you could nail it.....I just wouldn't begin to know how to do so.....


Hmmm. What's the flavoring base of Superman Icecream? That sort of has a cotton candy/bubblegum flavor to it.

acidrain23 said:

I made a label, lol.

Click to expand...

I'm terrified of that label in the most hilarious way possible.

I'm suggesting this only because it was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the label, but you should add, in a very tiny font, "Caution: Klown Juice may contain trace amounts of LSD"

dcHokie said:

I'm terrified of that label in the most hilarious way possible.

I'm suggesting this only because it was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the label, but you should add, in a very tiny font, "Caution: Klown Juice may contain trace amounts of LSD"

Click to expand...

Haha. Absolutely.

I like labels that make people think twice before helping themselves to my homebrew. For example, here's one I did for my last batch of IPA:

acidrain23 said:

Haha. Absolutely.

I like labels that make people think twice before helping themselves to my homebrew. For example, here's one I did for my last batch of IPA:

Click to expand...

That is awesome, I'm laughing like a maniac at that one.

Dude, that Klown Juice label is the best thing I've seen all day! Please tell me you have made plans to brew this soon. I'm brewing up a few belgians in the next week. I'm down to swap for some Klown Juice (with the label of course) if you're interested.

Yeah KraftBier, as soon as possible, though I may have to wait for warmer weather. Its cool in our apartment (heat is expensive in Chicago!). And I want to encourage the ester production, so may have to wait till temps are in the 70's. I suppose a brew belt is an option, may persue that. Keep an eye on this thread, will update as soon as I can!

I had the same idea for a cotton candy Belgium. Did you ever end up brewing it? How did it turn out? I think I am going to try a small 1 gallon batch to see how it turns out, and I think I am going to use the raw floss sugar they put in the cotton candy machines. Nice Label!

I never got around to this one unfortunately, but its something that is still on my "to brew" list for this Summer if I have time! I think trying a small batch with the floss is the way to go, subbing for the Belgian candy sugar, though I'm still considering sourcing some pure ethyl maltol in the future (though still don't have any clue how much to add if going that route). Whatever you use, be sure to find a product without fermentation inhibitors, sodium/potassium benzoate and the like. If you make this keep us posted!!!!