Dark candi sugar vs. syrup

I found a recipe that calls for dark candi sugar, but I've heard that it's a pain to get it to dissolve during boil, plus I already have some nice D2 syrup from darkcandi.com. How close is dark candi sugar and syrup in taste, aroma, etc? Can I substitute sugar for syrup and if so, in what proportion?

Candi sugar is D2 syrup; just what the Belgians call it. This has lead to quite a bit of confusion, as many homebrewers just use rock sugar - 'candi sugar' - thinking it's the same thing. Rock sugar is just table sugar with a bit of molasses in it - basically the same as using light brown sugar. It lends a bit of punch to the beer, and a rumlike, kind of harsh flavor. D2 is an inverted sugar that has been heated in the presence of nitrogen to undergo partial maillard reactions, creating carmel, toffee, dark fruit and roasted flavors.

Basically, you need to figure out which sugar the recipe wants you to use. Many American homebrew recipes will mean actual rock sugar when they say candi sugar. Some will mean the syrup.

Incidently, there's a great thread about how to make your own candi syrup; I've done it, and the flavors are excellent. A lot different from just using rock sugar.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/20-lb-sugar-jar-yeast-nutrient-114837/

Skyforger, thanks for the explanation. I'm trying to adapt this recipe and since it calls for dark candy sugar, I wanted to know what I could replace it with reasonably well. It doesn't sound like dark candi syrup is the right thing, so I'm open to suggestions. Piloncillo or jaggery sugar? Or maybe this: http://morebeer.com/view_product/6947/102195/Adjunct_-_Soft_Belgian_Candi_Sugar_Brown1lb ?

andreiz said:

Skyforger, thanks for the explanation. I'm trying to adapt this recipe and since it calls for dark candy sugar, I wanted to know what I could replace it with reasonably well. It doesn't sound like dark candi syrup is the right thing, so I'm open to suggestions. Piloncillo or jaggery sugar? Or maybe this: http://morebeer.com/view_product/6947/102195/Adjunct_-_Soft_Belgian_Candi_Sugar_Brown1lb ?

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I don't know about that, the dark candi syrup might be what the recipe is looking for. If it was a normal Saison then I'd agree, but since it's got some Special B and Carafa in it, clearly it's going for some sort of dark version. I think the dark candi syrup would be tasty in it, especially with the vanilla beans and cinammon. I don't know how all of the ingredients will play with the Saison yeast, but it does sound interesting.

Winter Saison? Hm, this is an interesting recipe. It's definitely an experimental beer rather than an attempt to make something spot-on style, so it's perhaps not crucial to use exactly what they did...as such, I'll give you what I think would work best there.

As cyraxx pointed out, the grain bill will make a fairly dark beer, so we don't need to worry about color. Piloncillo and jaggery sound interesting, but I'm not sure I can recommend it as I've never used them in a beer before. I suspect the result would be interesting for devoted beer geeks, but may be a bit harsh for others. But I'm just guessing. The sugar you linked to would work pretty well, but may get lost in the spices and Saison flavors. My choice would be to use a homemade dark amber syrup, though the D2 would also be very good. Dark fruit and toffee flavors aren't bad things to have in a beer that uses Carafa II and Special B....