Molasses

I've done a quick search and I've seen many people brew/prime with molasses and I have a general idea on how much I want to start with, but someone mentioned in one of those year old threads about different grades.

Fine, cooking, and blackstrap.

I guess fine has less impurities and more sugar content thus sweeter and then blackstrap is far more bitter and "what's left" after sugar processing

So if that is all true, wouldn't blackstrap be more fitting for imparting a molasses flavor to your beer than the other two grades as in those the sugars would be fermenting out....

Does my logic make sense? Or will the fine grade leave a sweeter beer with flavor vs bitter with flavor.

I'm trying to see if I should account for sweetness and or extra fermentables

kunstler said:

I've done a quick search and I've seen many people brew/prime with molasses and I have a general idea on how much I want to start with, but someone mentioned in one of those year old threads about different grades.

Fine, cooking, and blackstrap.

I guess fine has less impurities and more sugar content thus sweeter and then blackstrap is far more bitter and "what's left" after sugar processing

So if that is all true, wouldn't blackstrap be more fitting for imparting a molasses flavor to your beer than the other two grades as in those the sugars would be fermenting out....

Does my logic make sense? Or will the fine grade leave a sweeter beer with flavor vs bitter with flavor.

I'm trying to see if I should account for sweetness and or extra fermentables

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I made a 100% molasses beer a few years ago and it came out fairly nasty. I am not sure what grade I used though, it was called Grandma's or something and came in about 10oz glass jars. Put it this way, I still have quite a few bottles from that 5gal batch. Maybe I will chill and crack one open tonight to see if it got better but I doubt it. People told me not to but I had to prove it to myself so I say go for it.

jgln said:

I made a 100% molasses beer a few years ago and it came out fairly nasty. I am not sure what grade I used though, it was called Grandma's or something and came in about 10oz glass jars. Put it this way, I still have quite a few bottles from that 5gal batch. Maybe I will chill and crack one open tonight to see if it got better but I doubt it. People told me not to but I had to prove it to myself so I say go for it.

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100% molasses You are brave. How much did you use?

jmo88 said:

100% molasses You are brave. How much did you use?

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I don't remember, I think I just bought a bunch of jars and added to the boiling water until I got a SG for about a 4% ABV beer.

Well I'm going to add it to a pre-existing recipe not straigt not looking to make rum. But I'm not sure if blackstrap will end up being sweeter than fine or cooking in the end or just taste burnt

kunstler said:

Well I'm going to add it to a pre-existing recipe not straigt not looking to make rum. But I'm not sure if blackstrap will end up being sweeter than fine or cooking in the end or just taste burnt

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It has been said and I have read that George Washington made a beer of just molasses and hops so I wanted to try it. It would only be a step toward making run if you upped the ABV and then you would still need to distill.

dont use blackstrap. seems every time I tried using that I got a weird iron note as well as an off-licorice flavor. something about fermented blackstrap just isnt appealing.

however, just using plain unsulphured original molasses will get you what you want. also, if you can find Sucanat, it is unrefined sugar with its full molasses content unlike turbinado, which only has trace amounts of the molasses

kunstler said:

I guess fine has less impurities and more sugar content thus sweeter and then blackstrap is far more bitter and "what's left" after sugar processing

So if that is all true, wouldn't blackstrap be more fitting for imparting a molasses flavor to your beer than the other two grades as in those the sugars would be fermenting out....

I'm trying to see if I should account for sweetness and or extra fermentables

Click to expand...

I've only ever used blackstap in my beers, mostly in my version of poor richard's ale, and that was no more than iirc a half cup in a batch. I've also added some of it to light brown sugar to make a "rawer" sugar as a brewing adjunct, because just as you say, the less refined the sugar, the more "flavor" you get. Because it is the unfermentables that give it the dark color and flavor. After they yeast eats the sugars in it, it is that stuff that is left behind.

I've never used any higher grades of it, but I have used other darker, rougher things like that, like 50 year old honey that is really black, and full of "dark" flavors. This is it;



It's amazingly flavorful stuff. We also made a gallon of mead with the remaining amount after my barleywine.

I've used blackstrap in a stout, and a barelywine. It definately adds some rich flavor, and it can be a good thing. It's not really sweet (cuz the sugar ferments) but it is molasses flavor, kind of burnt I guess. Hard to describe.

The different grades of molasses will add different amount of "molasses" flavor, but they will also add different types of molasses flavor. It's not just a more/less thing if you add light/dark molasses. It's more of a "different" thing in terms of flavor.

Revvy said:

I've only ever used blackstap in my beers, mostly in my version of poor richard's ale, and that was no more than iirc a half cup in a batch. I've also added some of it to light brown sugar to make a "rawer" sugar as a brewing adjunct, because just as you say, the less refined the sugar, the more "flavor" you get. Because it is the unfermentables that give it the dark color and flavor. After they yeast eats the sugars in it, it is that stuff that is left behind.

I've never used any higher grades of it, but I have used other darker, rougher things like that, like 50 year old honey that is really black, and full of "dark" flavors. This is it;

It's amazingly flavorful stuff. We also made a gallon of mead with the remaining amount after my barleywine.

Click to expand...

Wow, that is one "heavy" beer!


I know, I know, that is the honey not the beer.

I'll probably go with the black strap then but in small amounts as suggested thanks guys I just wasn't my brown to have that molasses taste but was afraid if I used lighter qualities with the higher sugar content it would dry it out but I'll just add in with moderation and see what I get. Maybe a smidge of brown sugar.....mmmmmnow I'm thinking of shoe fly pie....

Molasses is what's left after the sugar-refining process is over. You get white table sugar, they're left with blackstrap.

Molasses is full of BCBs*, flavor, aroma, and is somewhat fermentable. It's nom nom nom in certain circumstances.

Many recipes which claim to clone Theakston's Old Peculier specify that you prime the bottles with molasses.

The differences between grades of molasses are most analogous to the differences between light, medium and dark Crystal malts. The darker, the richer the flavor. Each grade is different, and useful in different ways.

I've made all-molasses "beer" too, based on George Washington's famous recipe from when he was a young officer in the Virginia militia based at Fort Duquesne (now Pittsburgh). It's perfectly foul stuff. But an interesting historical-brewing experiment.

Cheers,

Bob

* Burnt Crunchy Bits.

God I hope you like the flavor of molasses by itself because I hate it, and I'd hate to have a beer come out with anything resembling it.

Not a jab at you but molasses in general: I think people imagine molasses tastes like liquid brown sugar, but those nasty citrusy flavors just kill me. I had The Bruery's Autumn Maple (made with yams, spices, and molasses) and wanted to kill myself I hated it so much. The founding fathers were n00bs.

I used less than 5% in a Wheat ESB, recently, and it's almost overpowering with molasses flavor. It's very... different. I don't not like it. It is drinkable, and it is beer, but it is very distinct and it is not something I think I would do twice!

But, again, a very small percentage of the brew, at 3-4 percent, and quite strong in flavor. I can barely taste hops beyond the molasses wall.

I think people looking to add "rummy" flavors to their beer would be better served with dark crystals like 120 or special b.

(I only did this brew at all because I wanted to try it and see what all the talk was about for myself.)