Experiment with sugar?

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landhoney

landhoney

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I bought some Belgian Candi Syrup Dark with the intent of doing an experiment similar to the one on basicbrewingradio.com. My own candy syrup creation(which has worked well through multiple batches) vs. the $8.95 stuff. Now I'm thinking of just doing a brew with the bought stuff and seeing how it turns out. What do you guys think? I guess I should do it, but if I do what recipe and what yeast? Maybe just a simple belgian ale, something that will "show off" the differences between the two sugars. I need to listen to the podcast again, I don't even remember what their results were?
P.S. If you have a recipe suggestion-no tripel or duppel recipes, I'm up to my ears in them.....you want some? ;)
 
Sorry, technique would be to split the boil into two pots and add the two different sugars into their respective batches, then pitch same yeast, ferment at same temp ,etc.
 
I really can not wait to hear the results. I would think you would be stuck doing a dubbel with the dark candy syrup. You can always send me some, I will drink it. :D My next brew is going to be that Rochefort clone I posted up. So im wondering if its worth the money.
 
I added 4 ounces of lactose in my lastest batch. I was trying to get the sweetness up a notch or two. Won't be ready for about another month. Really curious as to what difference the lactose will make when compared to another exact same batch without the lactose added.
 
It would be interesting to hear another split batch sugar experiment. IIRC from what I have seen online most folks say there is more of a taste difference when you get into the dark candi sugar/syrups.

I just cooked up a batch of invert candi sugar this past weekend for my Belgian style strong ale that I will be brewing soon.
 
Ryanh1801 said:
I really can not wait to hear the results. I would think you would be stuck doing a dubbel with the dark candy syrup. You can always send me some, I will drink it. :D My next brew is going to be that Rochefort clone I posted up. So im wondering if its worth the money.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the dark sugar will darken the color of the brew, but I think doing just a belgian pale ale will work best. Something without too much maltiness and darker/roasty grains. I feel like the simpler the recipe/taste the more the taste difference in the sugar will be exhibited. Make sense?
 
Como estan b1tches! The experiment is on! Tonights top story: The sewers run red with Burgundy's blood!

74%Belgian Pils
14%Munich
4%Aromatic
7.5%Sugar(the two different kinds)
Saaz @ 60 & 15min
OG:1.059
Yeast: WLP540-Abbey IV
Boil 60min, then split and boiled an additional 10min with different sugars.

What do you think? Simple grain bill, but not too simple to be un-belgian-like. Looking like Sunday will be the day. The yeast was chosen because I have it and haven't used it yet. No spices, don't want to detract. Any suggestions?
I just listened to the BBR belgian sugar experiment again, and they really loved the Belgian Candi Syrup Dark. Good news is I'm only using a 1/3rd of it for this, so if its really great I'll have enough to do another batch of something.
 
landhoney said:
Como estan b1tches! The experiment is on! Tonights top story: The sewers run red with Burgundy's blood!

74%Belgian Pils
14%Munich
4%Aromatic
7.5%Sugar(the two different kinds)
Saaz @ 60 & 15min
OG:1.059
Yeast: WLP540-Abbey IV
Boil 60min, then split and boiled an additional 10min with different sugars.

What do you think? Simple grain bill, but not too simple to be un-belgian-like. Looking like Sunday will be the day. The yeast was chosen because I have it and haven't used it yet. No spices, don't want to detract. Any suggestions?
I just listened to the BBR belgian sugar experiment again, and they really loved the Belgian Candi Syrup Dark. Good news is I'm only using a 1/3rd of it for this, so if its really great I'll have enough to do another batch of something.
Click to expand...

You should also have a third and possibly a fourth, one as a control (what the beer tastes like with neither), and one with equal amounts of both. It's possible one has characteristics the other doesn't, and they might work together to produce something else.

As for the grain bill, KISS, i think that'd be a great test bill....
 
I like using some sugar now and again, and like yourself make my own using a stovetop inversion process. It really does work wonders for the body and some of the flavor. Have fun!
 
DeadYetiBrew said:
You should also have a third and possibly a fourth, one as a control (what the beer tastes like with neither), and one with equal amounts of both. It's possible one has characteristics the other doesn't, and they might work together to produce something else.
As for the grain bill, KISS, i think that'd be a great test bill....
Click to expand...

Ideally yes. But the point is: to experiment to see the diference between the two. Most belgians I've seen(and brewed) have some sugar, so brewing w/o might be helpful but wouldn't be real life. And as far as blending the two, what if I just blended a little at bottling time and bottled those, and labeled seprately?
P.S. At the end of the BBR podcast the guy that did the experiment said he did blend in anothr batch and like the results.
 
landhoney said:
Ideally yes. But the point is: to experiment to see the diference between the two. Most belgians I've seen(and brewed) have some sugar, so brewing w/o might be helpful but wouldn't be real life. And as far as blending the two, what if I just blended a little at bottling time and bottled those, and labeled seprately?
P.S. At the end of the BBR podcast the guy that did the experiment said he did blend in anothr batch and like the results.
Click to expand...

I said one with neither just so you could see what kind of flavors you definitely get from either, that was just for detail sake. I would do one batch of each and one with it blended, then respectively bottle with their sugars, that's a good idea and I bet it makes a difference in taste.
 
zoebisch01 said:
I like using some sugar now and again, and like yourself make my own using a stovetop inversion process. It really does work wonders for the body and some of the flavor. Have fun!
Click to expand...


How do you do your process for making sugar? ...been wanting to experiment with various primers
 
fluteguy53 said:
How do you do your process for making sugar? ...been wanting to experiment with various primers
Click to expand...


Here is one way to proceed:

candi

When you pour it out though, I highly recommend NOT using foil. It sticks way too easy. You're better off with a non-stick sheet pan and pouring it shallow. Then when it cools you can gently twist the sheet pan to help release it.

I found the one I was originally looking for : candi
 
fluteguy53 said:
How do you do your process for making sugar? ...been wanting to experiment with various primers
Click to expand...

The sugars are added to the boil, and are not(as far as I know) used for priming. Belgians usually(if not always) have added sugar(in one form or another) that adds to the OG, once fermentation is complete priming sugar( sugar, DME,honey,etc.) is added. I have not heard of anyone using "Belgian Candi Syrup-Dark" for priming. My experiment is going to use the two different sugars for primary fermentation. I think it would be interesting to see how these kinds of sugar would be used for priming though, not sure how it would end up.
 
Well the starter has been made and the grains have been bought. My method is going to be to boil the wort in one batch/pot for 60mins, then cool to a "rackable temperature" but not cool, split into two buckets in equal amounts, then back up to boil in two pots -keeping the boil at the same level, add the different sugars and boil for 10 minutes, cool to pitch temp, rack and pitch equal yeast from starter. I'm obviously trying to keep all things equal except the sugars. Any other suggestions?
 
zoebisch01 said:
Here is one way to proceed:

candi

When you pour it out though, I highly recommend NOT using foil. It sticks way too easy. You're better off with a non-stick sheet pan and pouring it shallow. Then when it cools you can gently twist the sheet pan to help release it.

I found the one I was originally looking for : candi
Click to expand...

I used lemon juice for my citric acid and the cold water test (which you can find in cookbooks/online) to determine my temperature for hard crack in lieu of a candy thermometer. I poured it out on wax paper lined baking sheets and peeled/razored the paper off when it cooled hard. Overall, very simple.
 
Well I brewed these two beers last Wednesday, took a longtime to cool slighlty/split/rack/re-boil/etc. but got equal amounts, pitched equal yeast amounts, oxy'd the same, fermentation in same vessel/conditions/etc. So we'll see how they both turn out.
 
I think my next bew will be a Belgian style and I'm thinking about taking regular table sugar and carmelizing it myself and adding that to the wort. For those who have tried this, how hot did you heat the sugar?

Doh, I need to make sure I read all of the posts. For those who have done this, where you pleased with the results?
 
pjj2ba said:
I think my next bew will be a Belgian style and I'm thinking about taking regular table sugar and carmelizing it myself and adding that to the wort. For those who have tried this, how hot did you heat the sugar? Where you pleased with the results?
Click to expand...


Depends on what end product you are going for...another consideration is if you want invert sugar or not.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Candy/candytemp.htm
 
They're not bottled yet, but are ready to be bottled. Broken foot has temporarily stopped all beer related activities, o/than drinking. Hopefully Thursday the doc will say my broken foot doesn't require surgery, in which case I can walk and more impotantly bottle/brew/live.
They turned out a bit lighter than I wanted - translation I didn't add enough sugar. But the taste(from 2'ndary) is definitely different with the 'candi' batch having more mouthfeel. The flavor in the 'candi' batch is not all I was hoping for, not as complex/interesting as I was expecting. Hopefully when bottled/carb'd there will be a distinct difference and I can draw some conclusions. I'll let the forum know upon my first tasting.
 

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