What will molasses do?

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Tomico

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My husband has added maple syrup to mead and it has made is taste fabulous. I was wondering if anyone has tried using molasses. A fellow brewer used it but said the result tasted bitter. I'm not sure if he tried to make a mead with it or just an alcohol. Any thoughts?

Tomico
 
Molasses would need to used in a very small amount as it's a pretty strong flavour - Too much would result in it overpowering all other flavours in your mead
 
Eight oz. of molasses in a high gravity Old English ale can take over completely. In mead, I suspect it would be a little like a Hummer at a tricycle race. I certainly wouldn't try more than an oz. in five gallons.
 
i recently primed a porter/brown enlgish type ale with 1 c. of blakstrap mollasses. the taste is overpowering! i would recomend using the lightest mollasses you can find, which will have more fermentables, and less 'robust' flavors. if you can try to find british treacle, which is the uk version of mollasses.
 
This is UK molasses - Treacle!
blacktreacle5.jpg
 
Made a 1 gallon batch of some very sweet mead and used about 3/4 cup of black strap molasses, after 6 it tastes like pure heaven, my only regret is that I only made 1 gallon instead of more. The taste is there, however to me it is very subtle, a few people have tried and agreed. It's all a matter of taste.
 
trickster734 said:
my only regret is that I only made 1 gallon instead of more. The taste is there, however to me it is very subtle, a few people have tried and agreed. It's all a matter of taste.
Very true - it's down to personal taste. But it's better to have made a 1 gallon 'test' and got something good you like than waste 5 gallons with an overpowered brew. At least you can emulate your success with a bigger batch now :)
 
My "Peater Rabbit" stout was made with blackstrap molasses. My wife and I have found it to be very tasty. I used pre-hopped extract (just to see what it would do) so I am unsure of the actual bitterness.

Peater Rabbit's Stout
---------------------
Style: Dry Stout
Batch: 5.00 gal
Characteristics
---------------
Recipe Gravity: 1.058 OG
Recipe Bitterness: 39 IBU
Recipe Color: 31° SRM
Estimated FG: 1.015
Alcohol by Volume: 5.8%
Alcohol by Weight: 4.5%
Ingredients
-----------
John Bull Dark malt extract 6.50 lb, extract
Molasses 1.00 lb, extract
Peated malt 0.50 lb, steeped
Roasted barley 0.25 lb, steeped
Corn sugar 0.25 lb, extract
Pre-Hopped JB dark LME 1.50 oz, pellet, 60 minutes
Scottish Ale yeast 1.00 unit, WL028 pitchable
Irish Moss 1.00 unit, 15 min.
Notes
-----
Recipe Notes:
12/07/05 - Took off like crazy! 3rd brew racked on this yeast cake. Big blowoff, filled the 3 pc airlock. Oozed brown foam out the bucket's stopper hole. Lota of frementables in that molasses.
1/23/06 - Next batch add some steeped roasted grains and 1/2 oz hops at 15 min to flameout for flavor.
Batch Notes:
12/06/05 - Brewed. Used Golden Promise barley that I roasted. Too light.
12/14/05 - Racked to secondary. Very black & tasty. SG 1.016
12/27/05 - Bottled. FG 1.015. Less molasses flavor than on 12/14. More yeast flavor than on 12/14. May need a more pronounced roasted flavor.
1/23/06 - Pours with a creamy tan head. Lots of molasses flavor and a nice roasty undercurrent. Could use a little hop flavor and a touch more roasted flavor.
 

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