Mollasses

Has anyone used molasses in their brews before?

I'm going to be brewing up some Scottish 80/- in a day or two and was entertaining the idea of throwing some in my boil. Any suggestions on how much to use?

Tentative recipe:
6 lbs Light DME
1 lbs Belgium CaraMunich (steeped)
1/2 lbs Mollases (treacle) - unsulfured
3.75 AAU Columbus (whole) ~60 mins
4.5 AAU Fuggles (whole) ~20 mins
4.5 AAU Fuggles (whole) ~10 mins
1084 Wyeast Irish Ale yeast (2ng gen)

(Please note that the Scottish 80/- style designation is just a loose guideline)

Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions.

edit: Updated recipe. Found out molasses goes by other names, most notably "Treacle", which I believe is what it is called by overseas - can a brother on the other side of the pond confirm this?

After doing some research, it looks like a pound would be too much. A few recipies I came upon called for a cup, which according to one reference would equate to 12 oz. Perhaps 8-10 oz would be more acceptalbe for this recipe?

go easy on the molasses.. maybe three big spoonfuls at most. Molasses is the nutrient rich stuff removed from sugar.. it's what makes brown sugar brown. It's very concentrated and a little goes a long way. I've used it with sucess in a stout.. I don't think it'd be very appropriate in much else.

For what it's worth, molasses also goes pretty well in pancakes. I add a tablespoon to my batches (made from scratch.. like the beer )

I'm thinking more and more to go with brown sugar instead of molasses. Since there's molasses in the brown sugar I'll still get some flavor that way, but get the sugar as well. Thoughts?

The sugar part of brown sugar will all ferment, and leave you with a very small amount of molasses flavoring in the end. If you really want the molasses in there, brown sugar is not really the best way to get it.

Back when I was brewing from kits, I recall that one of my favorite stout kits came with a small package of black strap molasses. I don't recall the weight, but the package was about the size of a capri sun drink bag.

I REALLY liked that stout.

-walker

i used one 16oz jar of grandma's robust flavor molasses in a batch of imperial stout once and that has been my best brew yet. i'm not sure if it was sulfer'd or unsulfer'd, but it was really great.

just my .02

Just wanted to update this thread. I've been drinking this since Sunday (11/27), still tentatively code-named 'CMG Ale'. I ended up using about 6 oz of the stuff. There's barely a hint of molasses taste in this brew, detectable perhaps only in the aftertaste. I'd say it's mostly a success, although I'll probably bump up the amount a tad if I ever brew it again.

LupusUmbrus said:

I've been drinking this since Sunday (11/27)

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man... you must be totally trashed.

I'm surprised I missed this thread. I've used molasses in Old Ales. The first time I used 24 oz, which was too much. It took about six months for it to mellow. The Poor Richard's I have in the secondary has 8 oz. in it and I might add another 4 oz.

Walker said:

man... you must be totally trashed.

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Nah, I'm pacing myself ... no really

Just brewed a pumpkin ale with 1 cup of light brown sugar and 0.5 cup of molasses (Grandma's Unsulfered Original). I've not bottled yet but MAN, taste DAMN good transferring to the secondary! The brew was made with 3# light and 3# amber extract with some grains and about 10# of pumkin and associated spices, minimal hops, etc. It's a pumpkin so the flavors are appropriate, but not overpowering. First time using molasses and trust me, I'll be adding it to future batches!

In my America $&#* Yeah Brown Ale, I used a cup. The beer just doesn't have enough other strong flavors to back it up I'm afraid. I haven't tasted the bottled version yet, because I only bottled it last week, but when we were bottling I took a sample, and it was ok, but you could DEFINITELY taste the molasses in there. I used the same amount in my imperial stout, but because it's chock full of other flavors, it's pretty much indiscernable, as of my racking sample. I'm happy with both, but if I repeat the America, I'll use less molasses.

anyone ever tried piloncillo (mexican brown sugar) its less refined, and darker than regular brown sugar. i used a lb. of it in my 'double nut brown' which is in the secondary right now. not sure how it will turn out, but the sample i took at racking time was awesome. very high alcohol with a touch of molasses. hopefully it wont take too long to age, cause i brewed it to drink this winter.

drengel said:

anyone ever tried piloncillo (mexican brown sugar) its less refined, and darker than regular brown sugar. i used a lb. of it in my 'double nut brown' which is in the secondary right now. not sure how it will turn out, but the sample i took at racking time was awesome. very high alcohol with a touch of molasses. hopefully it wont take too long to age, cause i brewed it to drink this winter.

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How did the Piloncillo work out? I'm considering the aspect of using this adjunct in a maudite knock-off, and possibly as a substitue for black treacle in a porter I'm going to brew.

someone i know said that when he has done it, using molasses added a buttery flavor. have you guys found that to be true?

I brewed a bitter with muscovado sugar or barbados, which is a partially refined dark brown sugar. Apparently it doesnt contain molasses which i find to have a coying sweetness that i dont like. Its still in the primary, but i tasted the sugar itself and it was really good, and had a very pleasant sweetness. I did a side by side comparison with some turbinado, regular brown, and demerara and the muscovado had the best flavor of all four.

hunteraw said:

someone i know said that when he has done it, using molasses added a buttery flavor. have you guys found that to be true?

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buttery like as in diacetyl? I have heard of molasses imparting sweetness to some degree, but not buttery. I wonder if that is the result of something else going on with the beer.