Belgian Candi?

Quick post, I am making a belgian trip and was wondering when the best time is to introduce candi sugar. Ive always assumed it was during the boil but recently I have heard that you lose attenuation with that method. Also, i have heard of people using it towards the end of fermentation. Im using three pounds so it is going to be a substantial amount of fermentables introduced. Just curious if any one has tried it both ways and if the impact is actually that noticeable. Thanks :fro:

You will find lots of differing opinions on this topic...I've done both during the boil and feeding the yeast throughout fermentation and can't say I have a preference. you may be able to eak a few more points of attenuation out of a fermentation using continuous feeding (depending on OG and which yeast you use). you just need to make sure you sanitize your sugar addition, dilute it a bit with water, and make sure it mixes into your wort/beer. I've heard stories about people dumping candi syrup into fermenting beer only to find it untouched on the bottom of the fermentor when they rack their beer off.

People say they get better attenuation adding sugar in the primary rather than during the boil. Although I've never done it myself, the idea is the yeast will only ferment so much of the sugar available at the beginning of fermentation but when you add sugar later it will continue to ferment more sugar. It also helps make sure you don't have a stuck fermentation since you're adding less sugar at the start.

If you are going to add sugar to the primary you should dilute in water and give it a quick boil to dissolve it.

I just did a triple with candi in the fermenter at 5 days in. My FG got down to 1.007. The beer turned out super smooth (almost too smooth).

great info, so I have decided to add the 3lbs of candi sugar to the fermentation. Now I am just hung up on how i should go about this. Would it be to much of a shock to just add all 3lbs at day 5 during fermentation or should i introduce 1 pound a day for three consecutive days ( only have 3 days to work with) ?

My last Belgian I added 1.5lbs straight to the fermenter at once, about 3 days into fermentation. I had no problem with attenuation, and didn't find any risidual "rock candy" at the bottom of my carboy.

On the Belgian I'm working on now, I just added 2lbs straight to the fermentor. You should be fine with adding all 3 pounds at day 5, but there should be no difference in splitting it up.

bcgpete said:

My last Belgian I added 1.5lbs straight to the fermenter at once, about 3 days into fermentation. I had no problem with attenuation, and didn't find any risidual "rock candy" at the bottom of my carboy.

On the Belgian I'm working on now, I just added 2lbs straight to the fermentor. You should be fine with adding all 3 pounds at day 5, but there should be no difference in splitting it up.

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You add rocks? How are they sanitized?

cheezydemon3 said:

You add rocks? How are they sanitized?

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I soak them in bleach

..............OK.....

I assumed boiling would render the candi liquid.

cheezydemon3 said:

..............OK.....

I assumed boiling would render the candi liquid.

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Sorry. I don't boil it. After making the candi (boiling the sugar water) I toss it in the freezer overnight so it turns to rock, then I crush it with a meat mallet and dump it into the carboy.

That is probaly fine, lol. Especially if fermentation is well under way.

I made a bunch of it a while back. I added it all during the boil.