Molasses in a Porter

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jennieD

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I'm going to brew a porter tonite and was thinking about adding some molasses. Charlie Papazian suggests you can use it as a primer (1 cup per 5 gal, I believe).

Is it better to use it instead of priming sugar, or should I add it to the boil? At 60 min? 15 min? Will boiling it significantly affect the flavor?
 
The thing with mollasses is that a large percentage of it is fermentable, meaning that the purest sugar content will be converted to alcohol, leaving only the "impurities" the dark burnt caramel/sulfur that you think of with that stuff as flavor. It's the same with brown sugar (which is really mollases added to table sugar), the darker Belgian candy sugars, those un-refined mexican and chinese sugars and really even honey.

The purer, more refined, the sugar the less flavor is imparted, becasue it is converted to alcohol.

:off: That's the thing with people adding honey to beer, they really AREN'T getting much honey flavor in their beer, because it is fermenting away to alcohol, like mead. Which unless you kill fermentation and back sweeten with honey that won't ferment, really doesn't have that much of a sweet honey flavor. (To get a real honey flavor, use the darkest you can find, with the most concentration of flavor, or even better, use Gambrinus honey malt ProBrewer Interactive - View Single Post - Honey Malt)

I have used Mollasses in my "Poor Richard's Ale" recipe in the last 15 minutes of the boil. It was an historical brewing ingredient. I do it late because I don't want any of those complex burnt/bitter/caramel flavors/aromas to boil away.

This is my 2.5 gallon recipe (so it would be 8 ounces in a 5 gallon batch)...you really don't need to go hog wild with it;

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 58.74 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 22.03 %
12.0 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 11.01 %
8.0 oz Special Roast (50.0 SRM) Grain 7.34 %
1.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 0.88 %
0.25 oz Cascade [6.00 %] (60 min) Hops 8.9 IBU
0.38 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (30 min) Hops 8.7 IBU
0.38 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (15 min) Hops 5.6 IBU
4.00 oz Mollases (black Strap) (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale
 
I put 1 lb Molasses or Treacle in my holiday ale with 10 minutes left on the boil. It definitely imparts a caramelish flavor.

Boiling it will reduce the imparted flavor. I think I will try Papazian's suggestion this winter.
 
a pound or so with, say, 5 minutes in the boil will be nice in a porter. I've made a porter with molasses before, and it's a nice flavor compliment.
 
+ 1 to Revvy on the timing of the addition.

Some flavor and almost all of the aroma compounds in additions to the boil are volatile and lost rather quickly. Since things like honey and molasses are sanitary to begin with, they don't require much of a boil.

I add 1.5 lbs of molasses to my Yule Log Porter, which is 8% of my grain bill. This beer is big, smoked, and oaked, so it can handle the burnt notes that the molasses adds. In a typical porter, I wouldn't go much above 5% or 6%.
 
I add 1.5 lbs of molasses to my Yule Log Porter, which is 8% of my grain bill. This beer is big, smoked, and oaked, so it can handle the burnt notes that the molasses adds. In a typical porter, I wouldn't go much above 5% or 6%.

WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!

I wished you lived near me, I would love to taste that bad-boy!

:mug:
 
:off: That's the thing with people adding honey to beer, they really AREN'T getting much honey flavor in their beer, because it is fermenting away to alcohol, like mead. Which unless you kill fermentation and back sweeten with honey that won't ferment, really doesn't have that much of a sweet honey flavor. (To get a real honey flavor, use the darkest you can find, with the most concentration of flavor, or even better, use Gambrinus honey malt ProBrewer Interactive - View Single Post - Honey Malt)

I actually was originally thinking about adding honey, then I came across this same information in my research and decided to try molasses instead.

Thanks a lot for the info guys, I think I will try adding it late in the boil. I'm only doing a 2.5 gallon batch, so maybe I'll try Papazian's method of priming w/ molasses in another small batch & compare.:mug:
 
I am working on a Winter Spiced Ale, and I am trying to mimic a ginger bread spice profile based off of my grandmother's gingerbread man recipe. Her recipe calls for brown sugar, but based on what I have just learned, maybe I should go with molasses to counteract the process of losing a lot of flavor to the fermentation. One question though, adding molasses to the boil is going to increase your OG. How would I calculate how much less Maris Otter LME to use in place of the molasses? I was planning on adding half the Maris Otter at the beginning, and half in the last 10 minutes. If I'm going to be using molasses instead, I should probably decrease the amount of LME added to the boil, correct?

Boiling it will reduce the imparted flavor. I think I will try Papazian's suggestion this winter.

What is Charlie Papazian's suggestion?

EDIT: By the time I got down to GearBeer's post, I had forgotten the OP. I see now that Papazian's suggestion is to use 1 cup of Molasses to prime.
 
I am working on a Winter Spiced Ale, and I am trying to mimic a ginger bread spice profile based off of my grandmother's gingerbread man recipe. Her recipe calls for brown sugar, but based on what I have just learned, maybe I should go with molasses to counteract the process of losing a lot of flavor to the fermentation. One question though, adding molasses to the boil is going to increase your OG. How would I calculate how much less Maris Otter LME to use in place of the molasses? I was planning on adding half the Maris Otter at the beginning, and half in the last 10 minutes. If I'm going to be using molasses instead, I should probably decrease the amount of LME added to the boil, correct?

It's easy if you are using brewing software, including Beer Calculus . homebrew recipe calculator

you just put your recipe together without the mollasses, make a note of the OG then add in the mollasses, and start incrementally decreasing the amount of MO in the recipe til the OG matches.
 
I just added molasses to my Imperial Ink recipe. I added it a week into fermentation because I wanted the yeast to get a head start on all the other sugars.

DRoy - PM me about your recipe. I have a decent "gingerbread man" recipe that I give away as Xmas presents.
 
I did a robust porter 6 brews or so ago and tossed in a 12oz jar of unsulphured molasses at flame out. For the recipe it was borderline excessive but aged up quite nice.
 
It's easy if you are using brewing software, including Beer Calculus . homebrew recipe calculator

you just put your recipe together without the mollasses, make a note of the OG then add in the mollasses, and start incrementally decreasing the amount of MO in the recipe til the OG matches.

Ok, I'm loving that tool. That gave me exactly the information I need. If I use 1 lb Molasses, I need to compensate by removing 1.25 lbs of the LME in order to maintain my OG of 1.079.

Revvy to the rescue again!
 
I've used molasses in porters and stouts with good results. Molasses, honey, Lyle's golden syrup and the like are great if used sparingly.

I try to avoid putting more than a pound of sugars in a 5.5 gallon recipe because I've had problems with esters and other off-flavors caused by stressed yeast. Usually 8 ounces is plenty...

Remember to use the proper pitching rate if you knock your gravity up there with a lot of sugar. With an OG of 1.079, you will definately need a starter if you are using liquid yeast, or two rehydrated 11 gram packs if you're using dry yeast.
 
I've used molasses in porters and stouts with good results. Molasses, honey, Lyle's golden syrup and the like are great if used sparingly.

I try to avoid putting more than a pound of sugars in a 5.5 gallon recipe because I've had problems with esters and other off-flavors caused by stressed yeast. Usually 8 ounces is plenty...

Remember to use the proper pitching rate if you knock your gravity up there with a lot of sugar. With an OG of 1.079, you will definately need a starter if you are using liquid yeast, or two rehydrated 11 gram packs if you're using dry yeast.

Yeah, I used Mr. Malty's Yeast Calculator and found that I needed 2 smack-packs and about a 3 liter starter.

Thanks for the notes!
 
Yeah, I used Mr. Malty's Yeast Calculator and found that I needed 2 smack-packs and about a 3 liter starter.

Thanks for the notes!

No problems...didn't mean to sound "preachy" BTW but in the "Beginner's Forum" I always err on the side of caution. :mug:
 
No problems...didn't mean to sound "preachy" BTW but in the "Beginner's Forum" I always err on the side of caution. :mug:

That's cool, I usually like when people check me like that. I'm one of those people that is prone to always make SOME stupid mistake, or forget a crucial step. :mug:
 
FWIW - That molasses is going to be a lot more fermentable than the malt you swapped out for it, so you may want to add a few ounces of malto dextrin (from your LHBS) to your recipe to put some body back in your beer.
 
I've used molasses in porters and stouts with good results. Molasses, honey, Lyle's golden syrup and the like are great if used sparingly.

I try to avoid putting more than a pound of sugars in a 5.5 gallon recipe because I've had problems with esters and other off-flavors caused by stressed yeast. Usually 8 ounces is plenty...

Remember to use the proper pitching rate if you knock your gravity up there with a lot of sugar. With an OG of 1.079, you will definately need a starter if you are using liquid yeast, or two rehydrated 11 gram packs if you're using dry yeast.

This is great advice, knock it back to about 8oz, or you may have to sit on it for a while especially with molasses or treacle, many of my british recipes use some sugar ( Lyles ) , but don't drive it out of balance by adding too much .
 
This is great advice, knock it back to about 8oz, or you may have to sit on it for a while especially with molasses or treacle, many of my british recipes use some sugar ( Lyles ) , but don't drive it out of balance by adding too much .

Am I going to get enough of the caramel undertones in my final product with 8oz? If the only issue you're talking about is time, than I have no issue with it. I'm making this as a christmas brew, so I have 5 months for this brew to do it's thing. If you think it'll improve the overall quality of the beer, however, then I'll consider knocking it down to 8-12oz.

FWIW - That molasses is going to be a lot more fermentable than the malt you swapped out for it, so you may want to add a few ounces of malto dextrin (from your LHBS) to your recipe to put some body back in your beer.

I've never used MD before. If you all think this is wise, I'll keep it in mind. How many ounces are we talking for 8-12oz of molasses? Is this something I can pick up at the grocery store? I don't have an LHBS, and I'm brewing Friday, so I don't have time to really order any. Is there a brandname that I can find this under?
 
Am I going to get enough of the caramel undertones in my final product with 8oz? If the only issue you're talking about is time, than I have no issue with it. I'm making this as a christmas brew, so I have 5 months for this brew to do it's thing. If you think it'll improve the overall quality of the beer, however, then I'll consider knocking it down to 8-12oz.

I've never used MD before. If you all think this is wise, I'll keep it in mind. How many ounces are we talking for 8-12oz of molasses? Is this something I can pick up at the grocery store? I don't have an LHBS, and I'm brewing Friday, so I don't have time to really order any. Is there a brandname that I can find this under?

Personally, I'd knock the molasses down to 8 oz and skip the malto dextrin. If you want more caramel or nutty taste, add more specialty grains...a few ounces of Crystal 60 or roasted barley maybe.

Whatever you end up doing, I'm sure it'll be fine. :mug:
 
I used a pound of 82 Brix molasses in a Caribean style stout lately. It is still on the yeast cake. Mosher's recipe (Black Ship Pirate Stout) called for 1.5 # "dark molasses".

Since I was using bear bait (my buddy did not get a bear this spring) I read up a little bit and knocked the amount back to a pound. I do not know what happens to food grade molasses like you get in the store. The stuff I got came in a 25 pound jug labeled "pour on hay so cows and pigs will eat more cheap hay." The commercial grade process to get to 82-85Brix uses either strong acid or yeast (our friend S. cerveisae) on the stuff left in the bottom of the vat when cane sugar is made from sugar cane.

I used a 90 minute boil to make sure I was good to go, and Mosher called for it anyway. With grocery store bought food grade molasses from reading above it sounds like a (15) or even flameout/ steep type add.

Good luck, my hydro samples are excellent. The 82Brix stuff comes in about 60% fermentable and 40% sugars too big for yeast to ferment.
 

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