alternative to D-45 candi?

[odie]

I'm about to do a Belgian tripel and I see the recipe I was going to use lists D-45. Which I don't have on hand. I'm thinking maybe light brown sugar as a substitute?

It's also getting honey on the back end so not too worried about alternative ingredients.

 

[Pennine]

I would just use white table sugar. Brown is too much flavor for a tripel in my opinion. Granted I have never made a tripel with it but I have a bitter and I didn't like it.

 

[IslandLizard]

I would not use (light) brown sugar, the molasses it contains (hence the color) doesn't belong in a Tripel.

You could make your own (light) sugar syrup on the stove, takes about an hour.
You could double that batch for the same time investment, so you can save half out for next time. Store the leftover syrup in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, such as a jam/jelly or canning jar. Keep refrigerated. Use within 3-6 months.

Or as @Pennine suggests, just add white table sugar.

 

[MaxStout]

Invert syrup is easy to make. Here's a thread on the topic.

Thread 'Made Simple Invert Sugars. - Jeff Alworth's Method.'

May 29, 2017

I have a new Nitro Tap on my keezer and a presently unused Rocket Hand Pump so I'm on this English beer kick as of lately. Been Brewing English Beers and I've been reading " Secrets of Master Brewers" by Jeff Alworth namely the British Ale Traditions chapter.

In this chapter he describes making invert sugars and why you want to use them. Its mainly for some enhanced complex flavors, and then better attenuation. He suggests it as a 1:1 or 50/50 substitution for Crystal Malt. Jeff cites this as Ron Pattison's method. (An English Historian living Amsterdam.) He says its...

• Schlenkerla
• Replies: 122
• Forum: Recipes/Ingredients

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[IslandLizard]

Here's a good thread on making sugar syrups:

Thread '20 lb of sugar and a jar of yeast nutrient'

Apr 18, 2009

So do I really have to use brewers yeast or will my moms sourdough junk work?

No really...

I just blew through 20 lbs of sugar and a jar of DAP yeast nutrient trying to perfect my caramelized "Candi Syrup" recipe. and this is what I came up with.

The basic ideas for the recipe are from “Radical Brewing” –Randy Mosher, and from “Brew Like a Monk” –Stan Hieronymus. I spent some time working on a procedure that seems to work really well. The procedures came from various books on candy making and internet resources. Both recipes are temperature sensitive and absolutely dependent on...

• SnickASaurusRex
• Replies: 696
• Forum: Recipes/Ingredients

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I've made many sugar syrups with that method, in a wide variety of darkness, being arguably as good as the "real thing."
And no, there is chemically no difference between beet and cane sugar, you can use either, they are both all Sucrose.

[EDITs] To mimic a D-45 syrup, aim for a Light to Medium Amber (270-280°F) Rose to Light color (250-260°F).
Follow the author's instructions, and perhaps make a smaller test batch first, using only 1 pound of sugar, to get a feel for the process, heating level and changes of color.

Oh, BTW, a deep, narrow saucepan is prefered over wide shallow pans or pots.

 

[VikeMan]

I'm about to do a Belgian tripel and I see the recipe I was going to use lists D-45. Which I don't have on hand. I'm thinking maybe light brown sugar as a substitute?

I would probably use plain white table sugar in this case. D-45 wouldn't have contributed all that much color anyway, assuming it's a pound or two in a big Tripel recipe. The 45 in D-45 is an SRM number determined by using a spectrophotometer on the product itself, and not an ingredient Lovibond color. The latter would be just a little under 12 Lov*.

Also, D-45 contributes about 32 PPG vs 46 PPG for table sugar, so I'd recommend using about 70% (by weight) of the table sugar compared to the amount of D-45 originally called for.

*Ignore online SRM to Lovibond conversion calculators...they don't work for ingredients.

 

[Brockness Monster]

Some suggestions that haven't been said

Turbinado, Demerara, Raw cane sugar all work really well in a Tripel
Jaggery which is a palm sugar and is great, just stay away from waxy looking stuff
Honey works pretty well
Lyle's golden syrup would probably be really close to D45

Sugars are fun to experiment with, and there is no need for an invert sugar as the pH of beer will invert it naturally.

Edit: Regular table sugar is also my suggestion, especially if this is your first belgian

 

[kevin58]

plain white table sugar.

 

[hottpeper13]

What they said!

 

[VikeMan]

Sugars are fun to experiment with, and there is no need for an invert sugar as the pH of beer will invert it naturally.

Do you mean wort pH (during the boil)? Finished beer pH wouldn't really be relevant, because the yeast would have enzymatically converted any sucrose to glucose/fructose long before then.

Regarding inversion during the boil, I have never been able to find anything scholarly (peer reviewed papers) regarding how much hydrolysis actually happens. It seems to me that it's a function of temperature, time, and pH. A wort boil has temperature in spades, and a pretty fair amount of time, but not really an ideal pH for rapid hydrolysis. I'd be surprised if all of the sucrose is converted, but I have no evidence for that assertion.