first belgian recipie & sugar question

[anderj]

I am planning on brewing my first attempt at a Belgian style blonde, I have never used sugar (other than malt of course) in a recipe and have a Q or two.

here is the recipe

10 gal, all grain
BLONDENBOT

18 lb organic 2-row
5 lb malted wheat
2.5 lb flaked wheat

2.5 oz goldings 60 min
1 oz " " 20 min
1 oz " " 10 min

1 lb candi sugar

Wyeast 3944 (belgian witbier)
(two separate smack packs)


60 min mash, batch sparge

Est. OG 1.073
Est. color 4.5 SRM
26.2 IBU

OK, so I know that people stick with the candi sugar but what about just subbing
a pound of turbinado? At 3.3% it wouldn't make that much difference right? Does anyone know about the fermentability of Xylitol? Could be interesting.

For the yeast, would it be wise to split one smack pack into two 500 ml starters and just pitch those or would they need a step-up to 1 l?

thanks
-ander

 

[brewt00l]

IMHO if you want a sub for plain/clear candi sugar, table sugar will work just fine at that quantity. Turbinado is not refined up to the level of table sugar and the impurities will impart some flavor depending...YMMV/My 2cents/OMGBBQ

Why would you want to step split starters?

 

[Revvy]

Have you listened to the recent Basicbrewing podcast on the subject of Belgian Sugars, and other interesting ones to try?

The Mad Fermentationist Michael Tonsmeire Leads us through the second round of his tasty experiments using different sugars in Belgian beers.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-13-08belgian.mp3

I believe he mentiones Turbinado in the i-view.

Here's Tonsmiere's Website too...

http://madfermentationist.blogspot.com/

 

[Revvy]

I also found this on his blog...

http://madfermentationist.blogspot.com/2007/02/belgian-sugar-experiment.html

 

[anderj]

Why would you want to step split starters?

I have to get a cell count high enough to innoculate two separate 5 gal batches, I was thinking that if I split just one wyeast pack into two starters (no stir plate), I might need to stem them up, it is a somewhat big beer.

-ander

 

[PseudoChef]

Yes, you will want a large starter for both of them. I wouldn't hestitate to pitch upwards of 2 L into each.

 

[EinGutesBier]

I have a couple books at home that are in-depth guides on brewing Belgians. I've read that turbinado is an adequate substitute for candi sugar and probably better than plain table sugar. More than likely, you won't taste any potential impurities, if there are any, through the phenols and esters of a Belgian yeast.

There's a lot of handy dandy guides on making your own candi sugar (inverse sugar) and if that's what the recipe calls for, that's the way to go. The wiki here has a great article on it, I believe.

 

[bikegeek]

An important thing to consider is that the candi sugar used in belgian breweries is very different from the rocks available in most homebrew shops. Go for the syrups if you can get them. That said, I regularly use raw cane (turbinado) in my belgians with very good results.

 

[RadicalEd]

If it's just a syrup you want, it'll only take you a half hour or so to make your own.

Heat 2 cups water.
Add 2 cups sugar (about a pound).
Add juice of 1 lemon or equivalent acid blend.
Stir well for 1/2 hr.

Add to boil pot!

Simpler than pie. Getting it to form up into rocks has been a challenge for me, but nothing was easier than making a Lyle's-like syrup.

 

[EinGutesBier]

I made some deep red candi sugar last night and it was easy. Just an hour and a half of diligent stirring and bam, cheap and in-house made. I've cooled it over night and am checking to see if I can crack it into rocks now. The temperature you boil it at determines whether it'll be tacky or hard, so keep that in mind.

 

[MikeFlynn74]

Go crazy use palm sugar!