Thoughts on adding dark candi syrup a tripel

[jmcquesten]

Ok, here's my situation. Brewed 11 gallons of a belgian tripel which is now in day 3 of primary. This batch was split into two primary buckets and is bubbling away. My original plan was to add 1 lb simplicity syrup and 1 lb cane sugar to each bucket in a couple days. Then I got to thinking, what if I use both (2 lbs) bags of simplicity in one bucket, and for the other, 1 lb of d90 and a half lb. of d180 syrups, which I have on hand already. I split the batch in half on beer calc and the light one is within style for a tripel, while the one with the dark syrups falls into the belgian strong dark category. I guess what I'm getting at is, will the difference between the two be enough to seem like 2 individual beers? They are exactly the same, yeast and all, just proposing adding dark syrup to one, and clear to the other. Will the lack of dark specialty grains (special B, crystal, etc.) ruin the chance of it being a decent strong dark? The alcohol level would be on the low end for that style, but I'm ok with that. I'm just trying to use up some dark syrup that I've had for a while, and maybe get some variety out of a double batch. Is it worth trying? Will I ruin half my batch? I don't have to use the extra (dark) candi syrup I have, but if it won't hurt anything, I'd like to use it up.

 

[beergolf]

It will work great. I did a few simple recipes and tried the same thing. I thought that if a good simple tripel recipe is just pils and sugar then had the idea that a simple dark would be just pils and dark syrup. D-180 provides enough flavor to make a good BDSA with a simple grain bill.

That way you get two brews out of one batch.

 

[beertroll]

Is it a common practice to wait until fermentation is already underway to add the candi syrup? I've been thinking about trying my hand at a Belgian strong. I would have just added the syrup in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil. Is the late addition done primarily for yeast health?

 

[jmcquesten]

Is it a common practice to wait until fermentation is already underway to add the candi syrup? I've been thinking about trying my hand at a Belgian strong. I would have just added the syrup in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil. Is the late addition done primarily for yeast health?

It is said that it's better to add simple sugars just as peak fermentation starts slowing down. The reason is because the yeast will eat the easy stuff first, which would be the sugar in this case, but you want them to focus on the maltose first. Like making them eat dinner before desert, there's always room for desert at the end.

 

[crazyirishman34]

My triple is much more bitter then a dark strong so if yours is the same you might think about saving the D-180 for a different batch.

 

[beergolf]

My triple is much more bitter then a dark strong so if yours is the same you might think about saving the D-180 for a different batch.

Good call. I like my tripels at. BU:GU ratio of .375 and mu BDSA's at about .3.

Split the difference and you should be good.

 

[jmcquesten]

My triple is much more bitter then a dark strong so if yours is the same you might think about saving the D-180 for a different batch.

My tripel is not very bitter at all, think it was supposed to come out to 23 ibu,which is within style for both beers. I ended up using 1/2 lb d180, 1 lb d90, and 12 oz cane sugar in the dark strong. For the 5 gallons of tripel, i used 2 lbs. Simplicity syrup and 4 oz cane sugar. Both were boiled before being added on day 3 of primary fermentation. I ran both recipes through beer calc, splitting the grain bill in half and adding the different syrups to each batch. Not very accurate, but it should be close enough.