Underpitching methods for English Bitter?

[eshea3]

Thanks so much for the suggestions and data points. Indeed, inspiration came @Miraculix recipe for a Best Golden Ale with GP, some Crisp light crystal, Lyle's Golden Syrup and a tiny bit of torrified wheat/flaked maize adjunct, with the last three fermentables far in the background. Northdown for bittering, EKG for the late hops.

Absent the Lyle's, that.s pretty much my Yorkshire Bitter, which I stole from here. Dann Paquette's Guidelines for a Proper Bitter

 

[tracer bullet]

There is now on the market in the US an invert sugar called Becker's Brewing Sugars.

Crystals? If so that sounds pretty easy to use.

I've been on the fence adding somethign like this to an ESB. Care to describe what it adds? Caramel, toffee, raisins, somethign altogether different? Do you see much effect on FG or dryness? Or does it actually do the opposite and not dry the beer?

 

[DBhomebrew]

Crystals? If so that sounds pretty easy to use.

I've been on the fence adding somethign like this to an ESB. Care to describe what it adds? Caramel, toffee, raisins, somethign altogether different? Do you see much effect on FG or dryness? Or does it actually do the opposite and not dry the beer?

Likely no crystals. Resistance to crystalization being one feature of invert sugar.

Depending on color. Caramel, toffee, fruitiness, dark stone fruit. Even the really dark stuff I made for an imperial stout, nothing raisiny like Special B.

Being thoroughly fermentable, it does dry out the beer a bit. Balancing the cloying residual sweetness crystal brings.

In many (functional) ways it's just another sugar addition, but it brings so much more flavor than straight sucrose (table, raw, cane) or glucose (corn).

 

[Northern_Brewer]

the non-traditional inclusion of wheat.

Citation needed. A bit of wheat is very much traditional to help the head on beers served up north through sparklers, and some breweries even down south use up to 10% :
https://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2018/02/lets-brew-wednesday-1971-boddington-ip.html
https://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2013/02/eldridge-pope-grists-in-1964.html

the water profile had a super high level of mineral content. I use another profile which had similar chloride:sulfate ratios, but overall much lower levels of minerals.

It's not "super-high", the problem is with USian brewers who use water with "super-low" levels of minerals. Any style that is intended to be served on cask needs at least 100ppm calcium to make sure the yeast drops properly, and you should be suspicious of any source that recommends less than that for British styles. These numbers from one of the main British beer labs give you an idea of typical minerals in traditional British commercial brewing, although there's a trend towards a more chloride balance, particularly with modern hops.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...vous-about-mineral-levels.94723/#post-1044916

 

[eshea3]

Crystals? If so that sounds pretty easy to use.

I've been on the fence adding somethign like this to an ESB. Care to describe what it adds? Caramel, toffee, raisins, somethign altogether different? Do you see much effect on FG or dryness? Or does it actually do the opposite and not dry the beer?

No it's a syrup.

With the caveats that (1) my palette is not all that great, (2) I often change the grain bill slightly or (3) use a different yeast, I find it gives a depth of flavor without drying out the beer. I have gradually upped the amount of sugar to 1#. Latest iteration was:

6.8# of Simpson's GP
1# Becker's Invert #3
8 oz Briess Blond Roasted Oats
3 oz each of Briess Cramel 120, Coffee Kiln Malt and Fawcett Pale Chcolate.

Mashed at 156 for 60 minutes.

Fermented with Imperial Tartan at 66 for 3 days then pushed up to 68 for 2 additional before going to 70 for another 2 days.

Next iteration will use Simpson's DRC in lieu of the Briess Crystal and the Invert Sugar will be homemade.

 

[Miraculix]

No it's a syrup.

With the caveats that (1) my palette is not all that great, (2) I often change the grain bill slightly or (3) use a different yeast, I find it gives a depth of flavor without drying out the beer. I have gradually upped the amount of sugar to 1#. Latest iteration was:

6.8# of Simpson's GP
1# Becker's Invert #3
8 oz Briess Blond Roasted Oats
3 oz each of Briess Cramel 120, Coffee Kiln Malt and Fawcett Pale Chcolate.

Mashed at 156 for 60 minutes.

Fermented with Imperial Tartan at 66 for 3 days then pushed up to 68 for 2 additional before going to 70 for another 2 days.

Next iteration will use Simpson's DRC in lieu of the Briess Crystal and the Invert Sugar will be homemade.

Wasn't the DRC the one that instantly lowers one's voice into Isaac Hayes territory plus grows hair on your chest and head, instantly adds circumference to your biceps and makes your chest muscles double up in no time without any training?

I am also very curious about that one.

 

[eshea3]

Wasn't the DRC the one that instantly lowers one's voice into Isaac Hayes territory plus grows hair on your chest and head, instantly adds circumference to your biceps and makes your chest muscles double up in no time without any training?

I am also very curious about that one.

For that to happen to me I'll need to use a lot.

 

[monkeymath]

ESB is a beer brewed by Fuller's [...] most certainly not brewed with kveik.

If the tale of the homebrewer's quest for the true fuller's yeast was told by M. Night Shyamalan...

 

[Miraculix]

If the tale of the homebrewer's quest for the true fuller's yeast was told by M. Night Shyamalan...

... had to google that one

 

[Broothru]

Anything that'll take me fro

Wasn't the DRC the one that instantly lowers one's voice into Isaac Hayes territory plus grows hair on your chest and head, instantly adds circumference to your biceps and makes your chest muscles double up in no time without any training?

I am also very curious about that one.

Anything that'll take me from "Micheal Jackson" down to Barry White territory, I'm willing to try!

 

[cire]

I never had the "real deal" invert sugar, so I cannot really tell if the homemade stovetop version of it is closer, or lyle's golden syrup. Both have worked for me so far, but they are definitely different. I do not know if one would be able to find a difference in the beer when doing a direct comparison though.

My stock includes inverts #1, #2 and #3 made by the only remaining brewing sugar manufacturer in Britain, Ragus. It is my opinion that we cannot accurately replicate their product without a vast amount of work and some specialized equipment, but that we can produce something similar enough to enhance our beers enough to warrant the small necessary cost and effort.

Invert sugar is glucose and fructose in combination. Sucrose can be converted to invert by various methods, but a combination of heat and acid is the quickest, and the method used by Ragus, described in the earlier link. In basic terms, the higher the temperature and/or the lower the pH of a sucrose solution, the quicker inversion happens. Once inversion has completed by this method, it is necessary to slow/stop it by reducing temperature and/or raising pH, else the fructose and sucrose so produced will be modified to other substances. Ragus heat their sucrose (refined cane sugar) solution to 70C, when all sugar goes into solution, suggesting the ratio by weight will be, two parts sucrose to one part water. This temperature is then maintained, when acid is added to pH 1.6 and the mixture is stirred continuously. Samples are taken and measured in a polarimeter until refracted light reaches minus 20 degrees (why it is called inverted sugar). A base is then added to increase pH and substantially slow/stop the process.

A molecule of sucrose releases one of water when inverted, and sugar can be dissolved in newly converted invert. Ragus do this to create their different grades of brewing sugars. #1 will have added raw cane sugar, #2 some with more unrefined product while #3 will likely have almost pure molasses addition and this is when most American made inverts diverge from British.

I frequently read American advice to increase temperature to produce a darker invert sugar, which it does, but, it does by caramelizing inverted sugars rather than adding other flavors. In Britain if we want to darken a beer and add caramel flavors, we add Brewers Caramel.

I found it very difficult to hold a sugar solution at 70C and when I tried pH 1.6 while simmering, the converted sugars quickly degraded. Now I add enough acid when the sugar dissolves that would achieve pH 2.0. I then simmer for up to 5 minutes when the solution changes from clear to a soft/light yellow. At that point more sugar is added (5%) and mixed in before the heat is removed and a small amount of sodium bicarbonate is added. For #1 a light brown or white sugar, #2 a dark brown sugar and for #3 molasses or blackstrap or Black Treacle. A near heaped spoon of citric acid crystals will produce pH 2.0 in a mixture of a kg of cane sugar and 500 ml of low alkalinity water.

 

[cire]

Absent the Lyle's, that.s pretty much my Yorkshire Bitter, which I stole from here. Dann Paquette's Guidelines for a Proper Bitter

I would confirm the recipe you link is very currently typical of a UK brewed Bitter, including some from Yorkshire. A reason for the absence of invert sugar is the current cost and availability, particularly for smaller breweries. Currently a kg of refined cane sugar costs me 65 pence, about 90 cents, which overall is less expensive than the same weight of malt. It does take time to make, but it adds flavor that is not obtained from malt and makes a clearer beer.

I won't fault that beer recipe, it's great, just that i would use a little less crystal and add some inverted sugar.

 

[DuncB]

@Brooothru

At least Michael Jackson new his beer!

 

[Broothru]

Ya' got me there . I read his book, and it was a real Thriller!

 

[Miraculix]

My stock includes inverts #1, #2 and #3 made by the only remaining brewing sugar manufacturer in Britain, Ragus. It is my opinion that we cannot accurately replicate their product without a vast amount of work and some specialized equipment, but that we can produce something similar enough to enhance our beers enough to warrant the small necessary cost and effort.

Invert sugar is glucose and fructose in combination. Sucrose can be converted to invert by various methods, but a combination of heat and acid is the quickest, and the method used by Ragus, described in the earlier link. In basic terms, the higher the temperature and/or the lower the pH of a sucrose solution, the quicker inversion happens. Once inversion has completed by this method, it is necessary to slow/stop it by reducing temperature and/or raising pH, else the fructose and sucrose so produced will be modified to other substances. Ragus heat their sucrose (refined cane sugar) solution to 70C, when all sugar goes into solution, suggesting the ratio by weight will be, two parts sucrose to one part water. This temperature is then maintained, when acid is added to pH 1.6 and the mixture is stirred continuously. Samples are taken and measured in a polarimeter until refracted light reaches minus 20 degrees (why it is called inverted sugar). A base is then added to increase pH and substantially slow/stop the process.

A molecule of sucrose releases one of water when inverted, and sugar can be dissolved in newly converted invert. Ragus do this to create their different grades of brewing sugars. #1 will have added raw cane sugar, #2 some with more unrefined product while #3 will likely have almost pure molasses addition and this is when most American made inverts diverge from British.

I frequently read American advice to increase temperature to produce a darker invert sugar, which it does, but, it does by caramelizing inverted sugars rather than adding other flavors. In Britain if we want to darken a beer and add caramel flavors, we add Brewers Caramel.

View attachment 758076

I found it very difficult to hold a sugar solution at 70C and when I tried pH 1.6 while simmering, the converted sugars quickly degraded. Now I add enough acid when the sugar dissolves that would achieve pH 2.0. I then simmer for up to 5 minutes when the solution changes from clear to a soft/light yellow. At that point more sugar is added (5%) and mixed in before the heat is removed and a small amount of sodium bicarbonate is added. For #1 a light brown or white sugar, #2 a dark brown sugar and for #3 molasses or blackstrap or Black Treacle. A near heaped spoon of citric acid crystals will produce pH 2.0 in a mixture of a kg of cane sugar and 500 ml of low alkalinity water.

But isn't caramelization and maillard reactions exactly what we want, adding all the differen flavours? Your invert number 3 would be basically like adding glucose, fructose and ordinary molasses to a beer. Number 2 would be glucose fructose and less molasses than number 3 (brown sugar is sugar with molasses) and number 1 would be just glucose and fructose. That sounds just somehow wrong to me.

I made experiments with really dark unrefined sugar, basically dried molasses, and that one just tasted like molasses when inverted. But when continued to boil, that molasses flavour changed into something far more interesting, dark fruits, tobacco, it was a really beautiful mix of strong flavours that really benefitted a bitter. I tasted that one and instantly thought "yep, I want exactly that flavour in my bitter" while when I taste molasses, I think.. "ok, into my porridge you shall go, but not into my beer". Maybe the manufactorer, being the last one without competition, is just using a short cut? maybe other companies made it differently?

On the other hand, the head brewer of a Polish brewery I know told me that when he makes invert, he is basically doing what you are suggesting above, boiling it with acid till inverted and then adding a base. He says that the colour happens as soon as he adds the base, so there must be some reaction that is turning the sugars into something different there.

Much confusion remains...

 

[McMullan]

It's important not to confuse highly refined 'lab grade' sucrose derived from sugar beet with unrefined 'sucrose' derived from sugarcane. They're chalk and cheese. Beet sugar is used predominantly on the continent and cane sugar in Britain. In fact, I think Britain is the main market for cane sugar in Europe, thanks to Napoleon? There are a number of methods to invert sucrose and a given procedure depends on the brewer's aim. In addition to the off-the-shelf brewing sugars, I believe Ragus provide some traditional British breweries with specified recipes. When I was first persuaded to try inverted cane sugar for my British ales I found a lot of different procedures being described. I settled on Ron Pattinson's procedure, as it's straightforward and I like the result.

 

[Miraculix]

It's important not to confuse highly refined 'lab grade' sucrose derived from sugar beet with unrefined 'sucrose' derived from sugarcane. They're chalk and cheese. Beet sugar is used predominantly on the continent and cane sugar in Britain. In fact, I think Britain is the main market for cane sugar in Europe, thanks to Napoleon? There are a number of methods to invert sucrose and a given procedure depends on the brewer's aim. In addition to the off-the-shelf brewing sugars, I believe Ragus provide some traditional British breweries with specified recipes. When I was first persuaded to try inverted cane sugar for my British ales I found a lot of different procedures being described. I settled on Ron Pattinson's procedure, as it's straightforward and I like the result.

I found the following very interesting, indicating that indeed there was a base added later on in the process:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2017/12/inversion.html
You posted Rons recipe for invert somewhere... I forgot where it was, can you please link to it?

 

[McMullan]

I found the following very interesting, indicating that indeed there was a base added later on in the process:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2017/12/inversion.html
You posted Rons recipe for invert somewhere... I forgot where it was, can you please link to it?

 

[Miraculix]

View attachment 758169

Thanks mate.

I just wanted to make sure if I remembered it correctly, that there is no base included in his recipe. The historical invert recipe I linked to above includes a base. Can you have a look when the book with the recipe was published? Maybe he didn't have the information from the brewery at the time of publishing. I will anyhow try to add some baking soda next time I make an invert, just to see what happens.

I actually could use some of my invert that I already made, I got them in glasses. I got some which are kind of between No. 1 and 2. Let's see what happens if I heat it up and add some baking soda.

 

[McMullan]

Let’s Brew! 2017

 

[cire]

The probable reason for no base in that method is because very little acid is added. 2 gram for 2 lb of sugar is probably little more than needed to eliminate any alkalinity in the water used. In this case inversion is largely brought about by heat with the speed of destruction by prolonged heating significantly less than would be the case at Ragus with pH 1.6 and my own way at pH 2.0. One of my last home-made inverts containing molasses for my Lees Mild was partially neutralized with precipitated chalk, but it acts slowly just as chalk might in the mash, while sodium bicarbonate goes off like a bomb at high temperature producing a cinder toffee lookalike. The object of the base is to stop the process which will continue even at ambient temperatures if done at a low pH.

I was never trying to suggest that Invert made by other methods wasn't suitable, just that it wasn't the same as that made by Ragus, which is described in some detail by Ragus in the link I provided. That is worth reading to become aware of what has the most demanded commercially produced invert by brewers since perhaps the end of WWI.

There was a paper to the Institute of Brewers in the early 20th century suggesting that breweries could make their own invert sugar to save money. I'll try and find that and post a link.

 

[Miraculix]

Let’s Brew! 2017

OK, so it is most likely that the information from the link quoted above wasn't available when the book was published.

Maybe we just ask @patto1ro himself. Ron, what would be your brewing sugar recipe based on your today's knowledge of the old recipes you have seen so far? With base added or without? Any new ideas what actually brings out the flavour? The base? The heat? The time? Everything together?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Beet sugar is used predominantly on the continent and cane sugar in Britain. In fact, I think Britain is the main market for cane sugar in Europe, thanks to Napoleon?

Actually the UK is pretty much 50/50, beet is a bit ahead if anything but it depends on the harvest. It's one of those hugely political aspects of trade policy, particularly when we were in the EU, as France is a huge beet producer but also has significant cane production in the Caribbean departéments (which are part of France and hence in the EU), whereas Tate & Lyle lobbied hard to continue using their traditional sources of cane in the former British colonies in the Caribbean, which are no longer in the EU. And now post-Brexit, the British beet farmers are worried about being shafted by new cane supplies coming from another former colony thanks to Liz Truss' trade deal with Australia - it's one of the little ironies of Brexit that the biggest sugar beet factory in the UK happens to be in Truss' constituency in Norfolk.

 

[McMullan]

European beet farmers, including in the UK, have been pushing for access to the global market for years. IIRC the EU commission’s decision-making has helped things move along. It’s unfortunate, because beet sugar was always a poor substitute for cane sugar and sugarcane crops are important economically for poor farmers outside Europe. Kind of an unbalanced competition favoring European farmers. I’m sure there are better things to do with the land than promote a global sugar rush.

 

[cire]

It was the British Naval Blockade during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars that led to the French to produce sugar from beet. It's a funny world.

 

[Miraculix]

The probable reason for no base in that method is because very little acid is added. 2 gram for 2 lb of sugar is probably little more than needed to eliminate any alkalinity in the water used. In this case inversion is largely brought about by heat with the speed of destruction by prolonged heating significantly less than would be the case at Ragus with pH 1.6 and my own way at pH 2.0. One of my last home-made inverts containing molasses for my Lees Mild was partially neutralized with precipitated chalk, but it acts slowly just as chalk might in the mash, while sodium bicarbonate goes off like a bomb at high temperature producing a cinder toffee lookalike. The object of the base is to stop the process which will continue even at ambient temperatures if done at a low pH.

I was never trying to suggest that Invert made by other methods wasn't suitable, just that it wasn't the same as that made by Ragus, which is described in some detail by Ragus in the link I provided. That is worth reading to become aware of what has the most demanded commercially produced invert by brewers since perhaps the end of WWI.

There was a paper to the Institute of Brewers in the early 20th century suggesting that breweries could make their own invert sugar to save money. I'll try and find that and post a link.

Wow, your toffee comparison really triggered my interest, now I want to do the base experiment asap

 

[cire]

Found the paper on "The Preparation of Invert Sugar in the Brewery". It dates from 1902, so might link in some way to the brewery in Ron's 2017 post.

A 1922 paper titled "Invert Sugar", while 100 years on we debate what it might be.

"Pure Beer", an 1896 paper on the public perception of the ingredients and methods used to manufacture beer.

Some extracts from the RAGUS website.

Brewer’s sugar block, often referred to as brewing sugar, is a candy sugar produced from invert sugar, cane molasses, and dextrose, with its function unique to the brewing industry. Although all types of sugar can be used for fermentation, brewer’s sugar block is most effective in expediting the process because its formulation breaks down sugars into different constituents that are 95% readily fermentable.
Furthermore, different variations of brewing sugar can be produced depending on the style of beer, ale, lager, stout or porter being fermented. These variations differ in colour from light amber to dark brown, with the colour also indicating the flavour of the sugar. This has significant impact on the flavour of different styles of beer.



Brewer’s sugar block can only be produced commercially due to the scale and chemistry behind the production process. It is produced in large inversion pans that cannot be replicated at home.
First, cane sucrose is heated in an inversion pan with water until it dissolves. The sucrose is dissolved to a super saturation before hydrochloric acid is introduced to reduce the pH to between 1 and 1.6. When the temperature of the pan has settled at 70° for over two minutes, the cane sugar completely dissolves in the water and forms a syrup. This is achieved through the inversion of sucrose into glucose and fructose molecules.
Then, the syrup needs to be polarised to -20 to achieve the desired ratio of sucrose: glucose, before being neutralised with a natural alkaline agent that brings its pH value to between 6 and 6.5.
Then, cane molasses is released from its holding tanks and into the inversion pan, adjusting the colour and developing the flavour of the invert syrup. The inversion pan is then cooled, and dextrose seed is added. Without this step, the blend would not form into the distinctive blocks.
The thick syrup then needs to transfer through a 2000 micron filter and is filled into 25 kilogram cartons. The cartons are held in ‘block formers’ for at least five days, but often longer. When the blocks have finally formed, they are loaded onto heavy goods vehicles ready for transportation to customers all over the UK.


At Ragus, brewer’s sugar block is custom formulated to match each customer’s bespoke needs. For example, a lighter brewing sugar can be produced for the fermentation of lagers and pale ales. This lighter variation has an amber colour and its concentration of cane molasses results in a mellow or caramel flavour, making it particularly suited to modern pale ales with a European Brewery Convention (EBC) value of 25-35.
Whereas for those brewing a stronger bitter, we recommend using a darker variation of brewing sugar. Using a higher concentration of cane molasses, as well as other alterations to the production process, results in a stronger brewer’s sugar block. This variation of brewer’s sugar block is a darker shade of amber, considered between 60-70 on the EBC colour scale, therefore best suited to traditional bitters and strong ales.
A further application of brewer’s sugar block is in mild ales, stouts and porters. This variation is produced by further increasing the concentration of cane molasses and adjusting the manufacturing process. With a dark brown colour, approximately 130 EBC, this sugar has a much richer flavour that develops the mouthfeel of stouts and porters.


For a "cider toffee" experiment, add 1 kg of granulated or caster sugar to 500ml of low alkalinity water. Apply a moderate heat while stirring until the sugar dissolves to where few granules remain and the solution is only slightly milky in appearance. Maintain a gentle heat and add a heaped teaspoon of anhydrous citric acid crystals while stirring gently, when the solution should quickly clear. Heat and stir until the mixture simmers, then maintain a gentle simmer for a few minutes when the solution will be seen to color gently. Add about 50 grams of darker sugars, or molasses for a darker invert and stir until evenly mixed, when the heat should be removed.

Inversion will continue at this stage unless the mixture is quickly chilled (not easy) or the pH is reduced near to neutrality by the addition of a base. Using sodium bicarbonate does this very swiftly, but is accompanied by lots of CO2 production. Stand back or add incrementally.

 

[monkeymath]

Found the paper on "The Preparation of Invert Sugar in the Brewery". It dates from 1902, so might link in some way to the brewery in Ron's 2017 post.

A 1922 paper titled "Invert Sugar", while 100 years on we debate what it might be.

"Pure Beer", an 1896 paper on the public perception of the ingredients and methods used to manufacture beer.

Some extracts from the RAGUS website.

Brewer’s sugar block, often referred to as brewing sugar, is a candy sugar produced from invert sugar, cane molasses, and dextrose, with its function unique to the brewing industry. Although all types of sugar can be used for fermentation, brewer’s sugar block is most effective in expediting the process because its formulation breaks down sugars into different constituents that are 95% readily fermentable.
Furthermore, different variations of brewing sugar can be produced depending on the style of beer, ale, lager, stout or porter being fermented. These variations differ in colour from light amber to dark brown, with the colour also indicating the flavour of the sugar. This has significant impact on the flavour of different styles of beer.



Brewer’s sugar block can only be produced commercially due to the scale and chemistry behind the production process. It is produced in large inversion pans that cannot be replicated at home.
First, cane sucrose is heated in an inversion pan with water until it dissolves. The sucrose is dissolved to a super saturation before hydrochloric acid is introduced to reduce the pH to between 1 and 1.6. When the temperature of the pan has settled at 70° for over two minutes, the cane sugar completely dissolves in the water and forms a syrup. This is achieved through the inversion of sucrose into glucose and fructose molecules.
Then, the syrup needs to be polarised to -20 to achieve the desired ratio of sucrose: glucose, before being neutralised with a natural alkaline agent that brings its pH value to between 6 and 6.5.
Then, cane molasses is released from its holding tanks and into the inversion pan, adjusting the colour and developing the flavour of the invert syrup. The inversion pan is then cooled, and dextrose seed is added. Without this step, the blend would not form into the distinctive blocks.
The thick syrup then needs to transfer through a 2000 micron filter and is filled into 25 kilogram cartons. The cartons are held in ‘block formers’ for at least five days, but often longer. When the blocks have finally formed, they are loaded onto heavy goods vehicles ready for transportation to customers all over the UK.


At Ragus, brewer’s sugar block is custom formulated to match each customer’s bespoke needs. For example, a lighter brewing sugar can be produced for the fermentation of lagers and pale ales. This lighter variation has an amber colour and its concentration of cane molasses results in a mellow or caramel flavour, making it particularly suited to modern pale ales with a European Brewery Convention (EBC) value of 25-35.
Whereas for those brewing a stronger bitter, we recommend using a darker variation of brewing sugar. Using a higher concentration of cane molasses, as well as other alterations to the production process, results in a stronger brewer’s sugar block. This variation of brewer’s sugar block is a darker shade of amber, considered between 60-70 on the EBC colour scale, therefore best suited to traditional bitters and strong ales.
A further application of brewer’s sugar block is in mild ales, stouts and porters. This variation is produced by further increasing the concentration of cane molasses and adjusting the manufacturing process. With a dark brown colour, approximately 130 EBC, this sugar has a much richer flavour that develops the mouthfeel of stouts and porters.


For a "cider toffee" experiment, add 1 kg of granulated or caster sugar to 500ml of low alkalinity water. Apply a moderate heat while stirring until the sugar dissolves to where few granules remain and the solution is only slightly milky in appearance. Maintain a gentle heat and add a heaped teaspoon of anhydrous citric acid crystals while stirring gently, when the solution should quickly clear. Heat and stir until the mixture simmers, then maintain a gentle simmer for a few minutes when the solution will be seen to color gently. Add about 50 grams of darker sugars, or molasses for a darker invert and stir until evenly mixed, when the heat should be removed.

Inversion will continue at this stage unless the mixture is quickly chilled (not easy) or the pH is reduced near to neutrality by the addition of a base. Using sodium bicarbonate does this very swiftly, but is accompanied by lots of CO2 production. Stand back or add incrementally.

I apologize for being dumb, but what happens when the cane molasses are added to the syrup after it has been inverted and the pH has been adjusted back to "normal"? Is anything happening with the molasses or is it just an ingredient added for flavour? Couldn't it be used independently from the syrup then?

 

[McMullan]

I apologize for being dumb, but what happens when the cane molasses are added to the syrup after it has been inverted and the pH has been adjusted back to "normal"? Is anything happening with the molasses or is it just an ingredient added for flavour? Couldn't it be used independently from the syrup then?

Is it [just] an ingredient added for flavour? Yeah, TFRII! If you want to add it separately - and bypass the convenience of including it (diluting it) with the prepped invert - add the stingiest of stingiest amounts. It’s far more consistent, flavour wise, to add a tad more to a batch of prepped invert sugar. Another consideration is the ‘impurities’ are going to have effects that push away from controlling the outcome and risk altering/losing the desirable flavours contributed by molasses and, indeed, inverted cane sugar. This is the main reason. Cane molasses contain decent levels of protein and amino acids. Under acidic conditions at high temperatures things (mainly Malliard reactions) are likely to get a bit unpleasant, flavour wise.

 

[Miraculix]

Is it [just] an ingredient added for flavour? Yeah, TFRII! If you want to add it separately - and bypass the convenience of including it (diluting it) with the prepped invert - add the stingiest of stingiest amounts. It’s far more consistent, flavour wise, to add a tad more to a batch of prepped invert sugar. Another consideration is the ‘impurities’ are going to have effects that push away from controlling the outcome and risk altering/losing the desirable flavours contributed by molasses and, indeed, inverted cane sugar. This is the main reason. Cane molasses contain decent levels of protein and amino acids. Under acidic conditions at high temperatures things (mainly Malliard reactions) are likely to get a bit unpleasant, flavour wise.

I have made quite the oposite experience. The molasses gets quite nicely smoothed out flovour-wise, if boiled together with the inverted cane sugar under acidic conditions. There certainly are a lot of Maillard reactions going on, as the outcome does not have much to do any more with the molasses flavour.