Gimmie some sugar, baby.

[cerevisia]

Anyone used Belgian Candy Sugar before? I'm about to be a first time user and I hear it's rather expensive table sugar.

[JoKing]

The Clear Candi Sugar is definately expensive table sugar, but the Dark Candi sugar is unbelievable. I have made plenty of Candi sugar at home before thinking that it would be just as good as the bought stuff.... then I tried the bought stuff. It's nothing like the home made stuff! It's just as good - I'm sure... but it does not taste the same. I prefer the bought stuff. And for Genuine "Belgian Style" beer - you can't go past it.

[Mike Neilson]

Yip no (amber dark dark II) substitute, clear make it on you stove.

[MrC]

Just to clarify. Joking and Mike - Are you saying that clear candi sugar is the same a table sugar but that if you want dark candi sugar you should buy the good stuff?

[JoKing]

You got it.

[MrC]

When using table sugar, is there any difference/advantage in inverting the sugar and adding it after primary?

I think remember hearing JZ say to just add it to the kettle at the end of the boil.

[JoKing]

I reckon there is an advantage in adding it to the fermenter rather than the kettle. I would add the sugar in as fermentation was slowing down also. There would be 3 benefits IMHO:

1: Less caramelisation flavour coming through from the boil - this wouldn't be a issue if it were added late in the kettle.

2: You'll have a lower Starting Gravity, so you wouldn't need as much yeast to kick the fermentation off.

3: You'll have a lower Starting gravity so the osmotic pressure on the yeast is lower, resulting in cleaner flavours. You would also get a drier beer if you added the sugar when fermentation starts showing signs of slowing down.

[MrC]

Thanks Jo. This is helpful stuff as I am currently planning a Belgian Blonde and a Tripel.

[jt]

Not a Belgian Coopers Mr Cherry ?

[MrC]

Belgian Coopers
I thought about it, but I need to take a break from the dodgy experiments and to get some good beer in the kegs for now. That's why I'm brewing an Imperial Coconut Porter ;-)

[Stu McKinlay]

Depends on how much you are adding but in general I agree with Jo on all counts here.

Also, from what I've heard (not read), most yeast will feed on the simplest sugars first... this means that if you add sugar to the end of the boil you are more likely to end up with yeast that feeds up on simple sugars first and is getting sluggish near the end of the ferment.

The question now, in regards to adding it to the FE late in the ferment, is... why wouldn't you?


I always invert my sugar too. Just boil it up for ten minutes with a little acid (citirc, tartaric, lemon juice or lime juice).

[MrC]

Thanks Stu, it all seems to be making sense now.

I'm also thinking that I should avoid harvesting yeast from the fermenter after brewing beers with candi sugar due to the yeast losing it's ability to ferment maltose after fermenting sucrose. Any thoughts?

I think I'll harvest yeast at the starter level rather than washing the cake in the fermenter.

[Doublehoppy]

I've used the same yeast (Wy3787) to make successive batches of Tripel. The first finished at about 1.010 and the second 1.007, so attenuation certainly wasn't a problem. From memory I used dextrose rather than sucrose in both. I'd make sure that there was plenty of yeast (in line with the Mr Malty calc).