Comments on The Mad Fermentationist - Homebrewing Blog: Candi/Table/Corn Sugar Belgian Beer Experiment

I'm really glad to see someone doing this. In...

2009-12-20T22:54:42.742-05:00

I'm really glad to see someone doing this. In addition to BLAM, I saw today that Randy Mosher says in Radical Brewing that the "candoi sugar" sold at the homebrew store is a waste of money, so it's going around for sure.

I didn't really experiment with multiple sugars so much, but I did use table sugar over the summer in a Dubbel and a Tripel. I used Mosher's recipe for making a syrup on the stove, and just cooked it to the darkness that I wanted. It worked really great. I got nothing cidery from either batch. Maybe it has to do with the Maillard reactions from "cooking" the sugars, maybe because I add the sugars during the boil. My two cents.

2009-12-17T21:08:12.204-05:00

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If I remember correctly, in the BYO sugar article ...

2009-12-17T21:08:00.067-05:00

If I remember correctly, in the BYO sugar article (was it BYO or Zymurgy?), the most interesting thing was that the brown sugar Tripel started off tasting the worst, but by six months had moved into second place or so.

This is my first time using the aquarium drops, bu...

2009-12-17T13:52:54.762-05:00

This is my first time using the aquarium drops, but I have never had a beer with a cholophenol issue from Scott who has been using it for years. I normally use a carbon block water filter, but this seems like a better technique than campden tablets to me (which have given me fermentation issues in the past).

I had never heard that ascorbic acid gets rid of chloramines, but there are several webpages that suggest that. I have heard of brewers using it to reduce oxidation in the mash or at bottling.

Thanks so much for doing this. You're really ...

2009-12-17T12:35:44.214-05:00

Thanks so much for doing this. You're really doing the community a big service.

Also, my first couple batches had a gross plastic off-flavor. My most recent does not. I attribute this to chlorophenols, as the most recent batch had orange rind added to it, and ascorbic acid (vitamin c) kills choloramines in tap water. Have you used aquarium dechlorinator in the past with success? I had considered using this in my next batch, but was unable to find anything in a google search that would indicate that this would be a successful venture.

I have not read that article, it will be interesti...

2009-12-16T14:20:27.180-05:00

I have not read that article, it will be interesting to see how my results compare (what were there results in a nutshell?)

The soft brown candi sugar has been around for awhile, I used it in the original candi sugar experiment ~3 years back. It was fine, but didn't give nearly the character/color that the syrup did.

To clarify my last comment in #1. The article spec...

2009-12-16T13:52:48.437-05:00

To clarify my last comment in #1. The article specifically did controlled experiments with like 5 different sugars and evaluated them over time. The interesting part about it was how different the results changed over the age of the beer.

Two things: 1. I recall an article in BYO about t...

2009-12-16T13:42:29.522-05:00

Two things:

1. I recall an article in BYO about the best sugar for a belgian. Think it was specific to tripels. Have you read this? I will see if I can dig it up.

2. Have you tried and of the Soft Candi Sugar products? I have not used them yet because they are relatively new but have heard they are much more authentic. Here is a link on Northern brewer http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/soft-candi-sugar-blond-1.html

Foil is no issue during primary fermentation becau...

2009-12-15T19:13:52.336-05:00

Foil is no issue during primary fermentation because so much CO2 is being produced. For secondary I always use airlocks.

I've used cane sugar at up to 20% of the fermentables in a Tripel and didn't get any cidery flavors. As long as you have a controlled fermentation it doesn't seem to be an issue.

Thanks for the encouragement, fermentation seems about finished.

Wow, you use foil wraps on top if of you mini ferm...

2009-12-15T17:01:57.925-05:00

Wow, you use foil wraps on top if of you mini fermenter? Have you ever had a problem with that? I've always been afraid not to use an airlock

I applaud the effort! Excellent approach. You ar...

2009-12-15T16:41:53.143-05:00

I applaud the effort! Excellent approach. You are controlling for every variable possible and doing as fair a head to head contest as possible - I am extremely eager to hear your results.

This was/is a huge pissing contest on Beer Advocat...

2009-12-15T14:56:54.506-05:00

This was/is a huge pissing contest on Beer Advocate. If you really want to stir it up, post this over there. I would be interested in your work both in lager format and in ale format. My personal experience is that the table sugar in an ale goes to "cider" real quick, while in a lager it seems to be missing whatever the "cider" chemical is. Possible because lagers are kept much longer than ales before they're drunk. Who knows.

I made a recipe very similiar to this back in June...

2009-12-15T14:15:57.535-05:00

I made a recipe very similiar to this back in June. Pilsner/candi syrup/3787, bittered to about 30 IBU's with saaz. I made my own candi syrup using directions found here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/20-lb-sugar-jar-yeast-nutrient-114837/. Mine ended up being somewhere around the amberish colors.

I also added an ounce of roughly crushed coriander with 5 minutes left. It just took 2nd place in the belgian ales category at a recent event. Reviewers said they were able to pick up faint hints of caramel and vanilla, which must have come from the syrup, as well as some slight citrus from the coriander. You should have a pretty tasty beer on your hands.