Belgian Dark Candy Syrup

[Whorst]

Have you used it in a brew? The Belgian Dubbel I made with it a while back tastes unusual. The syrup taste is pretty prominent. Beer tastes like an extract beer brewed with a dry yeast. Maybe the flavor will mellow with age? I think I'll stick with English/US Pale Ale/Bitters, German style lagers. That's what I enjoy drinking the most. I'll stick to what I like.

[Barley Water]

I really love those dubbels (and Belgian Strong Dark ales also) but I have yet to brew one that I have been happy with. I have also used the liquid candy sugar (which costs $8 a pint) and I was a little disappointed in that I didn't get the rummy/prune/plumb/raisin notes I was hoping for. Of course, that may be because I was not handling the yeast correctly or perhaps have other problems with my formulation. I am going to try using Mr. Z's formulation in his new book to see if I can get closer. Of course if that works, I will then start screwing around with things to put my own personal stamp on the brew. I think it's fun to mess with all those wierd unrefined sugars, spices and strange monastic yeasts. Much like playing with Weizen yeast, Belgian stuff is very sensitive to temperature and other variables and you can make a very different product depending on fermentation conditions.

[Whorst]

I just tasted mine again. It's really starting to mature now. It's much smoother and tasted quite nice. I think it's down to age. I will bottle this in a couple of weeks then send it off for competition. I can imagine that in six months this will be very nice to drink. It might be fantastic in another month.