Invert Sugar

[k1100t]

Which still leaves me unclear as to whether inverted cane sugar is any better than non-inverted cane sugar.

Why do I get the feeling I'm somehow completely missing the point here?!

I thought that the main reason that you used it, was to avoid the yeast throwing that classic green apple tang. The fact that it can thin out stronger beers, while adding colour and character, presumable had cost benefits too.

[Dennis King]

I bought a 25kg block from Beko https://www.bakose.co.uk/ I found their website hard to work out as it seemed available in some areas not other so I phoned and was delivered in a couple of days. This was a couple of years back.

Well that's because that site is for Bako South East (clue is in the domain name). Good price too, although Brewer's Select in Peterborough currently have Ragus #1 for <£20

That was where I bought it from. At the time that site were not showing as stocking IS but as someone had told me they had bought from another region but I phoned them to see if they could supply from of their other depots but they did manage to find some in the south east depot. That Brewers select is a good price, I paid around £35 I think, it may be getting towards it's sell by date however I have had my block from a couple of years and still have a small bit left and it is still good.

[bitter_dave]

It surprises me that Malt Miller don't buy some big bags of invert sugar and divide it up into smaller bags to sell. I would buy it for putting Milds, but I'm never realistically going to make the stuff! Maybe I'll suggest it to them.

[Northern Brewer]

It surprises me that Malt Miller don't buy some big bags of invert sugar and divide it up into smaller bags to sell. I would buy it for putting Milds, but I'm never realistically going to make the stuff! Maybe I'll suggest it to them.

It's been mentioned before and they weren't keen as it's a pain to divide the blocks (and they have better things to do right now), but perhaps in the current circumstances Ragus might start doing retail-sized blocks at source.

It's really not that hard to make.

[Northern Brewer]

The fact that it can thin out stronger beers, while adding colour and character, presumable had cost benefits too.

Nope - Ron Pattinson has done some work on that proving that it was actually more expensive than malt, the sugar was added for flavour reasons.

[Jef]

I’m at risk of lightning up an old thread here, but what the heck, I’m back at work tomorrow.
Simple invert sugar in the UK is basically Lyles Golden syrup isn’t it? (As paulg mentioned in his second post). Does the addition of molasses hint at a US style beer? If so then I cannot add any knowledge, but in reading around Belgian candi sugar I did come across another post which I found helpful in making a European style beer;
https://suigenerisbrewing.blogspot.com/ ... r.html?m=1
This post mentions using amino acids to add maillard reaction flavours in addition to the caramelisation of increasing temps. Just an alternative method of making more flavoured invert sugars that might be interesting?

[McMullan]

Yeah, I'd definitely avoid any American advice on most matters, personally, tbh There's sufficient amino acids in unrefined cane sugar.

[Northern Brewer]

Simple invert sugar in the UK is basically Lyles Golden syrup isn’t it?

Golden syrup is only 56% invert, so it's not the same as brewers' invert which is 95% inverted (and so is ~40% sweeter than sucrose, versus ~20% for syrup). But golden syrup is a reasonable "hack" to approximate invert #1. The higher grades of invert like #3 are cooked for longer and so are darker, hence the idea of adding a bit of treacle to hack-approximate the darker colours.