candi Sugar and Belgian kits

[brewjohn]

Am thinking of doing a Belgian beer kit but confused by Candi Sugar. Have read all the topics in this and other forums and even typed candi Sugar in Google and found even more articles on it. Some say its just invert sugar some say not . Some say its made from Beet and some cane ? The question is ,has anyone made up a Belgian kit and used any of the following four sugars and what was the result.

1 Belgian Candi sugar

2 Homemade inverts sugar

3 Brewing sugar

4 ordinary white table sugar

thanks John Brown

[Bromley Brewery]

I brewed a Brewferm Abbey with 450g tin of Golden Syrup (I'd heard on this website that it was like invert sugar).

Was very nice, but I've very rarely tried a beer I didn't like so you have to make up your own mind.

[kfm]

John, I've done a lot of Brewferm kits using candy sugar, brewing sugar, muscavado, demerara, golden syrup and maple syrup, sometimes putting one type in for primary fermentation and another for secondary (if bottling but I also corny some and just force carb them). One observation is that when using candy sugar and syrups the beers have cleared much quicker than when using other types. For example, I did a Grand Cru using dark candy sugar that was crystal in the bottles only 10 days after bottling (tasted good too). Another one I did, a Diabolo, using brewing sugar took 2 months to drop bright. There could be other reasons for this rather than the sugar but I tend to brew kits using the same method/temps. Upshot is all the Brewferm (presume it's Brewferm you're doing) beers come good but the ones made using candy sugar and syrup seemed to me to require less conditioning time. Hope this helps

[brewjohn]

Thanks for those two replies chaps. Will go down the road tommorrow to leyland Home brew and get a kit and probably try a golden syrup first. my wife is a cook and knows about working with sugar so might have a go at home made candi sugar next and compare.

[Mogwyth]

Candi Sugar A Belgian sugar used in brewing, especially stronger beers such as dubbel and trippel; basically this is an invert sugar, i.e. one that has been converted from sucrose to a mixture of fructose and glucose by heating with water and some acid, usually citric acid. It is used to boost the alcohol content without adding extra body to the beer and without forcing the yeast to produce invertase, which some drinkers claim adds an undesirable taste to the beer.

Golden syrup is a partially inverted sugar syrup. It consists of glucose and fructose syrup produced by inversion, which has been blended with the original sucrose syrup in a proportion that creates a thick mixture which does not crystallize

So they are similar but not identical, I have had brews made with both and while there was a slight difference in taste, it was not such that it would make me personally favour one ingredient over the other. Purists may have other thoughts.

Cheers

Bill

[nibber]

Hi there
I have brewed a Brewferm Abbey and a Grand Cru both made with normal white sugar and they turned out fine for me
regards nibber

[Waffty]

I did an Abbey for Christmas last year, after doing the Christmas brew the previous year.

I bought two Abbey kits, two 500g of candi sugar (one white, one brown). Doubled up on the water etc & pitched both packets of yeast, waited for it to ferment out & left it in the corny for 8 weeks.

To say this was my best brew ever is an understatement, as everyone that tried it, was instantly hooked. It had the body, the taste & the strength + a perfectly creamy head.

My two packs of Candi sugar arrived from H&G Friday + I picked up my two special order Abbey kits over the weekend.

Needless to say I'm a Candi sugar fan & almost scared to try anything else, as you can't improve on perfection, can you ?