Dark Belgian Candi Sugar - Maltmiller

[Ben034]

Got a Belgian dubbel on to brew today. Not a style I've gone for before and I used 150g dark Belgian Candi sugar from Maltmiller with a 3kg base of pilsner malt. This was for a 10l batch.

Brewday was smooth enough but the colour of the wort was much lighter than I expected. At first I thought perhaps the candi sugar hadn't dissolved but the OG was spot on so it must be something else. Beersmith predicted around 30ebc but if I was guessing I would say it's come out about 15/20 ebc max. The Candi sugar is supposed to be 450 ebc and I've never had any issues with the prediction of ebc on beersmith before. What am I missing? I'm not too concerned as it should still be decent, just not as expected. Thanks!

 

[Sandimas]

What was the rest of the recipe, or was it just Candi sugar and Pilsner Malt?

I did a Dubbel recently, came out at 36 EBC but used a higher percentage of Candi that you: 500g in 15L, plus some other grains that darkened it such as Special B. I didn't think Candi added that much colour.

 

[dad_of_jon]

not enough candi sugar

 

[Ben034]

What was the rest of the recipe, or was it just Candi sugar and Pilsner Malt?

I did a Dubbel recently, came out at 36 EBC but used a higher percentage of Candi that you: 500g in 15L, plus some other grains that darkened it such as Special B. I didn't think Candi added that much colour.

Yeah just pilsner and 5% dark candi sugar. Surprised the software was that wrong on the colour.

 

[Ben034]

I'll just call it a Belgian blonde!

 

[Ben034]

Would a mini mash (200ml or so) of black malt (20g), quick boil, chill and into the fermenter on day 2 be a bad idea?

 

[JonBrew]

Would a mini mash (200ml or so) of black malt (20g), quick boil, chill and into the fermenter on day 2 be a bad idea?

Yeah you can do this but don't boil the black malt. Cold steep the grains at room temp overnight then remove. You can then heat the extract up to pasteurisation temps to sanitise it. Once sanitary you can dose it into you beer at any stage to adjust the colour. On a very basic level (I believe) this is how Weyermann make Sinimar.

 

[Ben034]

Yeah you can do this but don't boil the black malt. Cold steep the grains at room temp overnight then remove. You can then heat the extract up to pasteurisation temps to sanitise it. Once sanitary you can dose it into you beer at any stage to adjust the colour. On a very basic level (I believe) this is how Weyermann make Sinimar.

Thanks for this, think I will adjust a little with black malt today and add a little more sugar to the liquid to prevent dilution.

 

[JonBrew]

Thanks for this, think I will adjust a little with black malt today and add a little more sugar to the liquid to prevent dilution.

No worries. I imagine the amount of liquid you'll be adding (I'm thinking very small) the dilution will be negligible.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I used 150g dark Belgian Candi suga

I checked Maltmiller and an EBC chart to familiarize myself--SRM is what I'm used to. It looks like the color is about what one would expect for the volume of liquid and sugar. I would expect a lot darker color if it were Belgian dark syrup vs dark rock sugar.

 

[MickDundee]

What was the rest of the recipe, or was it just Candi sugar and Pilsner Malt?

I did a Dubbel recently, came out at 36 EBC but used a higher percentage of Candi that you: 500g in 15L, plus some other grains that darkened it such as Special B. I didn't think Candi added that much colour.

Yeah the Dubbel I brewed over a year ago (which I’m still forcing my way through) came out only slightly darker than I do my Cali Common. It’s more of a Belgian style amber ale than a Dubbel.

 

[prog99]

I reckon the recipe is wrong personally. I’d expect some speciality grains in a dubbel.

 

[Ben034]

I reckon the recipe is wrong personally. I’d expect some speciality grains in a dubbel.

Yes, perhaps. First time using the yeast from a bottle of Westmalle so wanted to keep the grain bill relatively simple to get a feel for the yeast. The candi sugar in the recipe I thought should have brought the right colour. I added some black malt and a little more sugar today which has helped the colour so will have to wait and see how it turns out.

 

[Ben034]

Yeah the Dubbel I brewed over a year ago (which I’m still forcing my way through) came out only slightly darker than I do my Cali Common. It’s more of a Belgian style amber ale than a Dubbel.

Not as hoped? I've only made about 25 330ml bottles so if it doesn't work out it's not too much to get through. Brew number 67 so thought about time to try a Belgian!

I've pitched the yeast at 18c and plan to let it rise freely up to about 25c max. What are people's thoughts on this? I can cool if required but brew cupboard is stable at 19c and I've read that the yeast may not like temperature control?

 

[DavidDetroit]

forcing?

Curious as well. Did it not turn out?

 

[MickDundee]

Not as hoped? I've only made about 25 330ml bottles so if it doesn't work out it's not too much to get through. Brew number 67 so thought about time to try a Belgian!

I've pitched the yeast at 18c and plan to let it rise freely up to about 25c max. What are people's thoughts on this? I can cool if required but brew cupboard is stable at 19c and I've read that the yeast may not like temperature control?

Curious as well. Did it not turn out?

I’m not a big fan of it. I think I assumed it was as easy to make beers as good or better than commercial American style beers then it would be with Belgian. I was wrong.