diferent sugars??

[motomaniac]

just been wondering how much difference using different sugars makes... anyone got any thoughts.... such as white... brown... light muscovado/ dark muscovado... molasses.... agave syrup.... or even using black treacle or syrup..... does anyone know what flavours these would impart on a brew... just curious for doing some messing...

 

[RobWalker]

yup! white sugar is somewhat tasteless, brown/muscovado/molasses etc all add a molasses type taste, just in varying strengths. not sure about agave.

black treacle is often used in stouts and adds, well, treacle. golden syrup is used in a variety of brews, but to give you an idea, graham wheeler uses it as the only defining ingredient in his san miguel clone, so use that as a base of the flavour in your mind. honey adds a nice unique aftertaste, but can taste awful in higher quantities.

good luck :thumb:

 

[dermy]

Hi.

I only do kits but here's my experiences...

I've used treacle, honey and golden syrup in a few of my brews.

Treacle is OK but if you use too much it overwhelms the brew so at most keep treacle to half a tin.

Honey is fab in brews but NOT orange blossom honey - it gives you brew a horrible citrous aftertaste.

I used half sugar and half golden syrup in my last brew and it was delicious.

Hope this helps.

 

[motomaniac]

thanks lad.... im doing the coopers cerveza ( shoulda gone on days ago) i like the idea of adding the syrup to it,im using a kilo of beerkit enhancer, do u reckon i should leave out half of this and add syrup?.. or will i be ok adding all the enhancer and a small tin of syrup??

 

[GrumpyBunny]

I'm posting to the thread because I've just got back from america where I had a gorgeous agave wheat beer (Breckenridge Brewery). The beer had a bit of sweetness and a light, almost citrus, slightly melon-like after-taste. I don't know if the beer had been back sweetened with the agave syrup, it had been fermented out or both.

I was so impressed I bought a couple of bottles of syrup in the supermarket and I'm going to give it a whirl.

Regarding the treacle, I made a strong bitter using half treacle and the smoky toffee notes from the treacle came through well without being overpowering.

 

[Dr Mike]

AIUI, Golden Syrup is effectively a form of invert sugar (the sucrose has been split into glucose and fructose)

Commercial breweries prefer invert sugar over straight cane sugar as it gives a cleaner flavour according to GW.