Invert Sugar, or something else?

[ppsmith]

In preparation for the Christmas brew which Hopsteep is organising, I attempted to make "No 3 Invert Sugar" yesterday, and I'm not entirely sure if that's what I've ended up with.

As per the instructions in the recipe (scaled to 1/2 quantity), I boiled 1 pint of water, dissolved in 1lb sugar and 1/4 tsp citric acid, then brought it up to 115-120°C and held it there, stirring occasionally.



The colour darkened gradually over time, but as the target colour is listed as 60-70 SRM I ended up simmering it for about 5 hours to get a deeper orange-brown colour.

Letting it cool overnight I've now got about 200ml of incredibly viscous toffee-apple smelling goo.



Does that look right, or have I screwed that batch up?

 

[Oneflewover]

Sounds alright to me, although I understood (and have applied) target temp of 127 - 135 Deg C was the way to go; 5 hours seems like a long time to achieve the objective!

 

[ppsmith]

Sounds alright to me, although I understood (and have applied) target temp of 127 - 135 Deg C was the way to go; 5 hours seems like a long time to achieve the objective!

Thanks for the reassurance - working blind to a recipe I wasn't 100% sure what the finished product should look like

 

[terrym]

Thanks for the reassurance - working blind to a recipe I wasn't 100% sure what the finished product should look like

I did something similar to you recently. Unfortunately I ended up with a product that had a burnt sugar taste which is not what I was looking for and that was in my beer so it was too late to change anything. So at the very least I suggest you taste what you have made to see if its OK before you use it if its not too late.
Otherwise I came across this recently but haven't tried it yet
http://www.unholymess.com/blog/beer-brewing-info/making-brewers-invertAnd if you are near a Holland and Barrett they sell Blackstrap (or at least Molasses).

 

[ppsmith]

So at the very least I suggest you taste what you have made to see if its OK before you use it if its not too late.

Oh it's tasty alright. There was a little leftover after I reheated it to pour it into a sanitized jar this morning and I've been licking the spoon. Would go fantastic with ice cream I reckon