Using caramel in brown ale

[RexBanner]

Eyup all.
I pondering today about newcastle brown ale, and how it tasted completely different to when I drank it as a "Yoot".
It used to have body and depth to it's flavours and made an impact on the tongue. What those flavours where though I can't recall. These days sadly it's more akin to p*ss watta!

Ine nitable change bar the water when it moved production to tadcaster was the removal of a caramel colouring they used.

So i was pondering what would happen to flavours if I added a tin of supermarket caramel to a wilko's sweet nookie brown kit and kilo jobbie? With some medium dme ofcourse.

Would it add any depth of flavour or bugger it up entirely?

 

[Dutto]

I'm not sure what the supermarket caramel tins have in the way of preservatives so, personally, I wouldn't use them.

However, two ways of adding a caramel flavour are:

1. Put two tablespoonful of the sugar into a small saucepan with a tablespoonful of water. Bring the mixture to the boil ON A LOW HEAT and KEEP STIRRING the mixture with a wooden spoon until it turns brown. (*) This is "caramel". Turn off the heat, keep stirring until the caramel starts to thicken and then add sufficient water to ensure that it dissolves as it cools. You can then add this caramel liquid to the wort as part of the liquid addition.

(*) The more brown the sugar the greater the "caramel" taste - right up to the point where it gets very dark, goes very bitter and is not to be recommended!

2. You could steep some Caramel Malt and add it to the brew as a "tea". It would give a caramel taste and also give the finished article a bit more "body". :thumb:

Either way, I have to agree that the new Newky Brown is a shadow of its former self!

 

[Simonh82]

Caramel food colouring isn't the same as caramel the confectionary. Personally I don't think either of them is the answer to your question.

Sweet caramel will end up thinning the body of the beer, although it could add a caramel flavour. The colour caramel will just alter the colour.

I think the answer lies partly in the fact our taste buds change and reduce over time.

Also don't underestimate the difference a chance of water can have. Moving from high sulphate to high chloride water can have a profound effect on the taste and mouthfeel of a beer.

 

[serum]

You can buy brewers caramel from home brew shops.

When beers go downhill it can he to do with using less ingredients, changes in water and also quick turnaround meaning the beer doesn't condition properly.

Bland beer sells more, just like bland food does so I'm pretty sure the big boys try to suck flavour out to get things to the mass market.

 

[terrym]

Try steeping 100-150g dark crystal malt grains in about a litre of water at about 65*C for 30mins, then filter, sparge the grains with 500ml of water at 65-80*C and boil the liquor for about 15mins. Add that to the wort. Crystal malt adds caramel like sweetness and mouthfeel to brews but can be overdone.

 

[BeerCat]

I'm not sure what the supermarket caramel tins have in the way of preservatives so, personally, I wouldn't use them.

However, two ways of adding a caramel flavour are:

1. Put two tablespoonful of the sugar into a small saucepan with a tablespoonful of water. Bring the mixture to the boil ON A LOW HEAT and KEEP STIRRING the mixture with a wooden spoon until it turns brown. (*) This is "caramel". Turn off the heat, keep stirring until the caramel starts to thicken and then add sufficient water to ensure that it dissolves as it cools. You can then add this caramel liquid to the wort as part of the liquid addition.

(*) The more brown the sugar the greater the "caramel" taste - right up to the point where it gets very dark, goes very bitter and is not to be recommended!

2. You could steep some Caramel Malt and add it to the brew as a "tea". It would give a caramel taste and also give the finished article a bit more "body". :thumb:

Either way, I have to agree that the new Newky Brown is a shadow of its former self!

So that's the same way you make golden syrup, Maybe you just darken this more? Its easy to burn i agree. Very interesting as been thinking of doing the salted caramel stout but could never find a caramel recipe without fat in it.

 

[Dutto]

Very interesting as been thinking of doing the salted caramel stout but could never find a caramel recipe without fat in it.

Memories of Mum's caramel toffee and fudge springs to mind! Thanks for that! :thumb:

It's also the same way that you make Candi Sugar - it all hangs on the time the sugar is boiled and the final temperature reached before allowing it to cool.

One really quick way to make caramel is to sprinkle white sugar in a thin layer over a sheet of aluminium foil and whack it under a hot grill until it melts and turns brown.

Again, it's easy to burn but when it cools it can be snapped off in chunks and dissolved for use.

On the "fat" side of things, when intending to use the caramelised sugar as decoration, I rub the foil with a small amount of olive oil to stop it sticking.

This isn't necessary if you are caramelising the sugar to dissolve it in water because all you have to do is to plunge the whole lot into the water. :thumb:

 

[Bodleigh Head]

I made dark invert sugar for my Mental IPA ...1 teaspoon of citric acid, just enough water to cover 1 kg of sugar and boil until it reaches 150°C ... don't go above 155°C ... it burns.

My Mental IPA has a definite toffee / caramel flavour ... nice if you like that sort of thing.

 

[Dr_Unkenly]

I've heard talk of using black treacle in brown ales to get that dark caramelly flavour. Might be worth a go?

 

[terrym]

I've heard talk of using black treacle in brown ales to get that dark caramelly flavour. Might be worth a go?

Black treacle has a unique taste of its own , and in my opinion is not like caramel at all.

 

[Bodleigh Head]

Thanks to the New Scientist, I just discovered recently that black treacle has a lot of iron in it ... it could give a metallic taste to your brew ...

 

[RexBanner]

I like the caramel colour idea shall definately purchase some. The hop tea idea using my coffe strainer appeals.

1. What hops would go well with a brown ale? After a quick squiz online for some reason I seem to think that Eroics and Fuggles would go well?

2. Also what quantaties do I use for 23L? And when would I add it? Bare in mind im a humble kit brewer lol. My general routine is to primary fv for 2 weeks and rack off into a secondary for 2 weeks and then bottle.

 

[chub1]

This might be of interest if you or anyone is looking at making invert sugars-
Making Brewers Invert | half a cat