In the introduction of Brew Like a Monk I wrote there is no “i” in sugar to make the point that when American brewers and Belgian brewers talk about “candi sugar” they aren’t necessarily discussing the same product.

Quite simply, Americans didn’t understand what the Belgians use because it wasn’t sold in the United States. That has changed.

Randy Mosher, who did the technical edit, and I discussed the logistics of presenting BLAM without using that term - just to avoid the confusion. That wasn’t quite possible - in part because so many American brewers say “candi sugar” when discussing the rock candy they include in brewing.

Because the rock sugar is crystallized it contains few of the impurities of caramelized sugar syrup from which it is produced, and that means less of the flavor. That caramelized sugar syrup is what most brewers of dark Trappist/abbey ales use.

(Randy wrote about this in more depth in the March 2006 issue of All About Beer Magazine.)

The difference is obvious when you taste the two different versions “candi sugar” side-by-side. Until now that wasn’t possible for an American brewer. Now it is because the same syrup that Belgians use is available in the United States.

Brian Mercer, an avid homebrewer, has begun importing syrup directly from Belgium. Several homebrew supply retailers have the sugar in stock, and information is available at the Dark Candi website.

There will be some experimenting and sharing of information before brewers are confident about how to best use this syrup - but homebrewers and commercial brewers have already begun the process.

Here’s a bit of feedback received from a homebrewer in Florida:

“Had the pleasure to taste a fellow homebrewer’s Westy (Westvleteren) clone made with the Belgian syrup that Brian is importing. It was made from a 50/50 grain bill of pils and pale malt and 500ml of the syrup. One of the best homebrews I’ve tasted. It was even under carbonated and tasted incredible. I really believe simplicity in terms of ingredients is one of the key components for these beers.

“By way of comparison, I made a Rochefort clone that had pils, pale, special B, carafa III, flaked maize, and something else that escapes me. I really think all the grains compete for flavor and hide the nuances of the yeast. It’s like I told him: His beer tasted like it was made in Belgium, mine was like it came from Tampa.”

How much color does that syrup add? What combination of sucrose (white sugar) and syrup do you need to capture the flavor you want?

I’m sure we’ll learn more in the coming months. Feel free to e-mail me or add a comment here.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 24th, 2006 at 11:43 am and is filed under Homebrewing, Ingredients. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.