Beer Toffee

[Mercs Own]

I have been playing around doing beer caramels etc and am finding it impossible to actually make a beer toffee - it just doesnt want to set. Also doing my caramels that doesnt seem to want to set either and if you leave it for a day it seems to seperate. Perhaps I havent quite cooked it down enough.... Often when the caramel cools it crystalise's....

Any one had better luck than me?

I have tried using different beers and having them flat - three days old and some i have whisked over an afternoon to flaten and then use, others are fully carbonated and straight into the pan - they always foam up when caramelising.

General recipe is 1 cup of sugar to half cup of beer - simmer and reduce

what say you....

 

[manticle]

try it with wort instead.

 

[Mercs Own]

try it with wort instead.

Yes I can see how that would work really well how ever I am putting some recipes together for the main stream ie people who cant and dont have access to a ready supply of wort so I am trying to get it to work with craft brewed beer.

 

[manticle]

In that case I'm not sure. Toffee works because the sugar reduces and caramelises (I'm sure you know already) and wort has plenty of sugar. Beer has very little so there's not much to play with.

Maybe try this (making it up - have no idea if it will work)

For soft toffee:

Place sugar in pan, gently heat and stir until all sugar is melted. Continue until sugar just starts to brown
Slowly add beer (watch for spitting) and stir in. Reduce to syrup, remove from heat and allow to cool.

For hard toffee:

Add beer to pan, simmer to evaporate alcohol. Add equal portion of sugar, dissolve and cook out until large bubbles form. Test with spoon. Cool and allow to set.

I've no doubt you're pretty familiar with toffee making - my guess is you need to treat the beer like you would water and get rid of the alcohol. It might be you just need to mess about with proportions.

Alternatively they could try it with hopped tins (which are readily available).

 

[Wolfy]

Does it have to be toffee?
Wort + agar makes a nice firm jelly, so you should be able to the same with beer very easily and still retain the flavour of the base-beer you are using.

 

[DUANNE]

does it have to be hopped? i would imagine the beer as it reduces would get really bitter. maybe something based on saunders malt extract may be more the go?

 

[bradsbrew]

Hey Merc have you tried making beer fudge? I am thinking chocolate stout fudge :icon_drool2: . I am off to quiz swmbo on how she malkes her fudges and might give it a go tmorrow on my RDO.

Cheers

 

[Mercs Own]

In that case I'm not sure. Toffee works because the sugar reduces and caramelises (I'm sure you know already) and wort has plenty of sugar. Beer has very little so there's not much to play with.

Maybe try this (making it up - have no idea if it will work)

For soft toffee:

Place sugar in pan, gently heat and stir until all sugar is melted. Continue until sugar just starts to brown
Slowly add beer (watch for spitting) and stir in. Reduce to syrup, remove from heat and allow to cool.

For hard toffee:

Add beer to pan, simmer to evaporate alcohol. Add equal portion of sugar, dissolve and cook out until large bubbles form. Test with spoon. Cool and allow to set.

I've no doubt you're pretty familiar with toffee making - my guess is you need to treat the beer like you would water and get rid of the alcohol. It might be you just need to mess about with proportions.

Alternatively they could try it with hopped tins (which are readily available).

Cool I will do this tomorrow as the alcohol could be the issue....I will let you know - although you do simmer the caramel for 20 minutes so you think you would cook off the alc early on in that process?

 

[manticle]

You'd think but sometimes the slightest thing can make the chemical difference.

I assume you've seen what the tiniest drop of water can do to melting chocolate?

Once I whisked egg whites for over two hours to make a mousse. Couldn't understand what was wrong but finally assumed that maybe a drop of water had got on the whisk. Chucked the whites, cleaned and dried the bowl and whisk very thoroughly. Next lot took about 5 minutes to hit soft peak. Point being - the tiniest bit of the wrong thing at the wrong time leads to the wrong product.

Interested to see how you go anyway.

 

[Fourstar]

does it have to be hopped? i would imagine the beer as it reduces would get really bitter. maybe something based on saunders malt extract may be more the go?

yeah, tried making a kangaroo reduction with some home made stout, ended up an ugly bitter mess. it tasted great before iit got quite condensed.

If anything, i'd look at using a low hopped but malty or distinct malt beer as the base. a good option would be something like Weihenstphaner Original or with a high caramel/crystal component.

i'd try using the beer as a complete replacement for water. Besides, doesnt the toffee colour and 'hardness' only happen once the water:sugar ratio reaches a certain point?

 

[Mercs Own]

yeah, tried making a kangaroo reduction with some home made stout, ended up an ugly bitter mess. it tasted great before iit got quite condensed.

If anything, i'd look at using a low hopped but malty or distinct malt beer as the base. a good option would be something like Weihenstphaner Original or with a high caramel/crystal component.

i'd try using the beer as a complete replacement for water. Besides, doesnt the toffee colour and 'hardness' only happen once the water:sugar ratio reaches a certain point?

using only beer and sugar thats it.

the beer you decide on using depends on what flavour you are trying to achive in the final product - the world is your oyster in that regard.