Belgian Candi Syrup. D-180, D-90, D45

[manticle]

It's a silly use of the word I'll grant you. Doesn't make the farming methods or market entirely a con though.

There are unfortunate and laughable turns of phrase just about everywhere you look and that's only ever going to increase.

 

[lael]

Healthy pitching rate/adequate starter size, reduced temperature at the beinning allowed to slowly rise through fermentation, incremental feeding of candy sugar post main ferment, adequate clean up time, long conditioning/lagering time are all things that have helped my bigger belgian style brews.

looks good! still looking at making my own - but want to buy to see the difference. Which dark syrup are you buying? craftbrewer? do you use a combination of syrups or all dark?

 

[manticle]

D2 (darkest) bought variously from grain and grape, craftbrewer and gryphon. Tasting the unfermented product suggest same/very similar product.

 

[mje1980]

The clear candi isn't worth the cash but the very dark stuff is quite different in flavour from anything I have ever made. It's expensive but I use it only in special brews. It's pretty distinctive as a syrup and those flavours carry over. Bottled up a dark strong recently that I will try and age for a year or so so a few extra bucks is worth it.

+1000.

Got a link to the recipe mants??

 

[manticle]

Will hunt up when I get home from work.

 

[A3k]

OK, so i had great success with my latest dubbel. it used the belgian D syryp, but was only 6.2% of fermentables. This stuff http://shop.beerbelly.com.au/ingredients/adjuncts/dark-belgian-candi-syrup-i.html

My previous attempt was way to dry, too much syrup flavour and too much yeasty banana etc. So i mashed this one higher, fermented much lower, aerated more and reduced the candi syrup (now pretty similar to Jamil's recipe).

It's awesome. I need to get some commercial ones to compare.
I think it could do with some more yeast character, but different yeast character than my first. Next time, i'll increase the temp a bit, and aerate heaps (i think the aeration was the big problem in my previous attempt).

Anyway, I bought 8 saches of candi syrup from these guys: http://www.candisyrup.com/
4 x D-180
3 x D-90
1 x D-45

I'm looking forward to trying some of their recipes.

 

[aaronpetersen]

I have tried both the D2 from G&G and the D180 from candisyrup.com (bought some last time I was in the states). Straight out of the packaging I thought they tasted very similar, although if I recall correctly the D180 may have been slightly more acidic. I can't comment on whether they taste different in the finished beer as I used them both together in the same batch.

 

[A3k]

Cheers Aaron,
I might need to do a side by side test with the two. Would be very easy to make a double batch, and put the different syrup into different fermenters.

Either way, I now have 8 packets coming, so will need to get my Belgian on!

 

[A3k]

My syrup arived.
Looking forward to making some brews with this stuff.

 

[lael]

mmm - look great! what was the total cost? how do they taste?

 

[A3k]

Total cost was $109USD (~$120 AUD). so it came to $15 each (mostly postage), so still more expensive that the stuff we get here, but i'll get over it.

I haven't tasted it yet. will let you know shortly.

Cheers
Al

 

[manticle]

Will hunt up when I get home from work.

Well I got home from work a while ago but completely forgot.

We might have altered a couple of things on the day and this was over two separate systems, runnings combined in one kettle. My 26L esky tun which can produce about 30 L of wort of 1080 + beer if I push it and Vitalstatitix's herms with 50 L mash tun.

3/4 candy sugar was added post ferment in 200g amounts (actually in really rough approximate pours). I used 1762 with two packs in a big starter but it still stalled at 1030. I tried warming and a fresh starter with 1762 and got her down to about 1020 and then racked onto another active starter with 1388 and got her down to 1012. Wanted 1008 but she just wouldn't give any more. Tastes good - the 1762 throws a lot of red apple ester in early stages but conditioning knocks that right back.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: 20130330 - ROCHEFORT 10 TRIBUTE
Brewer: Andrew *2
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 71.87 l
Post Boil Volume: 60.32 l
Batch Size (fermenter): 50.00 l
Bottling Volume: 50.00 l
Estimated OG: 1.093 SG
Estimated Color: 66.5 EBC
Estimated IBU: 22.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 81.7 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
10.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 -
0.20 kg Rice Hulls (0.0 EBC) Adjunct 2 1.0 %
15.00 kg Pilsen (Dingemans) (3.2 EBC) Grain 3 72.0 %
1.25 kg Pale Wheat (Dingemans) (3.2 EBC) Grain 4 6.0 %
0.75 kg Special B (Dingemans) (290.6 EBC) Grain 5 3.6 %
0.62 kg Biscuit (Dingemans) (44.3 EBC) Grain 6 3.0 %
0.50 kg Aromatic Malt (Dingemans) (37.4 EBC) Grain 7 2.4 %
0.25 kg Caramunich Malt (110.3 EBC) Grain 8 1.2 %
0.50 kg Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 EBC) Sugar 9 2.4 %
10.00 g Calcium Chloride (Boil 90.0 mins) Water Agent 10 -
55.00 g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [5.30 %] - Boil Hop 11 11.5 IBUs
55.00 g Styrian Goldings [3.50 %] - Boil 80.0 mi Hop 12 7.6 IBUs
1.25 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 13 -
25.00 g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [5.30 %] - Boil Hop 14 1.8 IBUs
25.00 g Styrian Goldings [3.50 %] - Boil 10.0 mi Hop 15 1.2 IBUs
2.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins) Other 16 -
0.20 g Coriander Seed (Boil 10.0 mins) Spice 17 -
2.0 pkg Belgian Abbey II (Wyeast Labs #1762) [12 Yeast 18 -
1.75 kg Candi Sugar, Dark (541.8 EBC) Sugar 19 8.4 %


Mash Schedule: HERMS - ROCHEFORT 10 TRIBUTE Stepped mash
Total Grain Weight: 20.82 kg
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Step Add 46.44 l of water at 61.4 C 55.0 C 5 min
Step Heat to 62.0 C over 10 min 62.0 C 15 min
Step Heat to 68.0 C over 6 min 68.0 C 45 min
Step Heat to 72.0 C over 4 min 72.0 C 10 min
Step Heat to 78.0 C over 6 min 78.0 C 10 min

Sparge: Fly sparge with 49.04 l water at 75.6 C
Notes:
------


Created with BeerSmith 2 - http://www.beersmith.com

 

[mje1980]

Thanks mate. I have 1762 in the fridge. I also have 3725 which has really stolen my heart, or liver I guess. I reckon it'd work pretty good too. Cheers again

 

[manticle]

Try and age some for a year or more.

 

[lael]

How long did it take to start to shine? Did you feel like you got close to the rocheforte?

 

[fattox]

I've been looking into getting some of these - I'm looking to do a Gulden Draak clone soonish, and my recipe needs ~562 grams of each (approx).

Would you recommend those guys' one? From the candisugar.com link?

 

[A3k]

[SIZE=medium]Hi Fattox, sorry I didn't see this earlier. I just had a the same as a PM from someone else. here's the response.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Yeah I’ve made two beers with them. They we're good to deal with directly, and fast to respond to questions.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The first was a blonde double batch, but in one I put sugar, the other the D90. Both were nice. It was actually a really good test of what the syrup brings. I didn't was going to do a side by side with D/D2, but didn't here.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]The second was a dubbel (based on Jamil’s BCS Dubbel) with D90, with the same recipe as a previous I made with the D or D2 syrup sourced locally.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Both dubbels (D/D2 and D90) turned out too dry, but both nice. I preferred the character from the D90 but the one with D2 wasn’t as dry (probably due to mashing) so the beers were on par, but different. Unfortunately the recipe is rather complex, so the syrup was likely masked slightly by the darker grains.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]I don’t have a huge experience with dark Belgians though. The reviews I found indicated that cadisyrup.com was the way to go, and with the effort involved in these beers, I fussed about the additional cost[/SIZE]. It wasn’t too expensive as I bought heaps to spread the cost of shipping, but shipping just one or two seemed overly expensive to me.
[SIZE=medium] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]I do plan on brewing more Belgians with these, but it may be a while. I'll probably try some recipes from the Candisyrup website.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium] [/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, let me know (the above probably doesn't read very well). I'll post this in the forum link you quoted too.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Cheers.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]Alan[/SIZE]

 

[Mardoo]

Hey A3k how did you get in touch with them? I've used the contact form on their website three times and no word back yet. Love to try the sugaz.

 

[A3k]

[SIZE=medium]I bought them in sept last year. Looking at my email, it appears that I used the contact form too, and then they started emailing me.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=medium]I was then corresponding via the following contact[/SIZE]


Daniela DiBiase

Accounts/Sales - Candi Syrup, Inc.

[email protected]

[SIZE=medium]looking at my emails, I received 3 emails one day, 2 another etc (trying to sort out efficient postage).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]Sounds like they’ve dropped the ball a little. Well, a lot.[/SIZE]

 

[Mardoo]

Great, thanks! I'll try her address and report back.