Dark Brown Sugar

[fuddnuddler]

G'day,
seeking info about what adding dark brown sugar does to a brew.
Am a kits'n'bits brewer and been adding it to some darker brews such as English bitters and porters with pleasing results, but just curious as to what more experienced brewers reckon are its flavour qualities/benefits/drawbacks??
cheers

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Pluses +

Adds colour (if needed)
Adds a slight caramel flavour

Minuses -

Thins beer out a bit, which is usually bad for a porter or stout. I found that steeping grains added a far better result for colour and flavour

Having said that, my last dark beer had it, and I liked the fact that it thinned the body with Windsor yeast, or FG would have well been over 1.025 (yes, that's right, I didn't do a typo). As it stood, 1.022 was about right, not cloying at all.

Do a little research as to how to steep grains (temps, types of grain - spec vs mash) - whilst Malt Extract will give you some nice benefits, the sheer number of different varieties of grains offers flexibility that malt extract can't.

I wish when I Was doing K&B that I had access to Smoked Malt, Peated Malt, Pale Choc, Caramunich III, Biscuit Malt, Abbey Malt and those sort of spec malts - I'd have made some better kit beers.

And if you choose to look at going all grain (you may not want to, but if you do) it's a nice gentle learning curve to start steeping.

Goomba

 

[fuddnuddler]

Thanks Lord (why did it feel strange typing that??!!)
Am steeping grains, but also adding 200g of dark brown, from your reply it seems a bit un-needed...much appreciate the advice,
cheers

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Not necessarily unneeded - you may wish for a thinner body - it's depends on what you want to brew. If I was thinning out a kit beer - stout, porter or dark ale, it'd be my adjunct of choice.

Goomba

 

[fuddnuddler]

Cheers again, thanks for your feedback. Am not really seeking to thin out, more about the flavour for me.
And off topic completely, but any seriously successful KnB recipes for darker beers (ie EB, porter, stouts) you recommend? Particularly interested in the grains you mentioned to enhance a kit, but not sure quite where to start (only using basic roasted barley/med crystal/caramunich at the mo')
Thanks again