[gmac]

I'm not sure I really know what candi sugar is.  How does that differ from plain table sugar, especially "light" candi?  Our sugar is mostly from beets so I don't know how much different it would be.  Is it worth buying for a saison or would a lb of table sugar get me close enough to where I need to be?
Thanks

[hamiltont]

"Belgian candi sugar" is basically "Inverted sugar" Here's a WIKI discussion about Inverted sugar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invert_sugar To be honest, I have just as good of luck using basic table sugar. Cheers!!!

[denny]

Actually, I don't believe the candi rock sugar is inverted.  It's simply lumps of (usually) beet sugar.  IMO, it adds no more flavor than table sugar, even the dark rocks.  The candi syrup is a different story, though.

[gmac]

So what I'm hearing is - use a lb of sugar.

What about corn syrup instead since it's usually more fructose.  Regular sucrose is fructose + glucose.  Any thoughts on using light corn syrup instead of sugar?  I'm fine with sugar, now I'm just curious.

[denny]

So what I'm hearing is - use a lb of sugar.

What about corn syrup instead since it's usually more fructose.  Regular sucrose is fructose + glucose.  Any thoughts on using light corn syrup instead of sugar?  I'm fine with sugar, now I'm just curious.

Make sure it's a brewers corn syrup, not one for cooking that make have salt or other flavors added.  But even then, you're not gaining anything.  Regular table sugar will work just as well.

[gmac]

When do you add sugar?  I just brewed an amber ale and I was shooting for 1.060-1.062 but came up quite short in my efficiency.  I calculated at 85% but only got 76% (I am using a new 2-row which may be part of the problem).  So, my gravity is only about 1.050.  Can I add a lb of sugar to bring it up higher now or should I wait until the yeast have had a chance to munch on the maltose first? 

This beer is fairly heavily hopped, at least for me (1.5 oz Centennial @ 75, 1 oz Casdade at 30, 1/2 oz Cascade at 15, 1/2 oz at 0, 1 oz to go in for dry hops).  Being lower gravity than I expected will it be out of balance with lower alcohol?  Or just leave it at session strength and live with it?

[denny]

When do you add sugar?  I just brewed an amber ale and I was shooting for 1.060-1.062 but came up quite short in my efficiency.  I calculated at 85% but only got 76% (I am using a new 2-row which may be part of the problem).  So, my gravity is only about 1.050.  Can I add a lb of sugar to bring it up higher now or should I wait until the yeast have had a chance to munch on the maltose first? 

This beer is fairly heavily hopped, at least for me (1.5 oz Centennial @ 75, 1 oz Casdade at 30, 1/2 oz Cascade at 15, 1/2 oz at 0, 1 oz to go in for dry hops).  Being lower gravity than I expected will it be out of balance with lower alcohol?  Or just leave it at session strength and live with it?

I generally add sugar early in the boil, but that's just so I don't forget about it.  You can add it just about any time, though.  Mix it with some boiled and cooled water to dissolve it first.

[nateo]

Corn sugar is just D-glucose, or dextrose. Table sugar is sucrose, which is 50%/50% levulose/D-glucose. Glucose is the right-hand molecule, and levulose is the left-hand molecule. Beet sugar is also just sucrose.

During sugar refining, the manufacturer removes sugar from the plant material (sugar cane, beets, dates, etc.), and then removes the remaining plant material from the sugar. Plain white sugar is basically only sucrose. Sucrose is sucrose, no matter where it came from. Chemically, white sugar from beets is identical to white sugar from canes.

Yeast have enzymes that break sucrose into dextrose/levulose, so they have no problem eating sucrose, levulose, or dextrose. How they metabolize each sugar is pretty much the same. I've read that some breweries that make weizens will add dextrose to their wort because it encourages yeast to make either 4VG or isoamyl acetate, I can't remember which one.

Candi syrup is made from sucrose that has been cooked into a dark syrup by a bit of caramelization, and a lot of Maillard reactions.

[tankdeer]

I generally add sugar early in the boil, but that's just so I don't forget about it.  You can add it just about any time, though.  Mix it with some boiled and cooled water to dissolve it first.

Same here, unless the beer has an inordinately high percentage of sugar, but that's not often.

[bluesman]

I generally add sugar early in the boil, but that's just so I don't forget about it.  You can add it just about any time, though.  Mix it with some boiled and cooled water to dissolve it first.

Same here, unless the beer has an inordinately high percentage of sugar, but that's not often.

I usually add sugar during the last 10 minutes of the boil. YMMV.

[tubercle]

Its best to add it to the boil if known at that time.

 When it becomes necessary as in the OP's case I always add sugar using the 1/2 rule.

 If you need to add 2 lbs then add half day 1 (1 lb), half of whats left day 2 (1/2 lb), half of whats left day 3 (1/4 lb) then the rest day 4 ( 1/4 lb).

 Don't ask me why because I don't have a clue. Just an old wine maker's trick. To keep from stressing the yeast I guess.

[nateo]

Some people add sugar late in the boil because increasing the sugar content will make the wort darken more. So if you care about what color your beer is, and want a really pale golden strong or something, I'd add it post boil.

I've also heard that when you add it to the boil, the yeast MAY eat the simple sugars first, some of them may lose their ability to break down complex sugars, then struggle to chew through the malt sugars. In practice, this is probably not an issue, at least it has never been an issue for me.

[bluesman]

Some people add sugar late in the boil because increasing the sugar content will make the wort darken more.

Adding the sugar later in the boil will also allow for better hop utilization in the beginning of the boil.

[astrivian]

According to How to Brew, yeast can lose their ability to ferment maltose (from the malt) if there is too much simple sugar in the beer. The limit the author gave for sugar was 30% of the total OG for the wort. For five gallons, 30% is a whole lot of sugar. I added 2 pounds to some of my higher gravity beers with no issues (got 80% AA).

Personally, i like corn sugar because it just adds to ABV without doing much else (i pretty much only do high gravity beers). Adding a pound or two of sugar cuts down on the malt you need by a bit. For light beers like trippels or golden ales, i always add sugar at the very end of the boil so it doesn't change the color of the beer. For darker beers, i liked adding at the beginning of the 90 minute boil for the same reasons mentioned on this thread.

I used dark candi sugar syrup once for a dubbel but i messed up other aspects of the beer so i couldn't tell what it was actually like. The sugar tasted good though

[morticaixavier]

According to How to Brew, yeast can lose their ability to ferment maltose (from the malt) if there is too much simple sugar in the beer. The limit the author gave for sugar was 30% of the total OG for the wort. For five gallons, 30% is a whole lot of sugar. I added 2 pounds to some of my higher gravity beers with no issues (got 80% AA).

Personally, i like corn sugar because it just adds to ABV without doing much else (i pretty much only do high gravity beers). Adding a pound or two of sugar cuts down on the malt you need by a bit. For light beers like trippels or golden ales, i always add sugar at the very end of the boil so it doesn't change the color of the beer. For darker beers, i liked adding at the beginning of the 90 minute boil for the same reasons mentioned on this thread.

I used dark candi sugar syrup once for a dubbel but i messed up other aspects of the beer so i couldn't tell what it was actually like. The sugar tasted good though

you can save a little money by just using table sugar in place of corn sugar. not really much difference there. I have never been able to tell the difference. I have not used candi sugar so I can't speak to that though.