Belgian Strong ale, Saison, and sugar question

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by GeeL, May 12, 2017.

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  1. GeeL

    GeeL Initiate (0) Aug 27, 2008 Massachusetts

    Hi. I'm brewing a Belgian Strong (golden) ale and a Saison later today. I was doing preparations and it occurred to me that although the recipes call for cane sugar, I wondered if I should be using light Belgian candy sugar or syrup. I don't have any, so it's really a moot point; however, I could use "sugar in the raw" to get some flavor instead of regular white sugar.

    Thoughts?

    Thanks.
     
  2. epk

    epk Pundit (849) Jun 10, 2008 New Jersey

    The general consensus typically is that Belgian clear candi sugar isn't worth buying over simply using cane sugar. However the darker versions will actually add some flavor and depending on the variety, quite a bit of color. I prefer the dark syrups in this case.

    As for more raw sugars, I've used Turbinado in my darker Belgians. I've read it can give about 10L, so keep that in mind. They say it will add light moslasses flavors, but I've actually never used it without darker candi syrups, so I couldn't really tell you how much.

    Since these two beers you noted are both probably pretty pale, you might want to just stick to the cane sugar, though I could see some raw sugar in a Saison being nice if you can actually get any flavor contribution out of it.
     
    #2 epk, May 12, 2017
    Last edited: May 12, 2017
  3. Brewday

    Brewday Zealot (721) Dec 25, 2015 New York

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  4. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I use cane sugar when I brew my Dubbels, Saisons, and Tripels.

    I use dark Belgian candi sugar when I brew my Quads.

    IMO plain old cane sugar is fine for many Belgian Ale styles.

    Cheers!
     
  5. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    I've made a nice Duvel-ish beer with just table sugar. I'll sometimes use demarara -Sugar in the Raw- for pale Belgians. I've used dark candi syrup in dubbels (great stuff) and have wondered about but never used the lighter syrups. Probably not too different from white sugar?
     
  6. crcostel

    crcostel Initiate (0) Feb 26, 2006 Illinois

    Planning on putting D45 syrup in a BPA in a week. Supposed to give toffee/caramel notes but I'll let you know what I think.
     
  7. GeeL

    GeeL Initiate (0) Aug 27, 2008 Massachusetts

    I mixed 50%-50% white sugar and raw cane sugar for both.
    We'll see what happens...

    Thanks everyone!
     
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