Author: Matt Del Fiacco

There are a variety of sugars used in brewing that find a place in many different styles, one of the more common being candi syrup, which is a staple for styles such as Tripel and Belgian Dark Strong. In addition to contributing certain flavors to beer, adding this type of sugar is also a method for increasing the amount of alcohol without using more grain. However, such sugar additions can raise certain risks including increased osmotic pressure and enabling yeast to pursue the more simple sugar before maltose, both of which can lead to under-attenuated beer.

In an effort to combat these potential problems, some brewers have moved away from making sugar additions during the boil, opting instead to add the highly fermentable substance once active fermentation has started to wane, the goal being to decrease osmotic pressure on the yeast and thus create a more optimal environment. This methods is also said to preserve some of the more “delicate” flavors contributed by the sugar, which the boil and fermentation processes are believed to drive away. Moreover, adding sugar after high krausen ensures the yeast has ample opportunity to ferment the complex sugars extracted from the mash before moving on to the simpler sugars, resulting in a well attenuated and drier beer.

A seemingly novel method, at least based on the lack of information I could find on it, involves adding the sugar during high kräusen. In addition to preserving more flavor by not adding the sugar to the boil, advocates for this approach have some other ideas underlying its efficacy. It’s believed that by adding sugar when the yeast is most active yet fermentation is incomplete, it is better able to tackle the demands of metabolizing both the complex and simple sugars. Furthermore, the lower alcohol environment during high kräusen is thought to benefit the yeast as well, since higher concentrations of ethanol are known to negatively impact viability. Having tried the other common methods, I was interested to see how this approach would compare and designed an xBmt to test it out!

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between a beer made with Belgian Golden Candi Syrup added during the boil vs a beer with the same addition at high krausen.

| METHODS |

A local brewery makes an incredible Belgian Golden Strong, and so it has been on my list of beers to try making for quite some time. After some insistence from my wife that I make the style, I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to test out this variable.

Light Bringer

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 4.5 gal 90 min 26.4 IBUs 5.2 SRM 1.082 1.016 8.8 % Actuals 1.082 1.008 9.8 % Fermentables Name Amount % Swaen©Pilsner 12.625 lbs 92.66 Candi Syrup, Golden 1 lbs 7.34 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Magnum 14.4 g 60 min Boil Pellet 12 Czech Saaz 14 g 30 min Boil Pellet 3.5 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Gnome (B45) Imperial Yeast 74% 65°F - 75°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 51 | Mg 5 | Na 8 | SO4 72 | Cl 61 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

Having collected RO water that I adjusted with minerals the night prior, I kicked things off by heating the brewing liquor brew day morning.

As the water was heating, I weighed out and milled the grains for each batch.

Once strike temperatures had been reached, I mashed in then check to make sure I hit my intended mash temperature.

I took pH readings 15 minutes into each mash confirming they were similar.

Once the 60 minute mashes were finished, I removed the grains and began heating the wort. During the lull, I weighed out the same amount of kettle hops for both batches.

Each batch was boiled for 60 minutes with the candi syrup added to one batch with 10 minutes left to go while the other batch was left alone.

With the boils complete, I quickly chilled each batch using my CFC and running the wort directly into fermentation kegs.

Hydrometer measurements at this point showed the boil addition wort was at the expected 1.082 OG while the kräusen addition wort was at 1.075 OG, predictably.

I tucked the kegs away in my fermentation chamber and let them both settle to my pitching temp of 64°F/18°C before returning to pitch a single can of Imperial Yeast B45 Gnome into each batch.

Both beers were actively fermenting 2 days later, which is when I went ahead and added the candi syrup to the kräusen addition batch.

I gently increased the temperature of the fermentation chamber over the next 4 days until it was sitting at 80°F/27°C, where I let it sit for an additional 5 days before taking hyrdometer measurements confirming FG had been reached for both beers.

I then proceeded to pressure transfer the beers to sanitized serving kegs.

The beers were place in my cold chamber for an overnight crash before I fined with gelatin and hit them with high pressure CO2 for carbonation. Perhaps as a function of the Imperial B45 yeast, these beers refused to drop clear, even after a couple weeks of conditioning.

| RESULTS |

A total of 26 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt during a monthly CHAOS Homebrew Club meeting. Each participant was served 1 sample of the beer with the candi syrup added during the boil and 2 samples of the beer with the beer added at high kräusen in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the sample that was unique. While 14 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to accurately identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, only 12 (p=0.12) were capable of doing so, indicating participants in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a Belgian Golden Strong Ale where the candi syrup was added during the boil from one where it was added at high kräusen.

My Impressions: Based on my sampling prior to collecting data, I wasn’t confident at all I would be able to tell these beers apart, the tasted like the same beer. Out of 5 triangle tests, I selected the odd-beer-out 3 times, which isn’t much better than random chance. I expected the beer with the syrup added during fermentation to be a bit more crisp and clean, which unsurprisingly is what I detected in biased side-by-side tastings, despite the fact they finished at the same FG. I perceived both beers as having the same spicy aroma with low alcohol notes and a grape-like flavor that reminded me of white wine characteristics. I’ll definitely be brewing this recipe again with some minor tweaks, the IOY Gnome yeast knocked it out of the park and I think it may become a staple around my home.

| DISCUSSION |

From the perspective of a speculative brewer who has a decent grasp of yeast and fermentation, the idea that making sugar additions when yeast are most active might reduce the risk of certain problems that can occur when sugar is added in the boil sort of makes practical sense. However, the fact participants in this xBmt could not reliably tell apart Belgian Golden Strong Ales made using either method calls this claim into question. Furthermore, when viewed in light of the non-significant results from a previous xBmt on staggered sugar additions, it seems the timing of sugar additions may not have all that big of an impact in terms of both objective and subjective measures.

Going into this xBmt, I wasn’t so much interested in the perceptible qualities of the beers as I was the differences that could be objectively measured. I’ve a particular fondness for big beers and have dealt with stuck fermentations in the past, so I can relate with the desire to use methods to reduce the risks of it happening. I thought it was interesting that both beers in this xBmt came back with the same exact FG, indicating equal attenuation regardless of when the sugar was added.

It seems plausible this lack of a difference is due in part to advancements in yeast production and overall quality, as each batch was hit with 200 billion yeast cells. Interestingly, nobody noted any flaws in either beer despite the fact I didn’t propagate the recommended pitch rate with starters, they were pitched directly into each high OG wort and fermented as expected.

This is an interesting variable to me, one I plan to continue exploring using different sugars, methods, and beer styles. Until then, I’ll stick with my standard process of adding it to the boil because it’s what’s easiest for me.

If you have thoughts about this xBmt, please feel free to share in the comments section below!

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