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Author: Phil Rusher

The ingredients used in brewing have changed in many ways since people first began making beer. Due in large part to careful record keeping and tons of experience, brewers eventually landed on barley as the chief source of fermentable sugar, though some realized certain non-barley adjuncts can increase alcohol content while also contributing distinct flavor characteristics. One such example is the practice of using simple sugar, particularly when it comes to the production of Belgian-style beers.

Sucrose is found in myriad agricultural products and is typically processed into the white granulated table sugar known to most people. While table sugar can and has been used to make beer, some brewers began relying more heavily on invert sugars, which is sucrose that’s been broken down into the monosaccharides fructose and glucose via the use of both acid and heat, purportedly making it easier for yeast to digest. Such sugars come in two main forms– crystalline candi sugar, which is similar in appearance to rock candy, and a viscous liquid referred to as candi syrup, both of which are known to be quintessential in the production of Belgian beers including Dubble, Tripel, and Quad.

Despite coming from the same source, there are some out there who claim candi sugar affects beer character in ways that differ from candi syrup, perhaps as a result of the form in which they are presented. I’ve used both in my own brewing and can’t say I felt there was a huge difference, but I’ve never compared them side-by-side. Curious to see how they stacked up against each other, I designed an xBmt to test it out.

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between beers made with either crystalline Belgian candi sugar or Belgian candi syrup.

| METHODS |

Wanting to keep things simple to showcase any potential differences, I went with a Belgian Golden Strong Ale dosed with equal amounts of either candi sugar or candi syrup for this xBmt.

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Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 25.0 IBUs 3.9 SRM 1.087 1.012 10.0 % Actuals 1.087 1.003 11.3 % Fermentables Name Amount % Mecca Grade Pelton: Pilsner-style Barley Malt 13 lbs 81.25 Candi Sugar OR Candi Syrup 3 lbs 18.75 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Hallertau Magnum 15 g 60 min Boil Pellet 11 Saaz 30 g 20 min Boil Pellet 2.4 Equinox (HBC 366) 15 g 10 min Boil Pellet 15 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Gnome (B45) Imperial Yeast 74% 65°F - 75°F Notes Water Profile: Ca 62 | Mg 0 | Na 8 | SO4 75 | Cl 60 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

I began by collecting the full volume of RO water a couple days ahead of time.

On brew day, I adjusted the water to my desired profile and began heating it up before milling identical sets of grain for each batch.

With the water adequately heated, I stirred in the grains and set each Grainfather to maintain the same 151°F/66°C mash temperature.

While waiting on the mash, I weighed out the kettle hop additions for each batch.

Following the 60 minute mash rest, I removed the grains and sparged.

Both batches were then brought to a boil and, after 40 minutes, either type of sugar was added to each wort.

After another 20 minutes boiling, the worts were quickly chilled, at which point I took hydrometer measurements showing a fairly notable difference in OG.

Equal volumes of wort were racked to identical fermenters that I placed in the same 65°F/18°C chamber before pitching a pouch of Imperial Yeast B45 Gnome into each.

Both beers were showing signs activity the following day.

After 7 days of fermentation, I increased the temperature in the chamber to 75°F/24°C and let it sit another 5 days before taking hydrometer measurements confirming FG had been reached.

At this point, I proceeded with transferring the beers to CO2 purged kegs.

The filled kegs were placed in my cool keezer and burst carbonated over the course of a couple weeks, at which point they were ready to serve to tasters.

| RESULTS |

A total of 21 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served 2 samples of the beer made with candi sugar and 1 sample of the beer made with candi syrup in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. In all, 12 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, though only 4 did (p=0.95), indicating participants in this xBmt were unable to reliably distinguish a beer made with crystalline Belgian candi sugar from one made with Belgian candi syrup.

My Impressions: While I felt both of these beers tasted crisp and had the characteristics I associate with Belgian styles, I perceived the one made candi syrup as being more slightly more smooth and less sharp than the one made with candi sugar. In my own biased triangle test attempts, I identified the odd-beer-out more often than not, but they were definitely more similar tasting than I expected based on the ABV difference.

| DISCUSSION |

From a molecular perspective, candi sugar is the same as candi syrup, the only real meaningful difference being that the latter possesses a higher water content. However, some brewers maintain each type of sugar imparts its own unique characteristics to beer, leading to preferences for one or the other. The fact tasters in this xBmt were unable to distinguish beers made with the same proportion of either candi sugar or candi syrup suggests it may not have a noticeable impact.

What makes these results so surprising is that the beers had one glaringly obvious difference– the one made with candi sugar was 11.3% ABV while the candi syrup version was at 9.8%. Both being relatively potent, it’s possible any differences due to the alcohol levels was covered up by some other component such as Belgian yeast character. While I’d learned both types of sugar could be used interchangeably, hence the use of equal amounts of either in each beer, the 0.009 OG difference can likely be explained by the fact candi sugar has a higher PPG (1.046) than syrup does (1.032).

Belgian candi sugars and syrups are preferred by many brewers because they’re invert, which purportedly makes them easier for yeast to digest. However, it’s well known that yeast produce invertase, the glycoprotein responsible for breaking sucrose down into fructose and glucose, leading one to question the necessity of using processed sugars in brewing. Regardless, Belgian candi sugars and syrups come in various darknesses that are know to impart beer with desirable flavor characteristics that can’t be achieved with table sugar. For this reason, I’ll continue using Belgian candi sugars in my brewing, the form of which will be decided based on convenience and price.

If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please do not hesitate to share in the comments section below!

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