Inverting Cane Sugar - School Me

[munchen]

Hi All:

Been lurking for a while, brewing and wine making on and off since early 2002.

I'm fond of Belgian biers and have a Triple on the schedule for later this week. Candi Sugar gets expensive, as I'm sure y'all know.

Anyhow, before I ramble on... I was inspired by this thread a month or two ago: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f25/man-i-love-apfelwein-14860/index17.html and decided to add an apfelwein into the rotation. I don't currently have enough corn sugar on hand and I'm quite far from my nearest HB store.

SO.... I was thinking of just inverting some can sugar as a cheap alternative and to practice for the next time I put together a bier that calls for candi sugar. The only problem is that I'm finding some of the info on how to invert the sugar to be on the vague side.

Anyone who has actually successfully done sugar inversion, how much lemon juice (acid) do you use per lb of cane sugar? My googling has only result in answers like "a little", which is way to subjective for me. Can anyone help shed some light on how much I should use?

Ein Prosit!

 

[BackAlleyBrewingCo]

Here ya go!

Making Belgian Candi Sugar

There are several recipes. One says 1 tsp of cream of tartar or lemon juice to 1 cup sugar, others have different ratios.

 

[munchen]

Here ya go!

Making Belgian Candi Sugar

There are several recipes. One says 1 tsp of cream of tartar or lemon juice to 1 cup sugar, others have different ratios.

Great, thanks! I actually read (skimmed) thru that one once while looking for my answer, but threw my hands in the air when I read " a pinch of citric acid..."

I will try the 1 tsp / cup route. If anyone else has any other input on type of acid and ratio to sugar, I'm open to all suggestions!

Thanks!

 

[jjp36]

This thread has some great info too

 

[z987k]

Great, thanks! I actually read (skimmed) thru that one once while looking for my answer, but threw my hands in the air when I read " a pinch of citric acid..."

I will try the 1 tsp / cup route. If anyone else has any other input on type of acid and ratio to sugar, I'm open to all suggestions!

Thanks!

I never measure the amount of acid, you just need a little bit... I guess if you were making a lot, you would need more, but...

 

[ThinkinDavid]

try the link from jjp36. I have tried one of the recipes there and it works great. Gave my beer some awsome depth. (careful if your cooking at high altitude, though. Make sure to correct for those things.)

This thread has some great info too

 

[CaptYesterday]

Could be way off base here, but I believe that yeast will invert cane sugar before consuming it. I think that's the basis for Jamil recommending cane sugar in his recipes as opposed to shelling out money for Candi sugar at the local store.

 

[PseudoChef]

Could be way off base here, but I believe that yeast will invert cane sugar before consuming it. I think that's the basis for Jamil recommending cane sugar in his recipes as opposed to shelling out money for Candi sugar at the local store.

Correct, yeast have no problem metabolising sucrose.

 

[munchen]

Maybe I'm confused.

I know that cane & beet are sucrose and that yeast will produce the invertase enzyme then break the sucrose down to glucose and fructose for metabolism. Correct?

My recollection is that something about that process can lead to off flavors. This would be the benefit of using inverted or belgian candi sugar. Am I mistaken? If so, why use inverted or belgian candi vs. table sugar?

 

[Denny]

My recollection is that something about that process can lead to off flavors. This would be the benefit of using inverted or belgian candi sugar. Am I mistaken? If so, why use inverted or belgian candi vs. table sugar?

This is the crux of the biscuit....there is no reason.

 

[PseudoChef]

If your sugar addition isn't in excess of say 20-30% (estimate) of the fermentables (also depending on recipe formulation), you pitch an adequate supply of healthy yeast, and keep your fermentation temperatures where the yeast like to be, you shouldn't be having any off flavors.

 

[cubbies]

O'Flannigan put a great write up in the Wiki a ways back. I personally think it is the best step by step procedure on the web. LINK

As for yeast inverting sugar, they can, but it makes them stress. However, that being said, you need not waste your money on light candi sugar. All you need to invert sugar is heat and a little acid. Well, wort is plenty of acidic, and you are boiling it, so there is certainly plenty of heat. If a recipe calls for clear, or light, candi sugar, just add plain ole cane sugar at the end of the boil. However, if you are looking for color and/or flavor out of your sugar addition, then I would suggest making your own rather than shelling out the $; and I would recommend using the procedure in the Wiki.