We can now make all of the recipes featured on Ron Pattinson’s “Shut Up About Barclay Perkins” “Let’s Brew”
http://www.unholymess.com/blog/lets-brew
Invert sugar is fructose and glucose instead of sucrose. These sugars have a different mouth feel and taste then sucrose. They are easier for yeast to consume than sucrose.
Ingredients: raw cane sugar, water, phosphoric acid, baking soda
Available at Homebrewing.org:
https://www.homebrewing.org/search.asp?keyword=beckers
Thanks for the heads-up! Also, one can easily make their own invert sugar at home. I use “turbinado” sugar and a touch of lactic acid (which is on hand with my brew stuff anyway). Of course in buying the commercially produced sugars there’s consistency in the color - degree of caramelization - whereas in making them at home I’m estimating when its reached the desired color. I’ve used my homemade invert in English ales. The Belgian candi sugars are also invert, though sometimes another sugar may be blended in.
Glad to see that. Matt Becker of Becker brewing is producing this. He showed me the steam jacketed kettle he had bought used, and would refurbish. He needed to find the right packaging and have it meet tamper safety requirements. Saw that label too.
Matt has helped sponsor Ron Pattinson trips to the US. A talk at Eastern Michigan U’s fermentation school is part of that too.
Matt and several Ann Arbor Breweries have been doing historic beers from Ron’s blog. He knew there was a market.
Hopfenundmalz - Cool! Sounds like you’re “in the know”. I’ve been following Ron Pattinson off and on for a while now and find his pursuit of historical recipes fascinating.
I think he covered 3 days in MI.
Has it been 2 years?
I remember reading that post of Ron’s and was thinking that might be what you were referring to.
Matt is also going to supply in Craft Brewery bulk sized packages for craft breweries.
Invert sugar has been available in the US for a pretty long time, you can get Lyle’s Golden Syrup in most grocery stores. Simplicity Candi Syrup is another product that has been around for a while. That said, it’s cool to see these other grades available here. I’ve used Lyle’s in many of my English style ales over the years, but I can’t honestly say that I’ve notice any real difference compared to normal table sugar. I am curious to see what these grades of invert are like. I use D-45 every now and then in non-Belgian styles for color and flavor, but these inverts might be more like what I’m looking for.
Now, Brewer’s Caramel is an English product that I’d love to see available in the US. I sucked it up and paid for shipping to get some from a UK homebrew shop. I liked using it, but not enough to justify the extra cost.
I’ve never been able to get my invert dark enough to be invert no. 3. I am excited to try this in a dark mild. I do think I was on my way to cracking the secrets of making invert syrup.
I was pretty excited when I saw the add pop up on Ron Pattinson’s blog. Even better the link is to a homebrew shop in my state. Then I saw the price. Yikes! $24/can… $8/pound plus shipping. Sugar In The Raw is only $4/pound. I can’t justify paying double the price of what I can easily make at home.
I’ve made my own invert and probably still will. I might buy one to support him.
Matt has to buy the sugar (not sure if he has bulk buys, i.e. let’s say a Supersack, he told me one place sold by the semiload only), pay rent, energy, and the packaging. It is maybe cheaper than many honey varieties.
Except neither of them are the same as brewer’s invert. Golden syrup is only about 56% invert, and UK brewers have a strong preference for cane sugar as opposed to candi which is made from beet.
i seen it available for many many years, its easy to make too, table sugar and some citric acid and a candy thermometer
Available where Matty?
morebeer,northern brewer, amazon, pretty much every online homebrew supply
I doubt you found it at either morebeer or northernbrewer… or any other online homebrew supply because it has not been available until the product mentioned in the OP. You may have found invert sugar at Amazon but it is for baking and only comes in a very pale color. You might be able to sub it for invert #1 but not #2, or #3. The other Amazon results when you search “invert sugar” are for Lyle’s, candi and a variety of other sugars and syrups. None of which are the same as real brewers invert.
i stand corrected, its candi sugars/syrups not invert sugar but what really is the difference in terms of the final beer? i doubt anybody would be able to tell the difference if you split a batch and used candi in one an invert in the other
Citation needed.
Pretty much any British commercial brewer would disagree with you - they’re different things. The processing is different, and if you try to process less refined beet sugar you get a cabbagey flavour that you don’t get with cane.
Have you ever read this. http://www.unholymess.com/blog/beer-brewing-info/making-brewers-invert
It cracks me up:
Why should you take the time to do this the Right Way?
No, anemia cane sugar isn’t the same. Shup.
No, look that rock @#$@# and candi (seriously with an “i”… you mean like strippers?) isn’t the same.
Jesus… I quote multiple homebrewing forum experts here: “You aren’t going to see any difference in taste.” and then “it adds nothing to a beer that plain cane sugar doesn’t.” HORSE SHIT. There just happens to be an entire industry and 100+ years of brewing history because it is a fancy way to get sugar into a beer? Again, HORSE. SHIT.
If you need more convincing, read the great articles on Barclay Perkins
i have used invert sugar before, granted it was homemade( could have made it incorrectly) and i have also used candi sugar, the invert was not any different the candi syrup(beet sugar) but i never really cooked the invert to a really dark color i stopped at golden so maybe it did not invert fully, but i am no means a sugar expert so just posting my experiences, i would like to try some store bought invert and try it out