Has anyone used molasses as a sugar source? How much should I use per gallon? Should I supplement with sugar as well?
My plan is to use coffee as a base, then make a syrup with blackstrap molasses (and maybe supplement with demarara sugar), chocolate, and cinnamon as the fermentable.
I’ve used it in beer, but never as the only fermentable. Blackstrap has a strong flavor. 8oz in a 5 gallon batch of stout is very noticeable, for me. I don’t get rum flavors from blackstrap (though maybe they’re lost in the stout). I get molasses, which is OK if that’s what you want. If you’re looking for rum flavors I’d go with a lighter molasses than blackstrap and probably supplement with brown sugar.
Blackstrap is really strong. I don’t even like to bake with it. I’d drop down a level in darkness (here in Canada, I think it is just termed “cooking” molasses, while “fancy” is weaker still… don’t know about the USA).
Barbados is lower in color. Sometimes called “unsulphured.”
I have a good source of molasses that is unsulphured. To ferment molasses your best bet is to use bread yeast. That is how they grow bread yeast (with molasses) so it will ferment molasses well without much i the way of added nutrients. At least, this is how Rum distillers do it.
I’m definitely going for molasses flavor and not rum. I love putting a teaspoon of blackstrap in my coffee in the mornings. My goal is to get a smooth, velvety, chocolatey flavor and feel. After reading here and a few other places, this is the recipe I’ve come up with. Any adjustments you’d recommend?
3 Gal. Cold brew coffee
16oz dark chocolate
2 cinnamon sticks
15oz Molasses
2lbs Demerara Sugar
Simmer 1 gal. water for 30 min. Add cinnamon and sugar at 30min, chocolate at 15min, molasses at 10min. Pour syrup into cold brew and cool to 70*. Add cool water to bring to 5 gal. Pitch yeast.
My plan is to let it age at least six months or so to mellow out the molasses.
I would use unsweetened baking chocolate rather than just “dark choclolate.” Go for 100% cacao.
Personally, I think you would do better to brew 5 gallons of a simple Irish Stout (maybe underhop it slightly), add 8 oz (no more than 1 lb) molasses and 1 can of baking cocoa (and the cinnamon stick if you need it) at flameout, then add half a liter of concentrated cold brew coffee (made from boiled, but chilled water) at bottling/kegging. I think you will get all the rich chocolatey molasses you want from that. I think distilling a cocoa molasses sugar mix will end up thin and horrible-tasting.
I too have used molasses in a beer, Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Molasses Stout. Did not get any of the chocolate or PB flavor, but did end up with a creamy Oatmeal Stout with just a hint of molasses in the flavor, using 8 oz of unsulphered.
I am brewing a Scottish 80/- right now. The recipe calls for unsulphured molasses. I am going with 8 oz (aka 1 cup, aka 1/2 pint, aka 250ml). ;).
My experience with molasses is to use it sparingly