Hi Chaos! I have receipe that includes 1lb of Piloncillo sugar in the grain bill. It's a 10 gallon batch (15lbs Marris Otter, 5 lbs Pale Wheat, 2lbs Acidulated Malt, 1 lb Piloncillo sugar) for a British Summer Ale. The way it's written, I was gonna put it in the mash. But all the things I've found online have it going into the boil (10-15 minutes before the end). Have any of you guys used it and do you have any thoughts as to when I'm supposed to use it?
Thanks!
Definitely end of boil. Even at flame out would be ok if you think it will all dissolve before transfer. You could do mash but will loose some of it in the grain.
Another thought is to put it into primary after it has hit peak fermentation and starting to slow. This has to do with how yeast eat sugar. Dissolve it in some boiling water, cool, and pour it in. This is when I add sugar to my beers.
I've used straight sugars many times and always add in the boil, adding to the mash can lead to leaving some sugars behind in the grain bed. Depending on what you want is when I would add it. For turbinado sugar, I’ve always added late in the boil to preserve any molasses flavors. I've also used corn sugar to dry a beer out, since there wasn’t any flavor concerns that was added mid boil (chose a convenient time based on the brew schedule). Since Piloncillo sugar has a molasses component and was specified, I'm assuming that those flavors are desired. My recommendation would be to add as late to the boil as possible and still get it all into solution. I think Piloncillo can be more of a rock sugar, so you will want to make sure you get it fully dissolved before you start to chill.
Thanks a lot for your advice and insight, guys! 15 minutes before the boil end, it is.
Thanks again,
John
I used piloncillo sugar for a tepache recipe over the summer. It comes in hard bricks, so you're definitely going to want to break it up really well before adding to the boil.
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