Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale

I've been brewing with black treacle for some time now with my stouts, porters and other (UK) ales. There are many folks on the forums that will swear that it's the same as black strap molasses, but I wholeheartedly disagree. It has a much more complex and richer flavor than that. I can't seem to find the source, but someone once told me that it isn't just cane sugar (like molasses) but also contains beet sugar - dunno. What I do know is that there *is* no substitute in my brewery. I love the stuff!

I mention this because Lyle's Black Treacle can be hard to find. (Their Golden Syrup - also very delicious - is much more readily available.) When I lived in Cleveland, the only store that carried it was about a half hour's drive and it was about $5 a can. Well, Food of All Nations (http://www.foodsofallnations.com/) carries it and best yet, it's just above $4 a can.

Cheers-

What amount would you use for a 5 gal batch, Christopher.  I have heard of brewers using treacle, but never tried it myself.  Any idea what SG boost you would get from using the treacle?  I only ask because if I were to sub it in an existing recipe for a stout or porter, I would likely want to drop the base grain a bit so that I could still hit my original gravity numbers.

Cheers,

Tom

I've always put in about a 1/2 can (which is about 240g). I just made a strong ale (OG 1.092) & used about that much. I'm not sure how it affects the numbers, I've never studied it. I've typically used this in porters & stouts, but this is my first time with a strong ale.

I just received an email from Tate & Lyle's regarding the expiry dates on their black treacle:

"The reason we strongly reccommened it be disposed off after the expiry date is reached is that  in certain storage circumstances and or prolonged storage, some of the sugars in the treacle can break down and the tin can become pressurised due to an evolution of gas formed by a  complex type of "Maillard" reaction.

The treacle will still remain  wholesome in it's original form.

T & L SUGARS
Thames Refinery
Factory Road
Silvertown
London"

Here's more information on the "Maillard" reaction: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction

Interesting.  I read that to mean, "open old cans at your own risk, as they may explosively de-gas."