If you're going to make Belgian-style beers, you will doubtless encounter references to Belgian Candi Sugar.
Unfortunately, and like so much in the world of writings on home/craft/micro brewing, several people don't know what Belgian candi sugar is.
It isn't something you can make at home, unless you live on a farm that grows sugar beet and have a sugar refinery of your very own. It isn't something you buy in rock-form that someone lovingly crystallised using bits of string over several days or weeks. It isn't invert sugar, or sucrose broken down to fructose and glucose.
It is (as I've just hinted at) all the tasty 'impurities' that are left after you've refined beet sugar.
We don't grow as much sugar beet as we used to in Australia, having moved to sugar cane quite some time ago (but you can find out more about what used to be a significant industry if you get yourself to the Maffra Sugar Beet Museum, or just click here -> http://www.maffra.net.au/heritage/musmaf.htm).
My first Belgian-style beer used dark brown sugar. Like molasses or some of the wiggy sugar slabs you can buy from an Asian grocery, it's very tasty. Quite reasonably priced and very, very easy.
My second such beer used table sugar I broke apart using heat and citric acid. Very inexpensive and fun.
My third will use some actual Belgian Candi Sugar I bought. Stupidly expensive. Just arrives in an ExpressPost satchel, which counts as fun for some people.
I've been laughed at for buying the Belgian Candi Sugar. I've been laughed at for worse. But at least I am being a little bit authentic about it. Time will tell if it is worth the expense...
