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A slow substance for a chilling month but very enjoyable in taste when properly used in brewing. Molasses is obtained during the production of sugar from various other raw products, such as sugar cane or sugar beets. Once the juice has been boiled and the sugar crystals have been removed the remaining liquid is your basic molasses. If you go to your local store in search of some of this fine stuff for your next brewing you will find various grades and colors typically. The choice of names for this sugar syrup seems to reflect regional language preferences rather than any major differences. In the US, "molasses" is the preferred term while in the UK and ex-colonies, "treacle" is used. Over all of this group there are differences between the differently named syrups and there is also a wide variability within syrups of the same name! The only advice is to find one company's product you like since that may be the only level of consistency obtainable.Let’s talk about some of the different forms of molasses. The first form is "Regular Treacle" which is an inverted sugar produced from the residue of refinement. The acid treatment that it goes through darkens it. It is filtered and may have a sulfur compound added to sterilize and stabilize it. Another form is "Black treacle" which is roughly the same flavor as "blackstrap molasses" however the treacle may be produced differently. Light molasses is roughly 90% sugar. Blackstrap is about 50% sugar and has a wide variety of miscellaneous vitamins and compounds remaining. Products known as Golden Syrup are like molasses, in that the refiners start with a syrup that remains after the crystallizable sugars have been removed. They continue to refine this product another step or two before the syrup is removed and saved. Because of this process it does not have as heavy a taste or color as straight molasses. Typical producers of Golden Syrup derive their product from cane sugar and change it to inverted sugars using a strong acid (hydrochloric acid) and then counter-acted by the addition of base (NaOH) after a short time. Some of the golden color is from the acid treatment. The slight salty taste comes from the acid + base combining to form NaCl. Brown sugar, in the US is just refined sugar with some molasses added back in. They add one part molasses to nine parts white sugar or something in that approximate range. The US food law says that only refined sugar (no raw components) can be sold with this name. This law may actually have more to do with enforcing a similar taste for both sugar beets and sugar cane since the beets, when un-refined, have a poorer taste than cane.
In adding I always go for the darkest and unpasteurized versions. If I am going to add a ten ounce bottle to my brew I want to get the most flavor and taste that I can. Molasses rounds out the flavors of beer and adds aromatics. It has the same sweetness intensity, on an equal weight basis, as sugar. Furthermore, molasses adds minerals, body, unique flavor, and has a nutritional profile which is superior to sugar. Molasses is fermentable to a varying degree. This allow some of the taste and color to remain behind in your finished beer. I typically add it to the beginning of the boil. I have heard of using it as a bottling sugar. One cup instead of the priming sugar. I have never tried this but I am intrigued with the additional possible contribution of adding it at the end of the process. Of course you would boil this prior to adding it just to be safe. One of the famous beers that uses molasses is Old Peculier. Try some of this to get a taste for what it can do to a beer.
