Belgian candi sugar is commonly used to brew high alcohol beers with a light body. It allows brewers to reach a high original gravity without having to add more malt, thereby adding more body.

Candi sugar is readily available to homebrewers, and is super convenient for brewing high-gravity Belgian style beers. Only problem is, it’ll run ya around $5-6 per pound.

Luckily, candi sugar can be made at home! It’s surprisingly simple too (pun intended). *snicker*

Candi sugar is made by modifying, or “inverting,” standard white sugar, or sucrose. You see, yeast cells have to work pretty hard to split apart sucrose molecules into something they can metabolize (simple sugars). By inverting sugar, you can split the sucrose into fructose and glucose, and the yeast can get right down to business, munching on those lovely simple sugars.

All you need is regular table sugar, water, citric acid, a saucepan, and a probe thermometer that can tolerate high heat (which you may have already if you’re a brewer). A candy thermometer would actually be ideal, if you have one.

Citric acid can be found at homebrew shops and some grocery stores. Alternatively, you can just use the juice of a lemon or an orange.

To make a pound of candi sugar, mix a pound of table sugar with just enough water to make it syrupy, then add a pinch of citric acid or the juice of a lemon or orange. Bring the mixture up to a boil and keep a close eye on the temperature. You want to hold it between 260-275° F (in candy-making terms, this is between “hard ball” and “soft crack”). As the water boils off, the temperature will rise, so add a bit of water at a time to maintain the temperature in this range.

The longer you hold the mixture at this temperature, the darker your candi sugar will become. Depending on how light or dark you want it, you could stay in this temperature range anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple hours. So keep an eye on the color as it boils.

Once you’re satisfied with the color, stop adding water and let the temperature rise up to 300° F (called “hard crack”). Take it off the heat, and pour it onto a sheet pan lined with wax paper, where it will cool and harden.

When it’s completely cooled, you can break it into chunks. There! You’ve made Belgian candi sugar! You can either use it right away, or store it in an airtight container in the freezer.

Following this method, you can save money and gain personal satisfaction by making your own candi sugar! But the fun doesn’t stop there! Now, you also have the ability to take pictures of your friends frozen in time, forever fossilized in amber! Too fun!