Barley malt syrup is easy to make, and it adds a great depth of flavor to a variety of foods. Learn how to make your own using only 2 ingredients. I love using it in a lot of baking/bread recipes especially if you want to make authentic bagels, pretzels, and even rye bread.
Ingredients
- Stout Beer (Guinness Extra Stout) – using an IPA will make the syrup bitter and it is not recommended. Go with a Stout beer
- Dark Brown Sugar –
The easy part of this recipe is that whatever amount of beer you use, you add the same amount of sugar.
You add both ingredients together in a large pot. You want to use a large pot since the mixture as it boils will rise and could overflow your stove. When I made this recipe I used (2) 12-ounce bottles of Guinness Extra Stout and 2.5 cups of dark brown sugar.
Mix the ingredients and cook on a med/low heat until it reduces to 1/2 the volume. This could take about 30-40 minutes.
Store in the fridge.
Here is what your syrup will look like after it has been reduced and then cooled in the fridge.
Can you stir it while it’s cooking or will it crystalized?
Hi Jessie,
I kept on stirring as it cooked. You want to keep it on a medium/low flame (I use a gas stove, so if you are using something else, whatever is that temperature). Also, when you are pouring it into your glass container, keep the lid off to prevent condensation, then cover and keep in the frig. I have had mine for a long time, and it never crystallized.