# Lauri's bricks down to an Art!



## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Hi, All!

With the extension of the daylight hours signaling the arrival of the
early Spring just around the corner, the demand for sugar (carbohydrates) is high. 
My bees are munching on Lauri's sugar bricks since I put them in this past Saturday.
I have been perfecting Lauri's sugar bricks down to an art now!
Here are the steps to making these fine hard bricks.
First is to gather all the needed materials. I have a 1/2" high small baking tray from
the local dollar store. A small sheet of cookie wax paper to line the tray, a gallon size clear plastic bag, a dough roller, a pizza cutter, and a measuring cup. The main ingredients are 4 pounds of sugar and a 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar. I first combine the sugar and vinegar into a gallon size clear plastic bag. Then closed the bag with a rubber band. And using a flipping and kneading motion to mixed in the sugar and vinegar until all the sugar are moist. I like to mix the sugar a bit moist so that they will form a perfect hard brick once cured inside an oven. Then pour the moist sugar out of the bag on the 1/2" baking tray. Using a dough roller I gently rolled the sugar flat on the tray and add more sugar from the bag to fill in the small gaps on the edge of the tray. This will ensure a compact tray full of sugar.
After finish rolling the sugar, I use a pizza cutter to cut the sugar into
2" rectangular shape. Then put the sugar tray into the oven to bake on the
lowest heat setting with just the pilot light on. I let it bake for 5 hours and
then shut the oven off. No need to open the oven for ventilation or anything else. After a day the sugar cake came out as hard as
a piece of brick. 
Since this small tray only hold 3 pounds of the moist sugar, the remaining 1 pound will be put into a small metal dish to cure inside
the oven also. The whole process is fast neat and easy to clean up afterward. My bees went all over these bricks when I took a peek this evening.


See it here:


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Because the oven door was close during the curing process along with the low heat
setting there isn't much vinegar smell outside. 
I use a small knife to pry out the first brick to loosen the rest from the tray. For the
metal dish I just flip it over to pour out the bricks on top of the sugar tray. This was
easily done after they are cured. There will be no loose sugar for the bees to carry out since they 
help absorb some moisture inside the hive. Combine these bricks with the patty subs will make a perfect feed for the
coming Spring expansion. No hive lost yet thanks to the mild winter El Nino year so far.

More pics & bees:


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## jfmcree (Mar 10, 2014)

Thanks for the approach, recipe and tips. I made Lauri's recipe a month or two ago. It came out fine and the bees seem to like it. My bricks were very brittle though. I think I put in too much vinegar. I also added some protein which I think is in Lauri's recipe, maybe as an option.

The low temp approach in the oven worked well for me too. I did stink up the house with a vinegar smell for a day or two opening the oven to check on brick readiness.

Jim.


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

Thanks for sharing! Especially enjoyed your photos!


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## lakebilly (Aug 3, 2009)

I bought the 24 tray Gander Mt commercial dehydrator for deer jerky, Lauri's bricks, & incubating eggs.
I mixed the ingredients for bricks to a tee. put them in the dehydrator 4 times @ low temps FOR 24 HRS!! 4x24 HOURS! They are syrupy still. I stacked them so air could move through & put next to dehumidifier...still no good after 5 days.
I never give up on something I believe in, but I would love to figger out what up.
This ain't doin much for my confidence incubating chicks. I'll starve!


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

So...I have an electric oven... I wonder if lowest temp would be too high. I think around 180 degrees..I oimagine so because you are using only the pilot.


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

lakebilly said:


> I bought the 24 tray Gander Mt commercial dehydrator for deer jerky, Lauri's bricks, & incubating eggs.
> I mixed the ingredients for bricks to a tee. put them in the dehydrator 4 times @ low temps FOR 24 HRS!! 4x24 HOURS! They are syrupy still. I stacked them so air could move through & put next to dehumidifier...still no good after 5 days.
> I never give up on something I believe in, but I would love to figger out what up.
> This ain't doin much for my confidence incubating chicks. I'll starve!


Lauri's recipe should NEVER be syrupy. There is just enough liquid added to make the sugar stick together. If you got syrupy, you added WAY too much vinegar.


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## rjphil (Feb 13, 2009)

You probably added too much liquid. Try cutting it back a bit. Also, I dry the bricks with the oven door open so the moisture can escape.


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

rjphil said:


> You probably added too much liquid. Try cutting it back a bit. Also, I dry the bricks with the oven door open so the moisture can escape.


Electric or gas? If electric how long and temp?


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## rjphil (Feb 13, 2009)

Electric oven, probably 180 or so (the lowest setting). I left them in for about 4 hours, just check once in a while. If they are still moist, leave them longer.


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## jfmcree (Mar 10, 2014)

lakebilly - Check your recipe and ingredients. When I made mine, apart from the initial pour and mix, there was no syrup-like material at all. I think Lauri described the resulting mixture as similar to wet snow. I agree, though it would be sticky wet snow. Definitely, not at all runny with mine and I think I added more liquid than called for.

Jim.


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## Cessna180 (Jan 31, 2009)

May i Help? I mix a 25 pound bag of White Granulated sugar. Never powdered sugar and no brown sugar or organic brown sugar.
Then in 1/3's I mix in the sugar and the 2-1 syrup. To make a better verbal picture...a third sugar then a third syrup. 
I mix this is a 16 gallon tub until it is very well mixed. I also, put in one cup complete bee supplement, and one pound of Mega Bee protein. The protein will be 4% not much.
Then i scoup it in a big measuring cup onto 1/2 inch thick cookie sheets i get from walmart. I roll it out in the sheet real good and even.
Then put it on table with a fan on it for four days. works GREAT! Hope that helps. If you can't get it ask someone else to help you like an 8 year old kid.


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## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

Cessna180 said:


> May i Help? I mix a 25 pound bag of White Granulated sugar. Never powdered sugar and no brown sugar or organic brown sugar.
> Then in 1/3's I mix in the sugar and the 2-1 syrup. To make a better verbal picture...a third sugar then a third syrup.
> I mix this is a 16 gallon tub until it is very well mixed. I also, put in one cup complete bee supplement, and one pound of Mega Bee protein. The protein will be 4% not much.
> Then i scoup it in a big measuring cup onto 1/2 inch thick cookie sheets i get from walmart. I roll it out in the sheet real good and even.
> Then put it on table with a fan on it for four days. works GREAT! Hope that helps. If you can't get it ask someone else to help you like an 8 year old kid.


I'm an Alton brown fan and he said on his show that powdered sugar is nothing more than granulated sugar, blended or pulverized better. So,why not powdered sugar?


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

rookie2531 said:


> I'm an Alton brown fan and he said on his show that powdered sugar is nothing more than granulated sugar, blended or pulverized better. So,why not powdered sugar?


Powdered sugar often contains an anti-caking agent that may or may not be harmful to the bees. Besides, it is much more expensive than plain old cane sugar.


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## BeeBop (Apr 23, 2015)

rookie2531 said:


> I'm an Alton brown fan and he said on his show that powdered sugar is nothing more than granulated sugar, blended or pulverized better. So,why not powdered sugar?


Alton needs to learn how to read the ingredients list on a bag.
Powdered sugar usually contains ingredients to reduce caking.


According to Wikipedia _"An anti-caking agent is generally added during grinding, *typically corn starch, or tricalcium phosphate, at 3% to 5% concentration,* to absorb moisture and improve flow by reducing contact between sugar crystals"_

According to the C&H website _"Powdered sugar has a finer crystal size than C&H® Granulated Sugar and *contains 3% cornstarch *that keeps the sugar soft."_


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## rv10flyer (Feb 25, 2015)

b


Cessna180 said:


> May i Help? I mix a 25 pound bag of White Granulated sugar. Never powdered sugar and no brown sugar or organic brown sugar.
> Then in 1/3's I mix in the sugar and the 2-1 syrup. To make a better verbal picture...a third sugar then a third syrup.
> I mix this is a 16 gallon tub until it is very well mixed. I also, put in one cup complete bee supplement, and one pound of Mega Bee protein. The protein will be 4% not much.
> Then i scoup it in a big measuring cup onto 1/2 inch thick cookie sheets i get from walmart. I roll it out in the sheet real good and even.
> Then put it on table with a fan on it for four days. works GREAT! Hope that helps. If you can't get it ask someone else to help you like an 8 year old kid.


Like your screen name. 

On the recipe...Are you using 25 lbs of sugar plus another 25 Lbs of 2:1 which contains 16+ Lbs of sugar. That would be 41+ Lbs of sugar and 1 Lb of Mega-Bee. Your protein would be just over 1%.


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## farmer0298 (Jan 22, 2016)

Would these sugar bricks be better than making sugar candy(sugar and corn syrup) for the bees? Do these bricks attract beetles as bad as some people say? Its gonna be in the mid 60's here this weekend so i planning on adding something in to give them extra for the nxt few weeks til spring is here.


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## Muzkrat (Apr 13, 2015)

sc-bee said:


> So...I have an electric oven... I wonder if lowest temp would be too high. I think around 180 degrees..I oimagine so because you are using only the pilot.


I use my electric oven on the lowest setting. Mine is 170. I crack the door and cure them for 2-2 1/2 hrs and turn off the oven and let them sit overnight or longer if the oven is not needed. I use 4 lbs sugar and 2/3 cup of vinegar. Rolled out in a pan and precut into 4 sections before curing. Works great for me and my girls love them.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

This has a become a continuing source of amusement. Talk about complicating something so simple!!!

My "Finger paint" version:

1: Dump 3 lbs of sugar in a bucket
2: Add 3 oz of Apple Cider vinegar
3: Mix well - paint paddle & electric drill
4: Dump it in a tin pan (or whatever) & pack lightly.
5: Let it air dry overnight. Direct a small fan over it, if you must.
6: DO NOT DISTURB while drying ( ~12-24 hours) or you may end up with fractured pieces rather than a brick.

Other sizes - 1oz vinegar per 1 lb sugar, other ingredients as desired.

BTW, I'm laughing at myself, too - I did the same thing with my first couple of batches.


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## Norcalkyle (Apr 23, 2015)

I made some last week and couldn't have been happier with the results. 15 cups sugar, 1 cup cider vinegar, mix well, place wax paper down, press and roll until compacted, bake in oven at 170 with door cracked for 5 hours, turn oven off and leave door as is... let sit for 12 hours. 

The bricks were hard and did not crumble, but if you were not careful with them you could break them if you drop or jar them.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Colobee said:


> This has a become a continuing source of amusement. Talk about complicating something so simple!!!


Harley Craig made a post earlier this winter that made me feel like a dolt for having made it so complicated.
4# bag of sugar, 1/3rd cup water, mix and put it in whatever form you want and let it dry. For oven drying preheat to 170* leave in for an hour with door cracked. Kill the heat and let them stay in the oven overnight. So easy and they are hard as a rock everytime. Even just after the hour they are hard to break. I tossed them all in a rubbermaid tote and carted them around with just the tiny jagged edges taking a beating. 

Some I formed in a bread pan and then flipped onto parchment. Some I just heaped and shaped with my hands. The bread pans ones were most stable, but they all worked.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

Yes, it sounds like he has come up with a good "easy bake" method, similar to the "no-bake". 

The one snag I found was with UltraBee - some didn't dry after 2 weeks. I still don't know why, & my possible explanations would just complicate things. I just eliminated that variable. Per Lauri's original recipe - no oven. I even found the dehydrator unnecessary.


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## Bear Creek Steve (Feb 18, 2009)

I'm with Colobee (Post #19 & 22), it's getting too complicated. KISS.

All the recipes are very similar if you are able to measure things. I use Lauri's basic recipe and mix it in a mixing bowl with a whisk, plop it on the kitchen counter, use a rolling pin to make a patty 1/2 inch thick, dice it into 1" cubes with a butcher knife held point and handle, slide it onto a cookie sheet, & put it on top of the water heater in the furnace room over night. In 24-36 hours you can give it to the bees. If you like healthy bees, be sure to add a small "pinch" of electrolyte as per Lauri.

Steve

Upper part of photo are the "diced" bricks, lower part of photo dried bricks ready for hungry bees. (MRE's ?)


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## jhinshaw (Aug 14, 2014)

This is so timely. I'm about to make another batch this week and I'm hoping to not have a bunch of cracking cakes this time! Thanks for the tips everyone!


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

No, you don't have to use the corn syrup to make
these sugar bricks. The bees take them as usual with the vinegar. I'll leave
the corn syrup to make the sugar water thicker for feeding later on.
The binding agent to the sugar is the apple cider vinegar. 
To make the bricks less brittle thoroughly mix them with the vinegar.
And when you compact them further with a roller they will not break off that
easily. 
As for the small hive beetles, we don't have that many here. So
cannot say if they are attracted to these bricks. You can put 1 or 2
bricks on the top bars to do some testing for yourself. If the bees are
all over them like mine then the beetles will not have a chance to hide. Only
when the bees ignore them that the beetles will hide under. The only way
for you to find out is to give them some to try. My bees are all over these
bricks licking with their tongues. Yummy and healthy too!


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Steve, your method gave me an idea to 
use the removable 1" wooden shim to roll the sugar mixture in. After
the sugar cubes are cure just tap and remove the shim. Perfect cubes every time!
Maybe to shape the wooden shim to the size of the bee hive dimension.
I'm sure the 1" sugar cubes will fit in nicely with some beespace too.


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## capathome (Sep 20, 2011)

I have to agree, we beekeepers do tend to make things more complicated than we need. 
My initial attempts to shape and dry Lauri's blocks was a stinking vinegar mess. So I simplified and never looked back.

Mix according to the recipe. Should look like wet snow. I use a 5 gallon bucket, drill and a paint paddle.

Scoop into brown paper lunch bags. Each bag holds about 4 lbs of the mix. Lay bags flat.

Lay the bags out to dry. I use a screened sun porch. I have 20 or so hives, so I make a bunch of these. In a few days, they have gotten firm and EASY TO HANDLE.

Put on a 3 inch feeder rim and lay the bags on the top bars. The bees will eat right through the bag.

The nice thing about the bag system is that 4 bags fit on a 10 frame langstroth and 2 bags fit on my 5 frame nucs.

Easy Peasy, no muss no fuss, no mess, no $300 dehydrator, no vinegar smell from the oven. 

capathome


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## chibilightangel (Jul 5, 2013)

It's great to see how everyone has slightly adapted the method. I've been wanting to make some sugar bricks but I wonder how long they keep once made up? Do you all put them into air-tight plastic containers?

Being in an area where my hives are still covered with snow until mid-march or later most years, I won't be opening them for another month and a half or more, depending on temperature. Could I make up my batches now since things are a bit slower and store them in an air-tight container?


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

Mine are in plastic totes - to keep the mice out and the sugar crumbs contained. They aren't air tight.


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## lakebilly (Aug 3, 2009)

I mixed the ingredients to a tee. The texture after mixing was pretty dry. if anything my dehydrators lowest temp 160° was too high & melted the mix. I bought an electric stove for my honey room, lowest temp is 175° it too made syrup. I let them sit after a couple hours in oven & they came out like peanut brittle. I very much believe the bricks will get my bees through so I am going to keep trying. I was thinking that I would sprinkled top w/sugar & let sit.

I should say that I tried reheating the syrup. I have not yet tried a new batch. I will b4 this weeks high temps. I bought a commercial mixer @ a restaurant supply co. used for $200. (They're 2000. on CL) I have a 55 gallon drum of sugar & a 5 quarts of ACV (Enough for 5 batches) so I'm gonna try again. Maybe a little less than a quart of ACV this time. In reading the description "wet snow", that was what I had the first time. I still suspect too high temps. gonna figure it out, my bees are at the top of supers & lots of winter left.


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## Bear Creek Steve (Feb 18, 2009)

lakebilly,

Why not try a small batch experiment as per my post #23 above tonight on top of your water heater tonight and see what you think of it in the morning, and go from there.

Steve


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## lakebilly (Aug 3, 2009)

will do. I live a ways from my shop where everything is. I have little doubt I messed up somewhere. small batch tests ...good idea. we are supposed to get into 50's this weekend through middle of next. I want to make sure my hives (last years splits) are well provisioned. I had so much work this year I took zero honey, so many of my hives have bees 2-3 boxes from top & are going to be fine. thanks for the input.


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## pgayle (Jan 27, 2008)

The acid hydrolyzes "inverts" the sugar (sucrose) to glucose and fructose. Completely "inverted" sugar is like a clear gel. The more of your sugar gets "inverted" the finer the crystals will be, up to the point where it won't crystallize at all. Heat speeds up this process. Once it happens, you can't go back

I think if you are getting a syrup with Lauri's recipe, and you didn't fiddle with the proportions too much, your heat source was probably too warm and hydrolyzed more of the sugar. 

I learned this the hard way, when I tried to add extra lemon juice to my *cooked* sugar bricks. Seemed like a good idea at the time. I used only 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice per 4# bag of sugar, added the usual amount of water, and cooked as usual to soft ball stage. It never crystallized at all! It has the consistency of thick honey. Recooking will not help. It is still fine to dilute and feed as syrup in the spring. 

Point is, if you have something that works, stick with it. I think the problem is the temperature and time variables. More heat, or more time, or more acid, and you get more of the sugar inverted and thus more syrupy.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

This appears to be a topic that is just begging for complication. The common denominator seems to be "Heat = possible trouble". 

If you are having an issue with "Lauri's recipe", you are probably ignoring it (& baking/overheating).

The way I see it, there are two options:

1) Mix the sugar & vinegar, pack into some container, and patiently wait for it to harden. Or.... 
2) Fire up the oven and hope the aforementioned mix doesn't turn into a syrupy mess. _Sometimes_ it does, sometimes it _doesn't_.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Welcome to Bee Source, chibilightangel!

Once the sugar bricks/cubes are dry as a rock you can
keep them in a container for a very long time. I would say
for a few years without touching any moisture they're still good.
Though for freshness sake I would make them every year when there is
the downtime because the vinegar has an expiration date. Don't know how
much that will affect the bricks if some vinegar are still present.
If you want to make these bricks to last longer then seal
them up using a plastic sealer machine that sucked out all the air.
Then put these bricks in a 5 gal bucket with the lid on. Inside the
plastic bag without the air and moisture I'm sure they will last up to 5 years or more. Still I like the freshness of these bricks. Make them up tonight and use them tomorrow. I'm sure your bees will like them too. 
As for the oven temp, there is a difference of the initial 160-170 degree and
the after warm up temp. If you waited for 5 minutes for the oven to warm up and
then reduced the temp significantly then put in the sugar bricks, your sugar will
not turn into syrup. There isn't enough heat to cook the sugar only a slight
warmth to dehydrate them. The purpose of using the oven is to create a dry environment to speed up the drying process similar to using a conventional dehydrator. It is not to say the more heat (higher temp) the better. 
The secret is to keep the oven and sugar warm over time in order to remove the
excess moisture (mostly in the vinegar.) Also, the amount of sugar you use versus a 4 lb bag will have an affect on how much heat to give them over time. I'm sure a 25 lb bag will take longer to dehydrate in the oven than a 4 lb bag because of more
moisture in the vinegar used. For this to have an initial success try to make smaller batches starting with a 4 lb bag standard from the grocery store. 
After you have the hang of it then expand your batches. Remember this is much like
beekeeping down to an art. Cannot expand until your skills grow, right.
So far mine are mostly 1"x 2" cubes, and the 1"x1" cubes and jw's larger bricks using a baking bread pan.


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## kingd (Oct 31, 2013)

I have used these sugar bricks for a couple of years now and it the bees prefer them over winter patties (both used at the same time).
I use the dehydrator to make mine and have never had a problem,I even used a fan blowing on some and the turned to rock also.

I had some over a year old and still solid also(layered with newspaper).The only time I have seem them crumbly is after they were in the hive for a while.


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## jhinshaw (Aug 14, 2014)

Just thought I would add that I made "fondant bricks" by using the fondant feed recipe and pouring them as bricks. Turned out very similarly. Just boil, cool and pour.


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## ABruce (Dec 27, 2013)

hi,
I have seen in various forms of this recipe, some add citric acid and essential oils, as well as electrolyte powders. Looking at the essential oils has any one just added a couple of tea spoons of Honey Bee Healthy and a little extra sugar? I lifted the lid on one of my hives this weekend and a decent size cluster was right at the top so I am thinking some of these this weekend will be a good idea. I have a day or two before our temps are regularly plus 50 f or something starts to bloom.
thanks


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## Paulemar (Aug 28, 2013)

I don't understand why some folks leave the oven door cracked when heating the sugar bricks. If you leave the door cracked, you are constantly losing heat & the oven must constantly "flame on" to maintain temperature. Having the fire on frequently is hotter than 170º & may melt your sugar. I keep the oven door closed as ovens are very well insulated and maintaining that low 170º temperature is easier with the door closed. I've never had a meltdown using 3/4 oz of water/apple cider vinegar mix per pound of sugar. I let them cool in the oven overnight & the come out hard as a rock, 1-3/4" thick, 6-1/2"X9" bricks. Thats using a 13"X9" cake pan, compressed sugar, cut in half before heating. It works for me.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

"Art" is a good analogy. Every seems to paint the picture a little bit differently.


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## BeeAttitudes (Dec 6, 2014)

lakebilly said:


> I mixed the ingredients to a tee. The texture after mixing was pretty dry. if anything my dehydrators lowest temp 160° was too high & melted the mix. I bought an electric stove for my honey room, lowest temp is 175° it too made syrup. I let them sit after a couple hours in oven & they came out like peanut brittle. I very much believe the bricks will get my bees through so I am going to keep trying. I was thinking that I would sprinkled top w/sugar & let sit.
> 
> I should say that I tried reheating the syrup. I have not yet tried a new batch. I will b4 this weeks high temps. I bought a commercial mixer @ a restaurant supply co. used for $200. (They're 2000. on CL) I have a 55 gallon drum of sugar & a 5 quarts of ACV (Enough for 5 batches) so I'm gonna try again. Maybe a little less than a quart of ACV this time. In reading the description "wet snow", that was what I had the first time. I still suspect too high temps. gonna figure it out, my bees are at the top of supers & lots of winter left.


I did the same thing. Followed the recipe exactly and had the perfect "wet snow". Put them in my electric oven at it's lowest setting (probably 170F or 180F, don't recall) and it turned it into syrup that has never hardened. After reading these posts, I think I left it in the heat too long. Maybe I should retry it and only leave the heat on for 2 hours then let it sit overnight. Or maybe I should just leave the "cake" in the sheet and let it air dry/harden (which I suspect it would have done had I not placed it in the oven).


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## Robbin (May 26, 2013)

BeeAttitudes said:


> I did the same thing. Followed the recipe exactly and had the perfect "wet snow". Put them in my electric oven at it's lowest setting (probably 170F or 180F, don't recall) and it turned it into syrup that has never hardened. After reading these posts, I think I left it in the heat too long. Maybe I should retry it and only leave the heat on for 2 hours then let it sit overnight. Or maybe I should just leave the "cake" in the sheet and let it air dry/harden (which I suspect it would have done had I not placed it in the oven).


I got this once, but it was simple... Too much liquid was added. Been very careful since, 3 tablespoons to 2 cups of sugar, They've turned out awesome. my stove min temp is 170.


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## jhinshaw (Aug 14, 2014)

ABruce said:


> hi,
> I have seen in various forms of this recipe, some add citric acid and essential oils, as well as electrolyte powders. Looking at the essential oils has any one just added a couple of tea spoons of Honey Bee Healthy and a little extra sugar? I lifted the lid on one of my hives this weekend and a decent size cluster was right at the top so I am thinking some of these this weekend will be a good idea. I have a day or two before our temps are regularly plus 50 f or something starts to bloom.
> thanks


I poured a dollop of HBH into my recipe. Made no difference in how well the recipe held up, thankfully.


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## Paulemar (Aug 28, 2013)

Just as a quick follow-up to my previous post. Make sure that you pre-heat the oven. I've left my sugar bricks in the 170º oven for 6 hours before I remembered I had them in there. There was no melting and after they cooled they were hard as a rock.


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## BeeAttitudes (Dec 6, 2014)

Robbin said:


> I got this once, but it was simple... Too much liquid was added. Been very careful since, 3 tablespoons to 2 cups of sugar, They've turned out awesome. my stove min temp is 170.


Sure thought I had the correct amount of ACV. I hope you are right as I wasted 10lb of sugar.


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## aran (May 20, 2015)

i made up 3 trays yesterday all following this recipe-> 1 set up rock hard, the othe two are tacky and soft this am.
weird


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

Lauri's recipe I can't Believe how many people can't follow directions. If you let them air dry with time they work fine. If you go back and get the original Recipe it works. These are not something to be done in a couple hours. I make 20+ of these in a three inch shim, With wire every year. I am talking about 25 lb of sugar. To two and a half to shims per batch


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## herbcoop (Jun 2, 2011)

I was wondering if you could replace the vinegar with real lemon juice?


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Mixing in the lemon juice should be fine if you dilute it a bit. Right now I
found a better way to feed the bees during the winter time. I pour the sugar powder in
large quantity on the bottom board. The bees instantly are all over them. Now you can make
a wooden spacer all the way around the hive. Then load it up with the powder sugar. Place it over
the existing hive for winter emergency feeding. The powder sugar should absorb more moisture while
wetting them for the bees to eat. Powder sugar is more loose than the regular sugar thereby absorbing more
hive moisture from the bees. No need to cook or invert the sugar unless you mix them with the citrus acid.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Note that ordinary confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) usually contains cornstarch as an anti-caking agent. Cornstarch is not digestible by bees, so must be pooped out. If your bees are located where flying/pooping is restricted due to cold winter weather, feeding indigestible solids can have unpleasant consequences for your bees.

Instead, feed ordinary granulated sugar (it costs less too), and if you really have a moisture/condensation problem, deal with it by appropriate venting.

Also, keep in mind that any sugar that is _not_ bright white (such as brown sugar, molasses, 'organic sugar' that has a brown or _off-white_ color, etc) likely has residual molasses solids in it, and poses a similar problem for bees that cannot fly/poop due to weather.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

My-smokepole said:


> Lauri's recipe I can't Believe how many people can't follow directions. If you let them air dry with time they work fine. If you go back and get the original Recipe it works.


What:scratch: There is a recipe, but what about my Art?


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

Art can be expensive. So I stay away from it. I have Heard of to May cases of runny bricks. Because they couldn't follow directions.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

Agreed!

In a year or two I suspect my grand daughter will be able to "finger paint" well enough to make them...

I recently made another batch:

1: Dump 25 lbs of sugar into a plastic tub.
2: Thoroughly mix in 25 oz ACV.
3: Pack into baking pans or cookie sheets.
4: Air dry for 2-3 days. A small fan speeds up the drying process.
5: Remove rock hard bricks, & apply or store.

You can make this ridiculously complex, or so simple that most any 5 year old could do it (with proper supervision).


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## AthensM50 (Jun 7, 2015)

are you guys adding Vitamins & Electrolytes in these bricks? (in the 4lb version)

I didn't see anyone doing this in the 3 pages this far? (Could have missed it!!!)


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

farmer0298 said:


> Would these sugar bricks be better than making sugar candy(sugar and corn syrup) for the bees? Do these bricks attract beetles as bad as some people say? Its gonna be in the mid 60's here this weekend so i planning on adding something in to give them extra for the nxt few weeks til spring is here.


The mega bee is what attracts the beetles. I make the sugar bricks and make some regular, fairly small patties with mega bee. I put a very small amount of honey bee healthy in both.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

AthensM50 said:


> are you guys adding Vitamins & Electrolytes in these bricks? (in the 4lb version)
> 
> I didn't see anyone doing this in the 3 pages this far? (Could have missed it!!!)


except for the essential oils in the honey bee healthy, I don't add vitamins. According to the Hive and The Honey bee. The need for vitamins for bees is not fully researched.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

We don't have many SHB here. They seem to be attracted to all patty subs not just mega alone.
Yes, bees need vitamin and minerals too as well as probiotics. For one they will take up the salt in the patty subs.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Y'all play with your sugar too much! More problems come from cooking than anything else.

Vitamins are proven to have many benefits to include increased winter survival. Essential oil not so much; increase mortality rate, more vulnerable to disease. 

You also can't make vitellogenin with EOs.


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## nchvac (Sep 5, 2015)

Can someone please guide me to the original "Lauri's Sugar bricks" recipe? I have searched several threads that refer to it as if we should all know it by heart or know where it is located (is there a Files section on this forum). Thanks


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## nchvac (Sep 5, 2015)

I am wondering if these sugar bricks attract ants. I poured regular sugar on top of my inner cover (which has a medium box on top of it for insulation) and it drew ants as soon as the bees went back down into the hive. I have driped sugar water in the same area and no ants came after it as the bees ate it. So I am thinking maybe the bees don't want regular sugar this time of the year. They aren't consuming the sugar water too quickly now. Daytime highs in the low 50s, nighttime around freezing lately. I thought they would want the sugar syrup later into the winter but maybe not.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

nchvac said:


> Can someone please guide me to the original "Lauri's Sugar bricks" recipe?


Here you go ...
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?290641-My-recipe-method-for-sugar-blocks


>> (is there a Files section on this forum)?

There is an FAQ forum with links to threads on popular topics, but that covers only a small percentage of total forum threads. The FAQ thread titled "Sugar Syrup/Block Recipe" includes a link to Lauri's recipe.


The Advanced Search feature is particularly useful if you already know the member name of the post/thread creator that you are looking for. If you aren't looking for posts by a specific member, then the _Google Custom Search_ on the Beesource Home page (that is _not_ the Forum Main page) is a good choice. Look for that at the top here: http://beesource.com/ You can easily get to the Beesource Home page by clicking directly on the Beesource logo at the top of _every_ page.

.


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