# Adding dextrose



## ajmuzza (3/5/14)

I've been working my way through some efficiency issues over the last couple of brews. Still not solved, but in the interim, after my recent trip to the states, I'd like to have a go at a bigger beer, say 6.5ish abv. That being the case, there's no way with my current efficiency I'll get to the required OG in my urn. So I'm looking at adding some dextrose to the boil. 

I assume it's simply a matter of chucking the dextrose into the recipe calculator and seeing the effect on og. Can anyone give me any guidance on the effect on taste and whether there's a max amount of dextrose to grain ratio.

Cheers

Muz


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## Yob (3/5/14)

I prefer to add later in the ferment, too much simple sugars early can make your yeast lazy and can have trouble finishing, depends on how much you want to add though of course, why not dme instead?


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## ajmuzza (3/5/14)

Could add dme. Just thought that most people added dextrose. Dextrose is cheaper, but that's not the determinative factor.


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## JDW81 (3/5/14)

ajmuzza said:


> Could add dme. Just thought that most people added dextrose. Dextrose is cheaper, but that's not the determinative factor.


Dex is 100% fermentable and will thin out your beer somewhat. If you use malt extract you'll boost your gravity, but also be left with a bit of residual unfermentable sugar so you will have some more body to match to strength of the beer. Dex is cheap, but LME won't break the budget. IMHO you'll get a better result boosting your gravity with malt extract (which is what I do if I miss my target gravity by a few points)

JD


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## Fat Bastard (3/5/14)

To reiterate what the others have said, it depends if you want a "bigger" beer or a drier, yet more alcoholic beer. 

I use dex in big IIPA's because I want them more alcoholic, yet quite dry tasting, but if I was to undershoot my FG and needed to fix that without thinning the beer, I'd reach for the DME.

I think DME is what you want in this case.


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## verysupple (6/5/14)

JDW81 said:


> Dex is 100% fermentable and will thin out your beer somewhat. If you use malt extract you'll boost your gravity, but also be left with a bit of residual unfermentable sugar so you will have some more body to match to strength of the beer. Dex is cheap, but LME won't break the budget. IMHO you'll get a better result boosting your gravity with malt extract (which is what I do if I miss my target gravity by a few points)
> 
> JD


Just to clarify, dextrose only dries out a beer if it replaces some of the malt. E.g. If the all-grain part gives you OG = 1.050 and FG = 1.012, then adding dextrose only changes the OG, the FG will still be 1.012 - so not really a drier beer, just more alcoholic. Yes, alcohol is less dense than beer, but the extra alcohol will change the FG by an immeasurable amount (I did the calculation once and determined that, for a 23 L batch, adding a few hundred grams of dextrose changed the FG by less than my measurement uncertainty).

EDIT: Of course, in my example, the same AG wort with dex added will be drier than if you added malt extract. It's just that it won't be drier than no addition at all.


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## manticle (6/5/14)

Keep in mind it's not just the FG - it's the mouthfeel and balance that makes a beer 'dry'


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## verysupple (6/5/14)

Yup true. I guess the extra alcohol will change the mouthfeel a bit. But how much are we talking here? 5 - 10% dextrose probably doesn't change it very much. You'd probably be able to tell the difference in a side-by-side but I'm not sure you would otherwise.


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## VP Brewing (21/7/14)

I brewed an IPA today and got an OG of 1.055 so after a few hours of thinking I decided to boil up 500g of LDME in a litre of water, let it cool and just threw it in. Was worried about there being too much hops (57 IBU) for the malt and it wouldn't be balanced. The yeast had already been pitched. Now it should be 1.060 and 54IBU. Probably won't make a huge difference but hope it works.


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