# Maltodextrin



## Armstrong (10/4/05)

There has been talk in the last week or so of multiple types of maltodextrin, referring to different styles of beer.

This confused the hell out of me and I'm hoping someone can enlighten me. :blink: 

What I know: - 

- Maltodextrin can and is made from any starch base raw materials ... Corn, potato, wheat, tapioca & rice are some that I'm familiar with.
- DE or dextrose equivalent levels vary from as high as 28% down to 5% ... commonly I have come accross 17 & 28DE.

Now, for a brewer these products are used to increase body and mouthfeel without changing a flavour profile ... literally making the beer thicker. The DE levels roughly represent the proportions of fermentable sugar which will be consumed by the yeast leaving behind the remaining solids that give the desired affect. To give a good analogy ... it's like adding corn flour to gravy.

Assuming the above is correct, the different types whether it be 17DE or 28DE would only vary the quantity I would use to get the desired affect.

True or false? :unsure: 

Eager to have anyone's angle on it


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## BeerIsGood (10/4/05)

What he said! Plus, one of the local HBSs told me yesterday it was used to improve head retention. Can the guruswames answer this too? :unsure:


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## sosman (10/4/05)

Guys, since I have never actually used the stuff I can't speak from experience but maltodextrin as bought in aussie home brew stores is generally low in fermentables. It increases OG and FG among other things.

I would be very surprised if the home brew store could tell you the DE of any of the products they are selling. If you have access to various grades, why don't you do a controlled test and report your results back here and enlighten us all. Your reasoning sounds sensible.


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## Vlad the Pale Aler (10/4/05)

Dextrines such as Carapils or Carafoam are grains that need to be mashed or steeped and will increase head retention and body, and are low in fermentables.

Dextrose is a highly fermentable sugar that is mainly used for bottle priming, it ferments out almost completely and will not alter flavour or colour significantly,
aka corn sugar.

Are you refering to the percentage of fermentability in the dextrine malts?

I frequently use Carapils at about 5% when mashing with good results, best way to find out is experiment with different products, but that would mean brewing more beer, bugger.


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## Armstrong (10/4/05)

> Dextrose is a highly fermentable sugar that is mainly used for bottle priming, it ferments out almost completely and will not alter flavour or colour significantly,
> aka corn sugar.
> 
> Are you refering to the percentage of fermentability in the dextrine malts?



Before we get off the track here, I am not refering to dextrine malts but maltodextrin, commonly called "Corn Syrup" in Australia. There has been confusion especially when converting US recipes as they call dextrose "Corn Sugar".

Maltodextrine in simple terms will make a beer thicker resulting in all the effects described in this thread, but no where have I found that flavour profiles are affected by it ... that being the case, it wouldn't matter which one I use (17DE, 28DE, Potato, Wheat or Tapioca) as it would only vary the quantity I would need.

So ... I'm missing something ... and like that feeling when you can't remember an actors name and it keeps you awake, it's pissing me off :angry: 

Ok, it's not really affecting me that much .... but still


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## dickTed (10/4/05)

I'm pretty new at this, but when I stopped using sugars, including dextrose and maltodextrin, and simply replaced them with malt extract - no more head retention problems.


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## pint of lager (11/4/05)

Ok, an experiment for all the maltodextrin users out there.

Take a glass of water, dissolve one teaspoon of maltodextrin in it and sniff and drink it.

Aroma is a burnt sweet aroma.

Flavour on the finish is an unpleasant sourness.

You can decide if this is what you want in your beer.

Nonicman, when I went all malt in my kits, I battled out of balance beers. The kits are designed to go with a kilo of nearly 100% fermentables. When you add LME or DME which is only about 70-80% fermentable, you are left with more long chain malt sugars in your beer, which makes it sweeter, which then needs to be balanced with more hops bitterness. This balance is lacking in most kit beers, especially the lower ibu styles like pale ales. If you are adding all malt to your beers, use the bitter style kits as a base. Or, buy the 3kg LME kits, these should be formulated for the correct residual sweetness: bitterness ratio for that style.


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## Armstrong (11/4/05)

> Ok, an experiment for all the maltodextrin users out there.
> 
> Take a glass of water, dissolve one teaspoon of maltodextrin in it and sniff and drink it.
> 
> ...



Now get a spoon full of irish moss and soak it in idophor ... the resulting flavour & aroma are indescribably horrible. You can decide if this is what you want in your beer.

Come on ... seriously. If you don't use or like a product does that mean there is no merit in using it?
I've used it alot and there are plenty of trophies that say it must be doing some good.

Either way, I'm still no closer to getting my answer


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## BeerIsGood (11/4/05)

pint of lager said:


> Nonicman, when I went all malt in my kits, I battled out of balance beers. The kits are designed to go with a kilo of nearly 100% fermentables. When you add LME or DME which is only about 70-80% fermentable, you are left with more long chain malt sugars in your beer, which makes it sweeter, which then needs to be balanced with more hops bitterness. This balance is lacking in most kit beers, especially the lower ibu styles like pale ales. If you are adding all malt to your beers, use the bitter style kits as a base. Or, buy the 3kg LME kits, these should be formulated for the correct residual sweetness: bitterness ratio for that style.
> [post="53810"][/post]​



The Thomas Coopers 'premium selection' range say they're designed to be used with DME. Some also want you to add LME and the Sparkling Ale requires 300g dextrose. 
Anyone had any luck with these?


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## pint of lager (11/4/05)

> Armstrong
> 
> Now, for a brewer these products are used to increase body and mouthfeel without changing a flavour profile ... literally making the beer thicker.



By doing a quick and easy test, maltodextrin will change the flavour profile. If you use 250gms in a brew, that is about 12 gms a litre, if some of it ferments out, that leaves you with about 10gms a litre, roughly a teaspoon per cup.

Yes, you can do exactly the same with iodine if you want, in the quantities used in brewing. Irish moss is used in the boil and flocs out.

Hanging on the wall here are awards from beers with maltodextrin in them too. I used plenty when making up kits. Many many kit brewers have used this product. The choice is up to each brewer.



> .....Assuming the above (see Armstrong's full post) is correct, the different types whether it be 17DE or 28DE would only vary the quantity I would use to get the desired affect.
> 
> True or false?



True.


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