# Newbie question - replacing dextrose/sugars with caramalt



## Stevo the Devo (20/10/15)

Erm, my first post is a cry for help lol. I am new to this home brew kegging scene but a mate gave me a tin of mangrove jacks belgian ale and a morgans caramalt. Well come Sunday I boiled it up with some light crystal grain and mangrove jacks belgian ale yeast and put it down. 

Now, two days later, the complete lack any fermentation action clues me that the caramalt aint a substitute for dextrose or any other sugars! Im sure its going to be funny in a few years time but its pretty embarrassing right now!

My question though is whether its possible or advisable to to crack the lid now and put some dextrose mix in, and if so what would be a good mix?

Feel free to have a laugh, I'm laughing at myself right now


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## goatchop41 (20/10/15)

I wouldn't worry too much about using the Morgans caramalt instead of dex - the resulting beer will be darker and a bit sweeter than the originally planned one, but it'll still be beer (albeit probably a lower ABV one), and it'll still taste nice if you ferment it well/in a controlled manner.
I wouldn't be faffing around with opening it and adding dex now, just let it ride out, and take it as a lesson learned as you drink it later!

The apparent lack of fermentation is likely due to a completely different factor (both tins that you added have plenty of sugars for the yeast to munch away at, so it should be ok).
Let's go through a list:
1) What temperature was the wort at when you added the yeast?
2) Did you rehydrate the yeast?
3) What temperature have you got the fermenter at now?
4) What are you relying on to tell you that there's no fermentation? If you're using an airlock and it's not bubbling, sometimes it can be due to a poor seal on the fermenter. Is there any foam/bubbles on the surface of the wort now?


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## sp0rk (20/10/15)

Have you tried doing a gravity reading?
DO NOT rely on the airlock for an indication of fermentation activity
You say you boiled the yeast? bad move if you did, that will kill it


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## Stevo the Devo (20/10/15)

Thanks guys will have a look tonight re the airlock and bubbles. The wort was around 22 degrees when j pitched the yeast, certainly didnt boil the yeast sorry if I typed a little unclearly! It is sitting on arou d 22 now. I didnlt think to take a specific gravity reading though.


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## TheWiggman (20/10/15)

First thing's first - the tin of Belgian Ale contains some sugars and WILL ferment. If you didn't add any dextrose if all else is fine then it will ferment, as goatchop41 says. 

Being a crystal malt it has already been converted; that is to say, you don't need to mash it to get sugars out of it. By weight, it's is not a direct replacement for dextrose and you will only get limited sugars out of it. Typical potential of a light crystal malt is 78%, and assuming a mash efficiency of 75% you'll need 1.7kg of steeped crystal malt for the same impact on gravity as 1kg of sugar.

Did you steep the crystal? You've stated you "boiled it up". You want to leave it rest in ~70°C water for up to 30 mins, strain the grain, THEN boil.


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## Stevo the Devo (22/10/15)

Heheh it was the airlock goin gangbusters now! Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated.


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## manticle (22/10/15)

To answer the question - yes you can add in dex. Just be sanitary (boil it up in water), careful (don't splash) and know how much you want to add.


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## gone brewing (22/10/15)

You might find this really useful. It's a kit and extract beer designer by ianh

http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/29655-kit-and-extract-beer-spreadsheet/page-26#entry990422


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