Adding extra dextrose at day 7

[axematt]

gday all.

New to the forum and been a voyeur for too long so here is a question form a noob who’s in the middle of the first brew.

Put down a coopers pale ale 5 days ago using 04 yeast and 600g of LDME 300g dextrose and 300g of maltodextrine. Been kept at a very constant 19.5 degees but it looks like it’s finished. I took a reading today and it was 1.023 down from 1052. That’s a bit low for what i wanted and was wondering if it doesn’t get any lower can I chuck in a bit more dextrose and yeast to kick things a long again or is that pretty much it? Or might it improve if I leave it a bit longer even if there is no bubbling action.

Appreciate any advice.

Cheers

 

[brewgasm]

From that reading with those fermentables and that kit It may have not finished fermentation. I would give it a couple of days and check again.

 

[brewgasm]

Although I believe adding dextrose during /late in fermentation is not that uncommon and may benefit the beer because the yeast has already processed the more complex sugars.

 

[hoppy2B]

5 days is still pretty early. Get a large sanitised spoon or something similar and stir up the yeast on the bottom a few times to get it to finish off a few more points if you can.

Maltodextrine is at least part of the problem. If you add dextrose, hopefully you will do a boil, also add some yeast nutrient and half a teaspoon of gypsum. The sulphate in gypsum is good for yeast health.

 

[Rick88]

How many litres did you make the brew up to?

If it was 23L, your OG should have been around 1.042 with only 900g of fermentables.

 

[koshari]

Regardless. Adding more dextrose WON'T result in a lower final SG. The gravity will bump up a bit making a new intermediate gravity but then as the added sugers ferment it will settle a tiny bit higher than now.

 

[captain crumpet]

Regardless. Adding more dextrose WON'T result in a lower final SG. The gravity will bump up a bit making a new intermediate gravity but then as the added sugers ferment it will settle a tiny bit higher than now.

How will FG settle higher if the fermentable added is 100% fermentable?

 

[hoppy2B]

How will FG settle higher if the fermentable added is 100% fermentable?

+1

I'd expect the final gravity to drop slightly because alcohol has a lower gravity than water. And if the dextrose is boiled up in water, the addition of the water will also reduce the final gravity.

What Koshari says would be true for malt extract but not dextrose.

 

[Rocker1986]

The volume of the brew is important to know here. If it was mixed to 23 litres then the 1.052 OG is way off. With those ingredients it'd be more around 1.036-37.
One thing you could try is raising the temperature a few degrees then check it again in a few days. 1.023 if that is the actual reading is definitely not done.

 

[hoppy2B]

The volume of the brew is important to know here. If it was mixed to 23 litres then the 1.052 OG is way off. With those ingredients it'd be more around 1.036-37.
One thing you could try is raising the temperature a few degrees then check it again in a few days. 1.023 if that is the actual reading is definitely not done.

He's used a Coopers Pale Ale can as well as the other stuff listed there. Or at least that is how I understand the OP.

 

[themonkeysback]

gday all.

New to the forum and been a voyeur for too long so here is a question form a noob who’s in the middle of the first brew.

Put down a coopers pale ale 5 days ago using 04 yeast and 600g of LDME 300g dextrose and 300g of maltodextrine. Been kept at a very constant 19.5 degees but it looks like it’s finished. I took a reading today and it was 1.023 down from 1052. That’s a bit low for what i wanted and was wondering if it doesn’t get any lower can I chuck in a bit more dextrose and yeast to kick things a long again or is that pretty much it? Or might it improve if I leave it a bit longer even if there is no bubbling action.

Appreciate any advice.

Cheers

How did you measure gravity - hydrometer or refractometer? If using a refractometer you need to adjust for alcohol content.

 

[Rocker1986]

He's used a Coopers Pale Ale can as well as the other stuff listed there. Or at least that is how I understand the OP.

I know that. So a kit and 1.2kg dry stuff. My OG prediction was low, my mistake, but it still won't be 1.052 in 23 litres. A kit and kilo in 23 litres only gives about 1.038, another 200g isn't gonna push it up 14 points. It'd probably be somewhere around 1.040-42.

 

[axematt]

Gday All. Thanks for all your replies and sorry I didn't get back earlier. To answer the volume amount, It was 19L, I boiled all the dry ingredients in about 5L of water and pitched the yeast in around 22-23 Degrees. I'm wondering if I didn't stir it enough when I brought it up to 19L or perhaps I should add more dextrose. It's my first brew so I was sort of expecting some issues. I raised the temp 2 days ago to 22 degrees and rocked the fermenter and took a reading yesterday and it was a little lower, 1020 so I'll I guess I'll just wait and see, but if it doesn't get any lower I might have to ditch it and start again, don't want to take up a keg with mid strength.
Cheers

 

[axematt]

..Also, What did you mean hoppy2B, that maltodextrine as at least part of the problem?. Keen to learn, was it an unnecessary addition?

Cheers All.

 

[Rocker1986]

Maltodextrin doesn't ferment, which means it results in a higher FG. Probably is an unnecessary addition in a lot of cases. See how it tastes before you ditch it. I know it's personal preference but I'd rather have a keg of midstrength that tastes good than an empty keg any day.

 

[axematt]

You have a point. The taste I gotta say is pretty bloody good for a first attempt, pretty close to the original...but without the beer buzz I guess .

 

[Rocker1986]

Just drink more, get rid of it quickly and get the buzz at the same time lol

 

[axematt]

That will be my excuse for a bit then..."Sorry, but I have to drink lots of if it and more often"..I like it!

 

[hoppy2B]

If my calculations are correct, 300 grams of maltodextrin in 19 litres will contribute 1.006 unfermentable gravity points. Which means if your final gravity is 1.020 with the maltodextrin, it would have been about 1.014 without it. That's why I said it is at least part of the problem. I was referring to the high final gravity.

Maltodextrin gets a bad rap on the internets. It is said that it raises blood sugar levels. John Palmer says the stuff has no flavour at all. It just adds some body.

 

[axematt]

Ahh, Got it...I think. So the maltodextrine being unfermentable, will literally just stay suspended in the liquid making it thicker, for want of a better word and therefore the hydrometer will sit higher. Wouldn't that be the same for the DME that I put in as well?
Cheers