How much sugar is too much?

[Scoots]

Hi brewers,

Im aiming to make a 6% + coopers ipa. Got 1.5kg light dry malt to go in and am going to add some dextrose along with a packet of US 05 (11.5g) yeast aswell as the 7g yeast that comes with the syrup. Also adding roughly 10 g of yeast nutrient and aiming for a day 3/4 dry hop of mosaic and galaxy hops trying to keep temp around the 18°

So the question is.. I was told by the brew shop to throw the full 1kg of dextrose in as im aiming for the higher alcohol content. And with the 18.5g of yeast and nutrient this will give me the alcohol content im after

Does this seem right?

Is it going to make it really sweet with that much dextrose in?

Thanks

 

[MHB]

If you add the lot (Kit, 1.5kg of LDME and 1kg Dex) and make it up to 23L your OG will be 1.061-1.062.
Hardly over the top, if it finished at 1.012 you would be at 6.66% ABV.
That would call for 80% apparent attenuation which is near the top end for the yeast, its likely to finish closer to 1.014-6. Especially if you cant control the temperature,
Its very important to keep the temperature down at least for the first day or two, that's when most of the off flavours are made.
Mark

 

[Scoots]

If you add the lot (Kit, 1.5kg of LDME and 1kg Dex) and make it up to 23L your OG will be 1.061-1.062.
Hardly over the top, if it finished at 1.012 you would be at 6.66% ABV.
That would call for 80% apparent attenuation which is near the top end for the yeast, its likely to finish closer to 1.014-6. Especially if you cant control the temperature,
Its very important to keep the temperature down at least for the first day or two, that's when most of the off flavours are made.
Mark

Yeah righteo. Im able to keep it in a small aircon room which should help to keep the temp low im hoping. Short of putting it in the fridge its the only option i have haha

 

[TheAussieBrewer]

The dex won’t make it sweet once it ferments out, 1kg will work to making a balanced higher gravity beer compared to using purely malt sugars to get a higher ABV there are more complex sugars along with more fermentable sugars so the beer will finish out higher making it sweeter and may appear unbalanced especially if using hopped extract and not adding any more bitterness. But what he recommended sounds quite reasonable

Keep in mind that too much dex/sugar can lead to a cidery taste.

 

[mje1980]

I use dextrose a lot, I like light bodied beers. It will ferment out and will not add any sweetness at all.

 

[kadmium]

The dex won’t make it sweet once it ferments out, 1kg will work to making a balanced higher gravity beer compared to using purely malt sugars to get a higher ABV there are more complex sugars along with more fermentable sugars so the beer will finish out higher making it sweeter and may appear unbalanced especially if using hopped extract and not adding any more bitterness. But what he recommended sounds quite reasonable

Keep in mind that too much dex/sugar can lead to a cidery taste.

Dextrose won't lead to cidery tastes, plain sugar can as the yeast will need to produce invertase to break down the sugar into glucose and fructose. The increased invertase produced by the yeast can be perceived as cidery.

Also, dextrose won't necessarily lead to a "ballanced" beer in my opinion. It really is style dependant. If you're trying to up the gravity of a stout or heavy bodied beer, then adding simple sugars will thin out the body.

You really need to consider what FG you are after and the impact of the ingredient you are using. Dextrose is fine, but so is malt extract in the right situation.