Malt Extract Brewing With Dextrose

[Midnight Brew]

hey hey

Putting down another exract brew in the next few days and had a question about dextrose.

Recipe is as follows:

Porter 25 Litre Batch

3kg Light Dried malt Extract
250g Crystal Malt 60ebc
250g Chocolate Malt
50g Goldings (all in boil)
S-04 Yeast
250grams dextrose????

Now being my 4th extract brew I havnt used dextrose with the previous three and I've been losing alcohol content because I top it up to 25 litres. I was wondering if I add a small amount of dextrose say 250g that would take my alcohol content up a bit but would it change the flavour of the beer in such a small amount or should I use 250g more of malt extract. With a 25 litre batch I was thinking I could keep the same alcohol content if I added 250 grams of dextrose. Wanted to know other brewers thoughts.

Dickman

 

[Bribie G]

Being a UK style ale I'd just chuck in 300g of plain old white sugar, as many of the UK breweries do. The theory that white sugar gives a 'thin cidery twang' to beer is quite unsubstantiated and the 'twang' is more likely to do with poor temperature control and using a whole Kilo of the stuff. I've produced some medal winners which have reflected some traditional UK styles and have had a few hundred grams of the pure-and-white in the recipe.

 

[RobboMC]

This is of course only my opinion,
but why go to teh trouble of making ane xtract brew and tyhen put sugar back into it,
why not just increase the amount of dme

 

[Aus_Rider_22]

I am in no way very experienced in extract brewing yet, but it's my understanding that adding a limited amount of dextrose into a malt recipe can be used to make the beer a bit thinner body and appearance. For example Tony's LCBA calls for dextrose for this exact reason.

 

[Swinging Beef]

With a 25 litre batch I was thinking I could keep the same alcohol content if I added 250 grams of dextrose. Wanted to know other brewers thoughts.

THis is prety much entirely correct.

 

[Pennywise]

This is of course only my opinion,
but why go to teh trouble of making ane xtract brew and tyhen put sugar back into it,
why not just increase the amount of dme

In my experiences extract brews tend to finish quite high, some as high as 1016. subbing some of the malt for dextrose will help bring it down. IMO, with the yeast he's using it's a very good idea

 

[.DJ.]

This is of course only my opinion,
but why go to teh trouble of making ane xtract brew and tyhen put sugar back into it,
why not just increase the amount of dme

I am in no way very experienced in extract brewing yet, but it's my understanding that adding a limited amount of dextrose into a malt recipe can be used to make the beer a bit thinner body and appearance. For example Tony's LCBA calls for dextrose for this exact reason.

I believe this is exactly the reason also...

 

[Bribie G]

Chuck Hahn of Lion Nathan fame was interviewed last year and stated that if Australian Breweries didn't use significant amounts of sugar in their beers they would turn out so heavy in body that the average punter wouldn't be able to chuck them down the neck as fast, they would be too 'rich' in body. I tend to agree with that, I was brought up on a diet of UK bitters and the odd mild, mostly under 4.5 ABV and with some sugars and adjuncts in the recipe. When I was first exposed to German 5% Reinheitsgebot all-malt and quite bitter North German Lagers I found it very hard to wrestle down a litre, whilst five or six pints of a typical UK session beer would go down like mothers milk B)

That's one reason I don't actually like the new wave US craftbrews like Dogfish Head and even our LCPA... sure an interesting sipping and tasting exercise but give me a good six o clock swill any day, and that usually means some sugaz or dex :beerbang: :beerbang: :beerbang:

 

[Nick JD]

Chuck Hahn of Lion Nathan fame was interviewed last year and stated that if Australian Breweries didn't use significant amounts of sugar in their beers they would turn out so heavy in body that the average punter wouldn't be able to chuck them down the neck as fast, they would be too 'rich' in body. I tend to agree with that, I was brought up on a diet of UK bitters and the odd mild, mostly under 4.5 ABV and with some sugars and adjuncts in the recipe. When I was first exposed to German 5% Reinheitsgebot all-malt and quite bitter North German Lagers I found it very hard to wrestle down a litre, whilst five or six pints of a typical UK session beer would go down like mothers milk B)

That's one reason I don't actually like the new wave US craftbrews like Dogfish Head and even our LCPA... sure an interesting sipping and tasting exercise but give me a good six o clock swill any day, and that usually means some sugaz or dex

+1

I think sometimes homebrewers get carried away with brewing "craft beer" that's excessive in IBUs, body, malt, alcohol and warmth - and getting all giddy about how they have brewed a perfect beer for a Belgian Winter when it's 42 degrees and they're thirsty.

I know I do. My second to last brew you could have eaten with a spoon. :unsure: I'm going to start to "brew to the climate" more often. There's more to megaswill than uneducated tastebuds. I have been known to enjoy the hell out of a XXXX Gold.

 

[Mickthe]

+1

I think sometimes homebrewers get carried away with brewing "craft beer" that's excessive in IBUs, body, malt, alcohol and warmth - and getting all giddy about how they have brewed a perfect beer for a Belgian Winter when it's 42 degrees and they're thirsty.

I know I do. My second to last brew you could have eaten with a spoon. :unsure: I'm going to start to "brew to the climate" more often. There's more to megaswill than uneducated tastebuds. I have been known to enjoy the hell out of a XXXX Gold.

+2

Mind you, whilst i am not fond of excessively bitter brews, i do like having the odd super stout and strong ale, just not 23 litres of it, which is why i have just gone from kits to extract brewing after 6 brews total, so i can do small quantity batches of what SWMBO won't touch. I also didn;t want too much of one beer whilst i am still "experimenting" !

 

[Dazza_devil]

My brews were finishing a bit high using all malt so I started experimenting with differing amounts of dex to bring them down a tad. I found that it doesn't take much at all to bring it down, as little as 100g will do the trick with a 25 litre extract brew and the end result was quite easy to put down.
With S04 @ 19 degrees C I reckon 150g would do the trick no worries not figuring for any other determining factors.

 

[manticle]

hey hey

Putting down another exract brew in the next few days and had a question about dextrose.

Recipe is as follows:

Porter 25 Litre Batch

3kg Light Dried malt Extract
250g Crystal Malt 60ebc
250g Chocolate Malt
50g Goldings (all in boil)
S-04 Yeast
250grams dextrose????

Now being my 4th extract brew I havnt used dextrose with the previous three and I've been losing alcohol content because I top it up to 25 litres. I was wondering if I add a small amount of dextrose say 250g that would take my alcohol content up a bit but would it change the flavour of the beer in such a small amount or should I use 250g more of malt extract. With a 25 litre batch I was thinking I could keep the same alcohol content if I added 250 grams of dextrose. Wanted to know other brewers thoughts.

Dickman

I'm a fan of balanced beers. I found a lot of my extract brews, while tastier than kit brews, weren't balanced right. A lot of that was malt sweetness (admittedly I used to do some pretty high gravity brews) and I reckon a touch of dex can be a good thing. Used judiciously and for a purpose of course.