Maltodextrin

[Oldbloke]

My understanding is that maltodextrin & corn syrup are one of the same.  Can anyone confirm this please?

 

Also how much of this is fermentable? I was told about 25%.

 

Did the google and just could not find the answer.

 

[iBooz2]

@oldbloke, Maltodextrin is not corn syrup.  Corn Syrup is dextrose.

Maltodextrin contains a very small amount of maltose and is probably less than 5% fermentable by normal brewing yeasties so not 25% as you have been told.

Maltodextrin adds body to the beer basically as it is not sweet and 95% of it remains in the beer after it is fermented out.

You can ferment it out somewhat more but need dry enzyme additions in order to do that.

[Classic Brewing Co]

19 minutes ago, oldbloke said:

My understanding is that maltodextrin & corn syrup are one of the same.  Can anyone confirm this please?

 

Also how much of this is fermentable? I was told about 25%.

 

Did the google and just could not find the answer.

 

I suppose you have already seen this.

Maltodextrin (Corn Syrup) is common, natural ingredient used to increase body and mouth feel in beer. 

Maltodextrin is only 30% fermentable, the remaining solids increase the "thickness" of the beer producing a creamy, closed head.

 

Maltodextrin dissolves easily enough that the powder can be added directly to the boil. Beginning, middle, and end are all perfectly acceptable times for the addition.

Adding Maltodextrin to your extract brew will help you fine-tune the body and mouthfeel without affecting the flavor. The Maltodextrin molecule is a chain of sugars between 4 and 20 dextrose units in length. That means it is only 3% fermentable by brewer's yeast, and so will contribute body to the finished beer. It is naturally present in all finished beers, up to 6% by weight, but the grains that yield it in All Grain brews don’t respond well to steeping in extract batches.

Maltodextrin is sometimes used in beer brewing to increase the specific gravity of the final product.

This improves the mouthfeel of the beer, increases head retention and reduces the dryness of the drink.

Maltodextrin is not fermented by yeast, so it does not increase the alcohol content of the brew.

[Malter White]

Apparently they're similar but not exactly the same.

How is maltodextrin made?
Maltodextrin is a white powder made from corn, rice, potato starch, or wheat. Even though it comes from plants, it’s highly processed. To make it, first the starches are cooked, and then acids or enzymes such as heat-stable bacterial alpha-amylase are added to break it down further. The resulting white powder is water-soluble and has a neutral taste. Maltodextrins are closely related to corn syrup solids, with the one difference being their sugar content. Both undergo hydrolysis, a chemical process involving the addition of water to further assist breakdown. However, after hydrolysis, corn syrup solids are at least 20 percent sugar, while maltodextrin is less than 20 percent sugar.

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/is-maltodextrin-bad-for-me#how-its-made

[Oldbloke]

That changes my question. So, I was sold "corn syrup."

 

Q1 is it fermentable, if so how much?

Q2 does it make the beer sweeter?

[iBooz2]

From KL website.

Maltodextrin - 1kg

Maltodextrin is mostly non fermentable, it is good for adding mouth feel, body and head retention to brews without affecting flavor.

Adding Maltodextrin to your extract brew will help you fine-tune the body and mouthfeel without affecting the flavor. The Maltodextrin molecule is a chain of sugars between 4 and 20 dextrose units in length. That means it is only 3% fermentable by brewer's yeast, and so will contribute body to the finished beer. It is naturally present in all finished beers, up to 6% by weight, but the grains that yield it in All Grain brews don’t respond well to steeping in extract batches.

@oldbloke Corn syrup comes in different blends or DE ratios so see if it has that on the label.  A DE ratio tells you the ratio of Maltodextrin to dextrose so yours may be more fermentable than 5%.

[Oldbloke]

So, now I am confused.  Lots of confusing copy paste on the internet. 

I purchased the "Corn Syrup"  because I wanted to make the beer a bit "sweeter".  I could add more malt, but it would increase the ABV & calories which I prefer to not do.

Lactose would be perfect for this but I cant use Lactose, I'm mildly lactose intolerant. 

 

The label just says "Corn Syrup". Nothing else.

Is corn syrup/sugar the same as Dextrose then? Or the same as glucose.

 

 

 

Signed "Mr Confused"   

 

 

[Graculus]

I've been through the whole confusing corn syrup thing too.

It was a while ago, and I could be wrong and I'll have to check but I thought it was confused by what the Yanks called corn syrup.

I've also spoken to the bloke I buy this off about it and he's adamant that Maltodextrin is corn syrup.

Lactose is the stuff people use to sweeten beer isn't it???

lactose to sweeten homebrew

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Graculus

[Classic Brewing Co]

20 minutes ago, oldbloke said:

So, now I am confused.  Lots of confusing copy paste on the internet. 

I purchased the "Corn Syrup"  because I wanted to make the beer a bit "sweeter".  I could add more malt, but it would increase the ABV & calories which I prefer to not do.

Lactose would be perfect for this but I cant use Lactose, I'm mildly lactose intolerant. 

 

The label just says "Corn Syrup". Nothing else.

Is corn syrup/sugar the same as Dextrose then? Or the same as glucose.

 

 

 

Signed "Mr Confused"   

 

 

@Coopers DIY Beer Team should be able to shed light on this, after all they do manufacture & market the products, I am sure Frank will respond.

[Oldbloke]

I cant use Lactose. To put it mildly, its bad for my guts.  But thx. Sounding more and more like they are all the same.

[Oldbloke]

3 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

@Coopers DIY Beer Team should be able to shed light on this, after all they do manufacture & market the products, I am sure Frank will respond.

Aha, someone has the smarts

[DavidM]

I will happily await the experts advise!

While waiting.. My thoughts are that Dextrose and Corn Syrup are very similar but slightly different.

Maltodextrin is different again and doesn't ferment out in the brew, giving the mouthfeel and stuff.

It's the different "molecules" and the way they are constructed that make the difference.

Happy to be proven Wrong by the experts.. just my understanding of the sugars that we use to brew.

[Graculus]

I found this. As I said before I think it gets mixed up because corn syrup is a different thing here than in America.

 

What is corn syrup in Australia?

Corn syrup is actually a US term but in Australia, you can find it labelled as glucose syrup in the baking section of your supermarket

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Oldbloke]

42 minutes ago, Graculus said:

I found this. As I said before I think it gets mixed up because corn syrup is a different thing here than in America.

 

What is corn syrup in Australia?

Corn syrup is actually a US term but in Australia, you can find it labelled as glucose syrup in the baking section of your supermarket

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, that's my thought.  Sounded like Corn syrup is the same as glucose syrup.

Edited September 21, 2022 by oldbloke

[Tone boy]

My understanding of this is:

maltodextrin = corn syrup (limited fermentability)

dextrose = corn sugar (100% fermentable)

Happy to be corrected if I have that wrong

[Oldbloke]

On 9/26/2022 at 9:00 AM, Tone boy said:

My understanding of this is:

maltodextrin = corn syrup (limited fermentability)

dextrose = corn sugar (100% fermentable)

Happy to be corrected if I have that wrong

And this bloke agrees with you.

 

http://www.aussiehomebrewing.com/HomeBrewingTips/AlternativeBrewingSugars.html

[Tone boy]

8 hours ago, oldbloke said:

And this bloke agrees with you.

 

http://www.aussiehomebrewing.com/HomeBrewingTips/AlternativeBrewingSugars.html

I love it when I’m right (mainly because it’s not often)

[Graculus]

On 10/4/2022 at 12:10 AM, oldbloke said:

And this bloke agrees with you.

 

http://www.aussiehomebrewing.com/HomeBrewingTips/AlternativeBrewingSugars.html

For anyone who can't be bothered to click or maybe finds that hard to read.

So it does sweeten the beer then. I might try some in my next cider, as the last lot was a bit bitter.

Malto-dextrin: Sold to homebrewers in powder form, malto-dextrin (corn syrup) is a combination of malt extract and dextrin, a complex sugar consisting of a chain of dextrose molecules. This chain cannot be broken by beer yeast without the assistance of enzymes, and so is often used commercially when brewers want to sweeten the finished beer. It also adds a little body and contributes to head retention, and many homebrewers I know will add about 250g of malto-dextrin to every beer they brew for these reasons alone. You will also find it as an ingredient on many "imitation" or "clone" recipes, which attempt to recreate the character of one commercially-produced beer or another.