Scott1525228380 Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Hi there, I'm a newbie to this home brewing game. Found my local store (in B.C. Canada) stocks a selection of Coopers Brewmaster kits - yippee! Just bottled my first batch of IPA... Anyway my questions is: Is there any difference between using regular white cane sugar or Dextrose? Apart from the fact that dextrose seems to be twice the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slurtis Staggersalot Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Scott, you can use either sugar as a fermentable. I prefer Dextrose because it dissolves faster. I haven't used cane sugar for mixing a batch up before but I have used it to prime bottles and I noticed no ill effects. I'm not too sure if it would change the way your beer tastes at all if you used it to mix the kit up. My dad used it for years and always enjoyed his beer though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott1525228380 Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thanks Slurtis, I will use Dextrose for the next batch and see if there is any difference in the taste. As for priming bottles, I bought another fermenter - I syphon the brew into this, dissolve the sugar in a cup of water in a pan first, mix to the brew and then fill the bottles. Was the easiest method I could think of [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted January 30, 2011 Share Posted January 30, 2011 Sounds good. Try and connect the 2 taps together with the Jose when syphoning it. That way it will reduce the chance of you beer seeing too much oxygen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott1525228380 Posted January 30, 2011 Author Share Posted January 30, 2011 Thank Matty, Neither of my fermenting bins have taps so I syphon using a flexible tube. It has a clamp so I can cut-off the flow when I bottle. Low tech but as its slow, doesn't froth up and I can syphon from the top of the brew down which reduces the chance of disturbing the sediment in the bottom fermenter. Also give me a chance for a quick taste taste before bottling! [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YannickB Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 They say that dextrose is a more complete fermentable sugar (less complexe to digest than regular sugar). So... if you use regular sugar (sucrose) to prime your bottles, I would presume that less fermentation in the bottle results in less carbonation (coz CO2 is the yeast's poop)in the bottles (and a slightly little less ABV). Am I right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andris Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 beg my pardon for bluntness.. but, I would go for dextrose OR dry/liquid malt extract. sugar wont be that good - yea, it will give kick to the beer, but the taste might go pearshape if sugar in your end is as bad as here (beat sugar, very bad afertaste)... seriously, Coopers make great beer kits, but avoid sugar (IMHO), try instead liquid or dry malt instead - goes same ratio as sugar - 1kg of sugar = 1kg of dry malt extract or 1.5kg liquid malt extract. yea, it will make your brew tad more expensive, but, from my experience, it is well worth monnies and it will improve taste of your home brew beer alot. Tho ok, if we go with the original question - dextrose instead of sugar - if its beat or unknown origin sugar, you will end up with, most likely, cidery taste beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Yannick - Any difference would be at the most marginal. As a general rule use 9g of dex per litre as opposed to 8g per litre for regular sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Several years ago, we conducted side-by-side fermentation trials with 1kg of Sugar (derived from sugar cane) and 1kg of dextrose as the adjunct to a beer kit. Results show the sugar produced a beer with 20% more acetaldehyde (green apple cider like characters). When you take into account that 8g of sugar is equal to 9g of dextrose (as Muddy said), there is not much difference between the two!! Acetaldehyde dissipates over time in the bottle - months rather than weeks.[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS12 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Give the sugar/dextrose a miss, go for malt only brews and I am sure that you will be happy. Use the sugars for priming only unless you have a special recipe for which it is needed but only them in small doses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyR1525228508 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I've found that using dextrose for priming causes the beer to froth out of the bottle when filling - probably due to the powered nature of the sugar. No such problems occur when using normal granulated white sugar, or carbonation drops. PB2 - how many months of bottle conditioning are required to eradicate acetaldehyde? Does that mean the result is the same after x months in the bottle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS12 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I have primed with white sugar, castor sugar, cab. drops, dextrose raw sugar and their is very little if any taste differenc between them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott1525228380 Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Since I posted this I only used regular sugar with my first brew. I did detect a slight sharp taste to the brew which could (now) be explained by PB2's post. I now only use Dextrose and that 'tang' has gone. I prime all my brews with Dextrose at the rate of 8g per litre as indicated in the instructions. (I didn't know that 8g of sugar is equal to 9g of dextrose) [lol] Anthony - I avoid the 'frothing bottles' problem by syphoning (the batch) to a clean fermentation bin, disolving the Dextrose with a small quantity of hot water in a pan then adding this to the mix. As my FV's do not have taps, a syphon tube with a clamp to control flow is used to fill the bottles. The result is no froth filling the bottles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyDave Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I always use 1kg of raw brown sugar in my mix and only 3.5g of it for primer per 750ml bottle. I always get pretty perfect body, carb and head. I often wonder if RAW sugar is the key to this. It's very rare that I ever taste cider qualities. I would not use white sugar. When I use dextrose I can taste the sucroseyness of it (new word), it's a nice flavour, but suits lolly's more than it suits my beer [joyful] . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott1525228380 Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 Some really interesting comments. Thanks to everyone for the input. [joyful] It appears to me from the diverse range of opinions that it is almost down to personal preference and taste, no right or wrong. I will enjoy experimenting with some of the suggestions until I find what suits me best. [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 What sugars and malts you add to your beer during initial fermentation make a big difference but when it comes to priming it doesn't usually make any differnece that can be detected taste wise. The exceptions that I can think of would be black jelly beans that some use to prime their stout and maybe brown sugar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB2 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Sensitivity and/or tolerance of the ester, acetaldehyde (green apple, cider like aromas), varies from person to person. You are all individuals. I'm not [lol] Many "long term" brewers simply use 1kg of sugar with a beer kit, have plenty of bottles in storage and their beer tastes okay after about a year of maturation. Beer Fact: Too much simple sugar (sucrose/dextrose) in the brew will throw acetaldehyde and thin the beer. Further to this, excess simple sugar is not the only cause of acetaldehyde - although rare, yeast may produce this ester in an all malt brew... That said, simple sugar is not bad for your brew provided it's in moderation. Ignoring the priming sugar, try to keep the addition below 20% (I normally go for <10%) of the total fermentables, adhere to THE BEER TRIANGLE and you'll make great beer.[biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Loving Trent Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 great topic I often wondered if you could use plain white sugar or not thank you everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91abv_chris Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 ... black jelly beans that some use to prime their stout... Black jelly beans? I've never heard of doing that. Does it work as well/better than 'priming sugar' or sucrose? I'm intrigued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I've only heard about it Chris but never tried it. If you google jellybean stout you may be able to find someone who has actually tried it. Here is a previous comment from PB2 about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayotruck Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I always use 1kg of raw brown sugar in my mix and only 3.5g of it for primer per 750ml bottle. I always get pretty perfect body, carb and head. I often wonder if RAW sugar is the key to this. It's very rare that I ever taste cider qualities. I would not use white sugar. Sorry but comment like this are silly.. brown sugar IS WHITE SUGAR + MOLASSES.. that's it. Plain sugar is fine. Dextrose/Sucrose/Candi/ and plain sugar = same thing in the end. If your really worried about how sucrose needs to be broken down by the yeast...boil the white sugar + water and add a(just a squeeze)of lemon... mix it all up.. now all the chains of sucrose are broken down for the yeast.. if your that worried. And all the apple or cider or off flavor comments is because of the yeast no the sugar. Biggest thing is to watch your fermentation temperatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 In the past, prior to us knowing any better, we mainly used Sucrose (white sugar, caster sugar or raw sugar) not realizing it was imparting undesirable flavors on the beer. Some side affects of sucrose include: - 1) a cidery flavour 2) a yeasty, vegemite flavour 3) a harsh bitter finish If you use white sugar instead of Dextrose or brewing sugar you will chance an offset of a possible cider flavor or some other funky taste. This is well known!! Maybe not all the time but there is certainly a chance it will happen. You can use white sugar to prime with minimal difference but personally I would steer clear of using it in the primary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 I tend to agree with buffalo Bill - Although I haven't had the vegemite flavour...sounds delicious [love] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty A Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I tend to agree with buffalo Bill - Although I haven't had the vegemite flavour...sounds delicious [love] I reckon that my Toucan Stout has a vegemite flavour. I think it tastes amazing and its new name is liquid breakfast. Yummmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 A vegemite stout sounds quite nice actually :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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