sugar or dextrose

[Nick]

whats the difference between sugar and dextrose in a brew? does it make any difference to the end result with which one you use?

[Guest]

Hi Nick.

 

Plain table sugar isn't dextrose, it's actually sucrose. Sucrose is a combination of 2 simpler sugars, namely Glucose (same thing as dextrose) and fructose. You're better off using dextrose, despite it being significantly less sweet than table sugar.

 

Beer.

[Otto Von Blotto]

Well all they both do is increase alcohol and reduce body, leaving a thinner beer. They won't leave any residual sweetness because they pretty much fully ferment out - hence the thinner body of the beer. Most people say to limit sugar/dextrose to a max 300g in a 23 litre brew. My first brew was mixed with a kilo of brewing sugar.. it tasted like cider.[sick] Too much like that just makes the beer taste like crap. I rarely use it at all, I mainly brew with all malt extracts and use dextrose to prime the bottles. [rightful]

[Nick]

the authentic ipa recipe calls for 500g of sugar or dextrose. which is best for this brew?

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yeah some recipes will call for a bit extra like that. I made an American Pale Ale with 500g dex a few months ago and it was good. I don't normally add it though unless a specific recipe calls for it. But yeah I think I'd go with dextrose over table sugar.

[Nick]

thanks for the advice, dextrose it is.

[Nick]

Hey kelsey, if i have to buy 1kg of dex for a brew that only needs 500g, will it benefit the brew to condition the bottles with it?

[Otto Von Blotto]

By condition the bottles, do you mean adding dex to them at bottling time for carbonation?

[Nick]

yes

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yeah definitely. I use dex to prime with. But I don't add it to each bottle, I just mix up the total amount for the whole batch with about 300-400 mL of boiling water and put it in a secondary fermenter and then transfer the brew from the main one to the secondary one which mixes it in. AKA Bulk Priming. If you have two fermenters it's the way to go, otherwise you can add it to each bottle.

[Nick]

i dont have 2 fermenters(yet) so will bottle prime. is it the same rate as sugar Ie. 1 teaspoon for a 740ml PET and half for a stubbie?

[Otto Von Blotto]

Yeah, that's the standard rate they tell you, but a lot of people think it makes the beer too fizzy. It works out at 184g for the whole 23L brew. I find it a little too fizzy so I prime with 150-160g per brew most times. Try it at that original rate first, if you like it like that, great. If you find it too fizzy, then simply reduce it a bit on your next brew. Admittedly, it's a bit hard to change the rates without bulk priming because the amounts for each bottle are too small and it'd take forever to bottle it.

 

Also, different styles of beer determine the priming rate i.e. a stout would be around half that rate, whereas a true lager it's the rate you mentioned.

[Muddy Waters]

I agree with everything Otto said (although I prime at a lower rate). The only thing I'd point out is that if you are priming the bottles individually it will be much easier to use white sugar - dextrose would be too fiddly due to it's powder like consistency.

 

If you can duck out to Bunnings and grab a $15 fermentor (they call them water containers [bandit] ) for bulk priming it will make life much easier for you.

[Otto Von Blotto]

...it will be much easier to use white sugar - dextrose would be too fiddly due to it's powder like consistency.

 

Yeah, that's true. Good point! I primed half a batch with caster sugar early on in my brewing "career" and it was fiddly and a PITA too because it's finer than table sugar.

[Nick]

i dont mind fiddly, as long as i get the best result. is dextrose going to give m a better brew? i will have some left over after i make the brew, so i am happy to use it.[roll]

[Otto Von Blotto]

I doubt it would make any difference to the result whether you use table sugar or dextrose to prime with. It's such a small amount going in. So yeah, which ever you want to use, go for it[biggrin]