Maltose v.s. Dextrose, Ray Daniels states.

[Indian]

Ray Daniels states, " In recipes coming from Britain, the type of sugar specified is often maltose", (p.g 161 Designing Great Beers). What experience does anyone have with the addition of maltose v.s. dextrose? Comments encouraged.

[GarySped]

Dextrose is glucose and was used too heavily in homebrews in the UK. If you want thin, cidery (a lot of acetaldehyde from poor fermentation giving the green/brusied apple flavor) but higher alcohol level go ahead and use dextrose. But it would be best to avoid it use altogether or keep it to a minimum. A good malt source should likely be cheaper too(?).

[Indian]

Thanks for the reply!

In my very little experience I have found dextrose in small dosages for priming VERY effective, (3/4 cup per 6 gal). Where I live maltose is 2x the cost of dextrose but I am willing to use it if you have any suggestions on how .

[liammckenna]

dextrose is fun!

It gives rise to fruity flavours in your ales.

Very appropriate for 'British' style Ales.

1% of fermentable extract is a good point to start,

Pax.

Liam

[BigWilley]

I use 10% dextrose in my Pale. In order to keep up I brew a high gravity batch where I add 3 BBls of H2O prior to fermentation to net 17BBls. I use WLP001 and dont notice any cidery flavors. Fruitiness with 001 seems more related to gravity and temp than any dextrose I add. I find that it suits my goal better than adding light malt extract because I like a dry crisp finish in the pale where the hops take center stage and the dextrose helps me achieve that. I wouldnt reccomend it in a beer where you want maltiness or more palate fullness. I also mash higher than normal and use carafoam to make up for the thinning effect of dextrose. It also helps keep the color light and is easier to add than malt extract. I have never used straight maltose. You definately have to experiment and account for the thinning effect. Its also handy for boosting high gravity beers when you have an undersized mash tun like I do. Dextrose definately has its place but can be abused. I tried it on several of my beers to try and increase capacity but the pale is the only one I actually like it in other than strong specials. You can also invert the dextrose by adding citric acid for belgians but that is adressed in another thread. I would be interested in hearing how adding dextrose effects malty low attenuating strains if anyone has any experience.

[Indian]

Very interesting post because I came to the same conclusion about the crisp dry finish of dextrose but never thought about the relationship of fruitiness more to gravity and temp. I’ll experiment as you suggested including the carafoam

Can anyone tell me the difference in fermentables between the two (maltose / dextrose) besides the obvious flavor impact? In addition, can anyone cite the thread about inversions with citric acid for Belgians?
Thanks for the advice. Very nice!