Question about adding sugar to grain mash

MikeyT · Post by **MikeyT** » Sat May 26, 2007 9:38 am

With this grain bill I've been getting about 1 gallon of hearts.
16 lbs cracked corn
3 lbs flaked rye
4 lbs rolled barley
4 lbs cracked malted barley
12 gallon water
no sugar

If I added 5 lbs sugar, how much additional alcohol should I expect to get?

Also, I read somewhere that the sugar should be boiled before adding. Is this necessary?

Post by **Tater** » Sat May 26, 2007 1:41 pm

1/2 gallon. Yes I would boil sugar in water.

Monster Mash · Post by **Monster Mash** » Sun May 27, 2007 1:34 pm

You may want to use dextrose for whiskey. I think it lends a smoother flavor than white sugar

MikeyT · Post by **MikeyT** » Sun May 27, 2007 1:54 pm

Monster Mash wrote:You may want to use dextrose for whiskey. I think it lends a smoother flavor than white sugar

Dextrose? Is that like corn syrup? Where do you buy Dextrose? The internet shows about a dozen different kinds of Dextrose??

Uncle Remus · Post by **Uncle Remus** » Sun May 27, 2007 4:41 pm

Dextrose is corn sugar. It looks like icing sugar. Any beer making place will sell it. Matter of fact the grocery usually carry it too.

Monster Mash · Post by **Monster Mash** » Mon May 28, 2007 6:15 am

Try Brewhaus in Texas. They sell in 10 lb and 50 lb bags. I have found that in order to keep corn flavor from your grain to keep the corn sugar to a 50/50 split or lower.

MikeyT · Post by **MikeyT** » Mon May 28, 2007 6:34 am

What do you mean by 50/50 split? Like 15 lbs of corn and 15 lbs of corn sugar??

Home Distiller · Post by **Home Distiller** » Mon May 28, 2007 6:58 am

MikeyT wrote:If I added 5 lbs sugar, how much additional alcohol should I expect to get?

I was under the impression that approx 50% of sugar is turned into alcohol and most of the other 50% is turned into carbon dioxide. (and my results seem to confirm this)

MikeyT · Post by **MikeyT** » Mon May 28, 2007 8:07 am

Thanks all. Moot point I guess. I checked 3 major grocery stores and none had corn sugar. I checked the corn syrup but they all had salt and vanilla added also only had it in 1 qt quantities. Nearest brew shop is 100 mile round trip which translates into about $20 for gasoline for my old pickup.

bbc · Post by **bbc** » Mon May 28, 2007 8:24 am

Before you give up on the dextrose, I know that bodybuilders want it for some reason, so you might try a store that sells that kind of stuff. Also, bulk food and health food stores might have it (Bulk Barn in Canada has it for $2.30 a kilo, more expensive than regular sugar but I guess we'll find out if it's worth it). Does the boiling do anything other than just dissolve it? When we did ours, it had turned clear by around 50 degrees, so we stopped heating it and let it cool off to 35 or so before putting the yeast in.

By the way Mikey, thanks for the reply to my other thread - maybe we'll give it a go at malting barley.

newts · Post by **newts** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:34 am

When searching for dextross found my local stock feed store sold the same brand and quality dextross as my home brew shop
Newts

hoochinoo · Post by **hoochinoo** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 3:34 pm

The corn sugar with dextrose or DE, must be the same as corn syrup solids. If it is, I used to buy the stuff pretty cheap at wholesale, however, some of the retail prices I saw for a 50# bag, $38.00USD, is way too much!?
Higher DE, like 42DE have more dex than the 36DE.

Otherwise, regular sugar is much cheaper to use.

defcon4 · Post by **defcon4** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 6:53 am

MikeyT wrote:Thanks all. Moot point I guess. I checked 3 major grocery stores and none had corn sugar. I checked the corn syrup but they all had salt and vanilla added also only had it in 1 qt quantities. Nearest brew shop is 100 mile round trip which translates into about $20 for gasoline for my old pickup.

I buy all my brewing equipment and supplies online from these guys.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
Their prices (even with shipping) are better than my local homebrew supply shop.
Here's a link to their corn sugar/dextrose
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products ... rodID=4826" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
They also sell it in 4lb and 1lb bags but it's more economical in the long run to buy large quantities, shipping may cost more though.

hoochinoo · Post by **hoochinoo** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 1:32 pm

FYI,
I just checked the price I was paying, buying wholesale the 50# bag for $15.50USD plus some shipping.

hoochinoo · Post by **hoochinoo** » Sun Jun 17, 2007 1:57 pm

I have to make a correction after discovering that corn syrup solids and dextrose are two different products. Here are what I was able to find:

--Corn syrups are classified according to their dextrose equivalents (D.E.), a rough measure of sweetness; and Baume’, a measure of thickness or solids. The most common corn syrup in commercial use is 42 DE, 43 Baume’, and called "regular" confectioners corn syrup.
Corn Syrup Solids — dried corn syrup, used by food processors who need the functional characteristics of liquid corn syrup in a dry form. Available in a variety of forms.

--Dextrose — a nonsucrose "sugar" which occurs naturally in many plants, fruits and in honey. In animals, dextrose (also called "glucose" and "grape sugar") is a vital constituent of the blood, and is directly metabolized for immediate energy needs. Dextrose is used in food and beverages as a sweetener (it’s about 3/4 as sweet as sucrose), a browning agent, a humectant, and a fermentation substrate. It is available in liquid (bulk only) and dry forms.

Thanks.

Question about adding sugar to grain mash

Question about adding sugar to grain mash

Re: Question about adding sugar to grain mash

dextross