Switching From Cane Sugar to Dextrose…

[RightHoJeeves]

I got a recommendation to use dextrose (corn sugar) in stead of cane sugar, because it’s easier for yeast to break down during the carbonation process. How much dextrose should I use for a 1L bottle of beer? The cane sugar recommendation from BrewDemon was 2.5 teaspoons. Thanks!
- Jeeves

[HerbMeowing]

use 11% more corn sugar than cane.

2.5 tsp cane = 2.775 tsp corn

haven't carbonated with corn in years
corn sugar be more expensive than sugar?
and the yeast break both forms of sugar down equally

[mashani]

and the yeast break both forms of sugar down equally

Yes, but the metabolic process is different, the yeast have to produce an enzyme called invertase in order to invert the cane sugar before they can digest it all, where dextrose can be eaten directly (as can invert sugars like Belgian candi syrups). So fermentation can complete slightly quicker, and the yeast seem to produce less acetaldehyde when they don't have to use that metabolic process.

Now the yeast will eventually clean up that acetaldehyde by using it as pre-hibernation fuel if you leave the fermented product on the yeast cake long enough, but for someone like me who is a super taster of the stuff, you can produce "better beer faster" (not necessarily "better beer" if you wait longer though) using invert sugars or dextrose then cane sugar *if the sugars are being used in large amounts as part of the fermentable wort*. IE I would for sure have to wait 3-4 weeks to bottle a Belgian beer that I used 2# of cane sugar in vs. 2# of inverted Candi syrup in for example, or I would taste the stuff, where I can bottle most beers I make with invert sugar and a good pitch rate in 2 weeks without tasting it, even when using that much sugar. Too much of the stuff remaining at bottling time won't clean up easily in the bottle, if at all, IE the "cidery beer" result.

Now for bottling itself, assuming the wort going in has imperceptible levels, then it is not so much of an issue unless you like to crack them at 2 weeks. Since I always wait 3-4 weeks, the little bit of acetaldehyde produced while eating the cane sugar in the bottle is taken back up by the yeast by the time I get into the beer. So I do use cane sugar as bottling sugar. But unless I am feeling really patient, I wouldn't use it as a substitute for a pound or two of clear candi syrup going into the fermentation, where I might use dextrose.

Some people seem to think that somehow dextrose gives them "finer bubbles" when used as bottling sugar, but I would say the ONLY reason this could be perceived ties back into "slightly faster fermentation" IE the bottle fermentation may get done a little bit quicker, giving the CO2 more time to dissolve into the beer. But I would say if those people simply waited a bit longer to crack the beers they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. And if I personally opened up a beer that hadn't sat long enough for this to have already been the case I'd be tasting the acetaldehyde in the cane sugar batch, so I don't do that, and can't say I have ever noticed a difference in carbonation in this regards.

[RightHoJeeves]

Thanks both…. My past few batches have been cloudy and acetalihyde-y, so, I fermented for four weeks this time around and I’m going to use dextrose and bottle condition for another four weeks (bottling today!!!) to see if that solves my problems. Stay tuned…

[mashani]

Thanks both…. My past few batches have been cloudy and acetalihyde-y, so, I fermented for four weeks this time around and I’m going to use dextrose and bottle condition for another four weeks (bottling today!!!) to see if that solves my problems. Stay tuned…

That should be plenty.

If for some reason it is not, another thing to try would be to pitch more yeast. The little packs that are provided really just barely enough, so the yeast have to work harder to grow and get going. I will often pitch a full 11g pack of yeast into a 3 gallon batch, with the exception of a few styles that benefit from a lower pitch rate.

Also, the S-33 yeast that is provided with the Brew Demon kits doesn't drop out as easily as some other strains. If you continue to have problems with it being cloudy without waiting like what seems forever, you might want to try a 5g pack of Coopers Ale Yeast (or a Mr. Beer kit which comes with that kind now and I think a full 5g of it these days), or if you try the pitch more yeast thing, buy an 11g pack try something like S-04 yeast. Those yeasts drop out hard and will leave you with a very clear beer compared to the S-33.

For fun sometime you might want someone else to taste your beer and see if they think "cider", or if it's just you (without mentioning anything about cidery beer or the flavor). If it's just you then your like me, a super taster of it, IE someone who tastes it in much smaller thresholds.