Corn Syrup ???

[Bob, The Cat]

Long time reader, First time submitter..

I have put down my 4th brew last weekend (Black Rock Cider) and due to the previous effort with one of these that i found rather weak and flat, i tried to boost the flavour by making to 18L instead of 23L (hopefully that will work), but to improve the head i tried to use Corn Syrup (as suggested on the ingredients fact sheet).
Now my question is: Is Glucose syrup (made from corn) bought at Woollies the same thing or did i just stuff the whole thing up.
One Positive is tha the brew has been VERY active, much more so than any others i have put down.

[OldBugman]

Corn Syrup is the name given to Maltodextrin

[Bob, The Cat]

Thanks for that, i am assuming you can't just get that from the local woolworths .
Do you know if Glucose syrup - made from corn (clear, VERY viscous) is the same thing, or would do the same thing?


ps. It was located in the baking section of the supermarket

[velophile]

Hey Mr Cat, post the actual ingredients & amounts you used.
It sounds like the glucose syrup may work OK. Not great but OK.
Let it ferment out & see.

[Bob, The Cat]

1 x Blackrock kit
1kg Dex
18L Water instead of 23
~100ml of Glucose (Corn?) syrup

bubbled like a trooper

hope it works out. If it doesnt taste any good beore i bottle should i toss it ?

[buscador]

going out on limb as i am new here too
but dont throw it out

someone else, help this cat out...

b

[KEG]

it should be fine, at least as good as a standard kit+kilo, probably better. making it to 18L instead of 23L leaves more body from the malt extract in the premixed can anyway (which helps the head). corn syrup is pretty much glucose with possibly some maltose according to this site:

corn syrup :
Basically glucose with water. May have maltose. Beware about buying the typical grocery store version because it _might_ have some vanillin/vanilla as a flavoring. Additionally, some brands have a preservative that could affect fermentation. Dark corn syrup is just the regular syrup with some coloring. Use wherever you would use straight glucose/dextrose such as priming.

glucose is 100% fermentable, so is maltose (as opposed to maltodextrin), so you won't have added any head rentention or body to the beer with the glucose. on the other hand, you definitely won't have done any harm, so don't throw it out!

when it comes to priming, instead of using dextrose or carbonation drops, use light dry malt - that'll help with the head a bit.

[drsmurto]

What is in the cider kit? Is it apple concentrate and artificial sugar or does it actually have something worth money - ie. malt? The ginger beer kits are simply ginger flavour and artificial sweetener.......

[dragonphoenix73]

I just bought a Black Rock cider kit, and it says all it has is concentrated apple juice and yeast.

No mention of anything else - I hope this is true, because my partner is hoping to drink this, and she is a coeliac (ie, gluten-free diet), so can't have malts.

[rwh]

It's true. The black rock is the only kit that is just apple juice concentrate.

[Pale_Ale]

WIKI, PEOPLE!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose

2 second search...

Dextrose is an ingredient in Glucose, thereos also maltose and dextrins in there. It's 100% fermentable. It's got similar properties (as far as brewing goes) to dextrose, not maltodextrin which is dried corn syrup.

[rwh]

Er, hang on. Dextrose is just another name for Glucose. If I remember correctly it's called this because it's a shortening of Dextrose Monohydrate, meaning that in its crystalline form, for every two glucose molecules there is a water molecule incorporated in the lattice. You can actually get anhydrous glucose as well, which has had the water molecule removed, and it has 110% the amount of fermentable sugars in it by weight as compared with Dextrose Monohydrate.

As for maltose and dextrins, there should be almost none present in dextrose powder, other than impurities left over because the purification process won't be 100% effective.

Maltodextrin is made up of a mix of different dextrins, being different length carbohydrates. About 30% of maltodextrin is fermentable, the rest is long chain carbohydrates that contribute to mouthfeel, but if overused can contribute to a soapy taste/feel.

[Pale_Ale]

Er, hang on. Dextrose is just another name for Glucose. If I remember correctly it's called this because it's a shortening of Dextrose Monohydrate, meaning that in its crystalline form, for every two glucose molecules there is a water molecule incorporated in the lattice. You can actually get anhydrous glucose as well, which has had the water molecule removed, and it has 110% the amount of fermentable sugars in it by weight as compared with Dextrose Monohydrate.

As for maltose and dextrins, there should be almost none present in dextrose powder, other than impurities left over because the purification process won't be 100% effective.

Maltodextrin is made up of a mix of different dextrins, being different length carbohydrates. About 30% of maltodextrin is fermentable, the rest is long chain carbohydrates that contribute to mouthfeel, but if overused can contribute to a soapy taste/feel.

I believe D-Glucose is a synonym for dextrose but Glucose is a compound which can include dextrose and other sugars.

glu·cose (glū'kōs') pronunciation
n.

1. A monosaccharide sugar, C6H12O6, occurring widely in most plant and animal tissue. It is the principal circulating sugar in the blood and the major energy source of the body.
2. A colorless to yellowish syrupy mixture of dextrose, maltose, and dextrins containing about 20 percent water, used in confectionery, alcoholic fermentation, tanning, and treating tobacco. Also called starch syrup.

[French, from Greek glukus, sweet.]

[dragonphoenix73]

Just out of interest....

....how much corn syrup/maltodextrin should one add in a brew to get a nice head and body to it?

[Pale_Ale]

I tend not to use it preferring all-malt but I wouldn't exceed 250g as a general rule. I'm sure there's differing opinions though.

[rwh]

Yeah, 250g is a decent limit, too much and you can begin to taste it, and it can also lead to a soapy mouthfeel.

I've completely replaced it with specialty grains (Crystal and Carapils mostly), as they do the same job, but taste good too.