Anyone using dextrose or hot rolled grain?

[TexasT]

I'm wondering if others have used dextrose in place of sugar or hot rolled grains (pre-gelatinized) instead of whole grains. Was it worth the switch? Encounter any issues with mashing that I would want to consider before switching?

[Rich Morgan]

Years back I did a couple of washes with Dextrose Monohydrate (aka dextrose), there was a glut on the market here and it was very cheap. This is not normally the case in Australia, as its usually about twice the price over cane sugar. In Australia most of dextrose is derived from wheat, but I know in the US it mainly comes from corn. This should not make a difference. You should not have any trouble fermenting Dextrose, if anything the ferment goes too fast (hot), as there is not a lot of hydrolysation for the yeast to do. Pure dextrose ferments will run short on Nitrogen, so you will need some DAP. I find pure sugar washes stink a bit during fermentation, and are only really suitable for neutral spirit production. I would always suggest small trial batches to prove the mix, yeast and supplements.

[TexasT]

Sounds like a plan. I'm running a small trial with it now and will check the abv shortly to see how it's progressing. Thanks

[bluestar]

I'm wondering if others have used dextrose in place of sugar or hot rolled grains (pre-gelatinized) instead of whole grains. Was it worth the switch? Encounter any issues with mashing that I would want to consider before switching?

We will be running gelatinized corn shortly, and will let you know our experience with it. If anyone else has done the same, we would be eager to hear before we start.

[TexasT]

Im at a loss. I did a test batch using flaked wheat and dextrose, but otherwise following the same recipe except for the ingredient change and the mash stalled after 24 hrs. At 12 hours it was looking very promising, was very active but by the time it crossed 24 hrs, all activity had stopped, the SG readings indicated very little ethanol had been made (<1%). Aroma was good, temp was good, Ph was around 4.2 if I recall correctly. The yeast was fresh, included nutrients and judging from the initial roll, I was expecting a good abv from this test. Since I was changing 2 ingredients (dextrose AND rolled wheat instead of whole berries) I did a second mini mash using sugar along with the rolled wheat. Both stalled. This was my first with flaked wheat, but made sure I heated and maintained at 160 degrees for about 10 minutes, then I removed the grain and transferred the sticky stuff to a small fermenter and added water, just as I always to with this recipe. (I usually pull the starches out with a third of my overall water, then add the other 2/3 to cool it faster so I can pitch and seal it up. This recipe has been spot on many times before, so Im at a loss as to what caused the stall. I may try adding more sugar to see it it will come back...but thats what puzzles me, it should be necessary. Never had to do that before.

[PeteB]

Im at a loss. I did a test batch using flaked wheat and dextrose, but otherwise following the same recipe except for the ingredient change and the mash stalled after 24 hrs. At 12 hours it was looking very promising, was very active but by the time it crossed 24 hrs, all activity had stopped, the SG readings indicated very little ethanol had been made (<1%). Aroma was good, temp was good, Ph was around 4.2 if I recall correctly. The yeast was fresh, included nutrients and judging from the initial roll, I was expecting a good abv from this test. Since I was changing 2 ingredients (dextrose AND rolled wheat instead of whole berries) I did a second mini mash using sugar along with the rolled wheat. Both stalled. This was my first with flaked wheat, but made sure I heated and maintained at 160 degrees for about 10 minutes, then I removed the grain and transferred the sticky stuff to a small fermenter and added water, just as I always to with this recipe. (I usually pull the starches out with a third of my overall water, then add the other 2/3 to cool it faster so I can pitch and seal it up. This recipe has been spot on many times before, so Im at a loss as to what caused the stall. I may try adding more sugar to see it it will come back...but thats what puzzles me, it should be necessary. Never had to do that before.

How are you converting starch to sugars? You have mentioned most things except malted grain and/or enzymes or?

Also, if your grain has had only one third of the water added before you drain the "sticky stuff" = wort, you will have left a lot of the "sticky stuff" behind with the grain.

[bluestar]

Pete's right, nothing in your description so far indicates how your are doing your starch conversion.

[TexasT]

My bad. Conversion w Alpha and Gluco and I did sparge the grain . All things considered, even if I eliminated any grains, the sugars or single ring dextrose should have sufficiently fed a nice fermentation just like a plain sugar wash. Not often I'm left scratching my head. I'm beginning to wonder if my package yeast got too hot when I was moving and degredated.