1 Day to Brew, No Dextrose, HB Shop Closed, What to do?

I may have a few minutes tomorrow (Monday) to get an apfelwein started.

I'm out of dextrose. My homebrew shop is closed on Mondays.

What other types of stores might have dextrose (not online, since I need it same-day)?

Will anything at a grocery store be an adequate substitute? I've never really spent a lot of time in the "sugar aisle" but I only recall seeing cane sugar and confectioner's sugar -- I assume neither will have the same fermentability.

This is EdWort's Apfelwein recipe.

Any advice?

Thanks,

chris.

Just use plain table sugar (sucrose).

you wont find dextrose in a regular grocery store. I have read of people finding it in health food stores but never actually seen it. Some people make apfelwein with brown sugar or you could just wait. Its not like there is much involved in making apfelwein like there is beer. You shouldnt worry about scheduling an apfelwein brewday since it takes about 10 minutes. Also since you are going to want to age it months a few days shouldnt matter.

BigEd said:

Just use plain table sugar (sucrose).

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Really? That's easy enough.

Same amount as dextrose? Any difference in fermentability / byproducts / flavor?

Thanks

I've made about a dozen Apfelweins and Ciders.

In one batch I made I used 7 lbs of regular table sugar.

add it later or skip it all together?

OMJ said:

Its not like there is much involved in making apfelwein like there is beer. You shouldnt worry about scheduling an apfelwein brewday since it takes about 10 minutes. Also since you are going to want to age it months a few days shouldnt matter.

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I have an infant who has just learned to crawl. Time to shop, sanitize, and mix ingredients = ultimate luxury. Won't come around again for a while.

Haven't actually boiled a brew in over a year. Sigh.

Table sugar works fine. I use it all the time.

Table sugar (sucrose) converts to simpler sugars like dextrose in the presence of acids. It's used in wines alot, as the pH is typically lower than in beer.

I'm not certain how acidic the apfelwein is, so I can't tell you there. In winemaking from grapes, there is typically pH's in the neighborhood of 3.1, so they convert the sugar easily. Normal beer isn't that acidic, so I guess that's why the flavor is affected. But I think apples are pretty acidic.

As far as amounts, since dextrose (corn sugar) sold in homebrew shops has some water bound up in the molecules, you use more dextrose than sucrose. I saw a figure of about 8.9 % less sucrose than dextrose by weight, which I used in my last wine adjustment. Other places on the internet say the difference is 20-25%! Perhaps the first is fermentable difference, and the second is perceived sweetness? Perhaps someone can clarify this for us.

As to flavor differences, most in winemaking say you can't tell the difference, and sucrose is typically used there. I used dextrose because I had it, and my wine started a little high in pH (I later adjusted it).