MaltoDextrine at end of 60min boil?

My last attempt at Oatmeal Stout was great! But it lacked thickness, viscosity, and.... .... well ALCOHOL CONTENT.

I am going to steep grains for 45min. Add Malt Extract and Boil for another 60.


When do I add: Malto dextrine 8 oz., and Muntons Amber DME 1 lb.

I also have some corn sugar if that sounds like a cool idea to.

Brewing in 3 hours so any quick replies would be appreciated:cross:

If you don't know feel free to guess

There's no need to add any malto dextrine (MD) in the boil.

Adding Corn Sugar (CS) will ferment out more resulting in a drier brew.

The DME will up the alcohol and sweetness, but you have to offset the sweetness with extra hops, as with the CS.

After your brew is done fermenting (both primary and secondary if you do one) you can adjust the body (mouth-feel) with the Malto Dextrine before bottling if you think the brew needs it.

MD is a non-fermentable sugar that IMO should be used sparingly. 8 OZ is WAY over the top. 1-2 oz will usually do the job.

staffVAJoe said:

My last attempt at Oatmeal Stout was great! But it lacked thickness, viscosity, and.... .... well ALCOHOL CONTENT.

I am going to steep grains for 45min. Add Malt Extract and Boil for another 60.


When do I add: Malto dextrine 8 oz., and Muntons Amber DME 1 lb.

I also have some corn sugar if that sounds like a cool idea to.

Brewing in 3 hours so any quick replies would be appreciated:cross:

Click to expand...

AFAIK all of these can be added in the last 10 min or so.

Maltodextrine can be added at any time- it's a nonfermentable that provides body and mouthfeel. You can add it during the boil, or at the end of the boil, or even at bottling along with the priming sugar.

If you post the whole recipe, we could give you more specific advice on the pound of DME.

It's a partial mash kit with steeping grains so I do not have a "recipe" so to speak. I do have more hops in fridge though; should I add a 1/2oz extra to balance things?

If you add the CS and DME you will need more hops for sure. But as previously mentioned just save the CS and DME until the end of the boil.

staffVAJoe said:

It's a partial mash kit with steeping grains so I do not have a "recipe" so to speak. I do have more hops in fridge though; should I add a 1/2oz extra to balance things?

Click to expand...

No, I wouldn't. You may not balance it at all- especially if you're already on the high end of IBUs for the style. Or, if you add the hops late, you might have too much hops flavor which is out of place in a stout.

Even a PM kit has a "recipe"- it has hops, grain, extract, etc, so without knowing what you've already got and the hop schedule, we'd be guessing. It'd be like telling you if your spaghetti sauce needs more bay leaf. I like bay leaf, so maybe yes. But without knowing what you've already got in there, there's no way to tell.

YooperBrew said:

No, I wouldn't. You may not balance it at all- especially if you're already on the high end of IBUs for the style. Or, if you add the hops late, you might have too much hops flavor which is out of place in a stout.

Even a PM kit has a "recipe"- it has hops, grain, extract, etc, so without knowing what you've already got and the hop schedule, we'd be guessing. It'd be like telling you if your spaghetti sauce needs more bay leaf. I like bay leaf, so maybe yes. But without knowing what you've already got in there, there's no way to tell.

Click to expand...

I went with adding hops since he was incresing the sugars by 2 lbs...not knowing his recipe...

homebrewer_99 said:

I went with adding hops since he was incresing the sugars by 2 lbs...not knowing his recipe...

Click to expand...

I know I am being a PITA not having the recipe but I have read enough of your posts to respect your opinions and advice (please tell me you don't own 20+ cats)

with the extra 2 lbs of sugars would you add 1/2 oz of hops pellets? Keep in mind I like both hops and Bay Leaves

Lots of love from VA

-Joe B

staffVAJoe said:

I know I am being a PITA not having the recipe but I have read enough of your posts to respect your opinions and advice (please tell me you don't own 20+ cats)

with the extra 2 lbs of sugars would you add 1/2 oz of hops pellets? Keep in mind I like both hops and Bay Leaves

Lots of love from VA

-Joe B

Click to expand...

First off, I personally think pets are food products and couldn't care less about what other people think about my opinions.

Yooper is correct about the hops, but so am I. It really all depends on what you are going for.

In my opinion, if you're adding 2 lbs of extra malt sugar (to ferment) it needs to be offset by bittering hops to maintain a balance. Adding 1/2 oz of 2.5%AA and/or 12%AA is a large spread. Again, it depends on the recipe.

In general, a stout is not too hoppy and could be sweet. But I prefer a good balance.