complete newbie need help on first brew

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silv3rbull3t

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Hello all,

A quick question. I've watched a few how to brew your own beer video's on youtube and the guys brewing there beer added dextrose before they let there wort ferment. I am about to brew up my first batch and i have a malt extract, the only dextrose included was a small bag thats about a cups worth (i think its the priming to be added during bottling. My question is does my Malt extract allready contain sugar in it? Or do i need to go to the store and buy 6 cups worth of sugar? THanks in advance.....
 
Malt (and malt extract) is the primary source of sugar in brewing (some would argue it should be the only source). For myself, the only use of dextrose is in bottling, though in some styles it can also be used to dry the beer out.

In your case, the dextrose you received is just for priming when you bottle your brew.

And welcome to HBT! :mug:
 
bradsul said:
Malt (and malt extract) is the primary source of sugar in brewing (some would argue it should be the only source). For myself, the only use of dextrose is in bottling, though in some styles it can also be used to dry the beer out.

In your case, the dextrose you received is just for priming when you bottle your brew.

And welcome to HBT! :mug:


Thanks for the response
 
No, no need for dextrose. There are plenty of fermentables in malt extract.

I could be wrong but I think the only reason to add the dextrose would be too increase abv.

sanitize, drink (I'm guessing not a homebrew this time) and enjoy.

good luck.
 
You'd only want to add sugar if you're trying to dry a beer out or increase alcohol without any body. This would be done for an extremely light ale or a barley wine. Whoever was brewing on youtube probably bought a cheap kit since sugar is cheaper than malt extract.
 
As i brewed up the wort i stirred it about every min or so. There was a slight burnt smell comming from the wort. Is this normal, or did i screw up?
 
Depending on the type of beer you may get a roasted smell. However it's also possible you had a bit of extract stuck to the bottom of your pot that wasn't getting into solution even with your stirring. That will scorch and cause some of that smell for sure.

You won't really know until you get your wort out of the kettle and into the fermenter. Either way you should still be fine though!
 
You should remove your kettle from the heat source before you add the malt and then return it to the heat after the malt has completely dissolved. As Bradsul indicated, you may have scorched some on the bottom of the kettle. Yuck.
 

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