Forgot dextrose

[NEIPAMAN]

Hey everyone,

First time hombrewer and just realized that I forgot to add dextrose to my New England IPA I brewed 3 weeks ago. It called to add before the botttling stage but I read over that. I did add the priming sugar atleast and is growlers. I read the abv will be less than called for due to the dextrose not added. How much will it be reduced due to my mistake? The recipie calls for 7.6% final product. Thanks in advance.

 

[JonM]

Whoops, we've all forgotten an ingredient here and there. Just forget about it and try to remember next time. Your beer will be just fine without the added dextrose.

... did you bottle in growlers?

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

Whoops, we've all forgotten an ingredient here and there. Just forget about it and try to remember next time. Your beer will be just fine without the added dextrose.

Will it be okay? If the dextrose was his priming sugar then there may or may not be any carbonation when he goes to drink the beer.

If you bottled in growlers then just do the calculations and add the appropriate amount to each growler now.

 

[NEIPAMAN]

Yes, I bottled in 64 oz growlers. I didn't want to deal with the hassle of sanitizing 48 plus bottles haha. It made about 4 gallons and I put 4 oz of priming sugar before bottling.

 

[JonM]

Those things are not meant to hold the pressure associated with bottle conditioning. The caps can let pressure out and in some cases they can explode with enough force to send glass through drywall.

Sure, some say they've done it with no problems, but some people also say they can drive without a seat belt, ride a motorcycle without a helmet, or point a firearm in something other than a safe direction. Just be careful with those things.

 

[NEIPAMAN]

Even if I bought air lock caps for them at my local homebrew store? It's not a normal aluminum cap, it is plastic with silicon seal on the inside.

 

[JonM]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=446554

 

[microbusbrewery]

+1 for not bottling in growlers next time for the same reasons JonM mentioned. I doubt you'll run into any bottle bombs, but carbing could be inconsistent due to bleeding off CO2.
The dextrose helps dry out an IPA ensuring it has a crisp finish and contributes to ABV without adding body. You'll be fine (assuming it carbs in the growlers) but if you were to do a side by side comparison to the same recipe with and without the dextrose, you'd probably notice the ones without has a bit more body and probably a bit more perceived residual sweetness. If you make a similar recipe again and forget it again, you can dissolve it in a small amount of boiling water then allow it to cool and add it to the fermenter. I'd recommend adding towards the end of primary.

 

[NEIPAMAN]

Thank you everyone for the input. I'm praying for no bottle bombs, might wear some safety glasses opening the fridge haha. I plan on converting my mini fridge into a kegerator soon. Just saving up for the parts and conversion kit. Do y'all know how much guesstimated abv will be lost due to the dextrose being skipped?

 

[JonM]

You can estimate the abv by using the ppg (points per pound per gallon) from the extract. (Say 1 lb of extract gives you 1.036 ppg, that means one pound of extract in one gallon of water would given you a 1.036 OG. You can multiply by the number of pounds and gallons you used.)

Are they conditioning in the fridge?

 

[NEIPAMAN]

Ok great, Thank you.

No, I have them condition room temp roughly 69 degrees in my beer closet. I plan to move them over to the mini fridge after the 4th (2 weeks bottled in growlers).

 

[NEIPAMAN]

Ok thank you.

No, they are conditioning in my beer closet around 69 degrees (been in there a week and a half).