Corn Sugar vs Table Sugar for Priming

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danculwell

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I'm read (both from various people here and in books) that when you prime your not adding enough sugar for any off flavors to come through in your beer.

If this is true then why does it seem like everyone uses corn sugar to prime? Are there other benefits to using corn sugar?
 
I have found no difference. I started bottling with cane sugar because I have it. It works fine. The home brew calculators say you need slightly less (2.5 versus 2.7 oz by weight compared to corn sugar on 5 gallons at a typical 2 vols carbed)

I say cane sugar unless you ju$t want to $upport your home brew $tore.... they will love you... it is easy... all measured out and all!
 
now that you bring it up, I doubt it matters. I use dextrose because...well thats what I've always been told. I'm sure if you calculated it right it really doesn't matter.

:off:
Chefmike, how did you make your limoncello? My fiancee's parents make it every year with the lemon trees in their yard. Its sublime!
 
I started with corn sugar for my first 8 -10 batches and have used regular cane sugar for my last 10 batches and notice no difference in carbonation, head, or taste. Just makes 'cents' to me to use the cheapest one.
 
Chefmike, how did you make your limoncello? My fiancee's parents make it every year with the lemon trees in their yard. Its sublime!


I did the following

12/20/08
16 lemons and 1.5l everclear
-zest the lemons )partially frozen helps!
-put in a gallon glass jar with the everclear. it will turn crispy and white.

wait a long time, (40 days)
then strain and mix with the simple syrup:

2/2/09
10 cups filtered h2o
7 cups sugar
boil.
cool.
mix, turning a beautiful creamy yellow.
pour into bottles.
recommend store in freezer and serve COLD.
Adjust water and sugar to desired strength.
 
I try to keep corn sugar on hand, but I have used cane sugar in a pinch (when I couldn't remember where I had hidden the corn sugar). No difference in flavor that I could detect. But...you may have a bit easier time making the corn sugar dissolve.
 
But...you may have a bit easier time making the corn sugar dissolve.

ummmm.... why?

The granular structure on both is similiar, in a similiar amount of water at the same temperature (200+ F), I cannot imagine what difference you could detect. ???
 
I use cane sugar to naturally carbonate in some of my kegs. In fact, I've even done it without dissolving the sugar first. In a keg, it's not as important, because you're only priming one container, and so you don't need complete and immediate mixing of the sugar with the beer.

There's no flavor/taste reason I can find with priming vs. force-carbonating kegs. I just find that sugar is cheaper than CO2, and I don't have the hassle of refilling my gas as often when I'm only using it to push beer out of the keg.
 
I use cane sugar for bottle priming. Furthermore, I use it in place of dextrose in recipes that call for dextrose sugar and there is no difference...
 
chefmike--

My LHBS corn sugar seems finer (almost like powdered sugar), so it dissolves easier. If my corn and cane were both the same size granules, I really don't know if there would be a difference. I have also seen some others make a similar claim (I checked to see if I was the only one)--even some in other hbtalk threads. Still, I'm not suggesting that it should be a deal-breaker for anyone.
 
chefmike--

My LHBS corn sugar seems finer (almost like powdered sugar), so it dissolves easier.

i guess they changed it at some point in the last 5 years. maybe the store i got mine from was just repacking cane sugar? :drunk:

and i guess that would make a slight difference to compare side by side.

but i really have better things to nit pick :D

to the post above about using crystals right in a keg (cue the sanitation freaks telling you not to do that), i have done it in a couple of liter flip tops when I have a little too much beer for a keg, but not enough to bottle a sixer.

you are correct... yeasties eat the crystals just fine.
 
And I'll surrender the point. I've used both kinds of sugar and there has been no harm to the beer. Any difference may have been in my head (trying to justify the additional expense).
 
IMO "priming sugar" (as they often call corn sugar) is a gimmick used by the homebrew industry to get you to pay more for something you don't really need.
 
Very wierd, and im just wondering why this happend to me.

I have bought some corn sugar (dextrose) at bulk barn, it was amazingly cheap!!

I used around 300-500grams of it on my regular 5gal batch, and I ALSO used half a tsp per 330ml bottle.

It seems ALL my bottles that have been primed with dextrose have been severely under-carbed!! thats right UNDER!

My usual half tsp of regular sugar usually does the trick, I get a nice foamy thick head!

Whats up with that ? I dont use soap or clean my bottles with anything ! I also use a measuring spoon for accuracy with each bottle. Why is dextrose not providing sufficient carbing ? Do I need to use more ?

Im never using corn sugar ( dextrose ) again in any of my priming, completly ruined a perfect batch of my hobgoblin clone.....im considering re-bottling them all.
 
I've use both as well and they get the job done just fine. The only difference I see is that Corn Sugar seems to produce a creamier head on the beers, with smaller bubbles, with Cane sugar producing larger bubbles and not as nice of a head. That's my perception anyway, so I prefer to use Corn Sugar. I'd rather use neither and start kegging but that's not in the cards right now.
 
Has anyone used caramel to prime???? Was thinking of trying it out. just cane sugar and water boiled together will make it.....
 
Has anyone used caramel to prime???? Was thinking of trying it out. just cane sugar and water boiled together will make it.....

I would think thatthe sugars being caramelized might make them harder for yeast to break down, therefore taking longer to carbonate completely. It may also not carbonate to the degree you were hoping for because the yeast can't use all the sugar you provided because it is too hard to digest.

But that's just my line of thinking. There's only one way to find out, give it a shot and good luck!
 
it might have to do with the composition of table sugar - it is a combo of both dextrose and fructose, both of which can be processed by the yeast. corn sugar only has dextrose in it though
 
Anyone use Powdered Fructose? It's fine like corn sugar and is quite cheap. My wife works in Lancaster once a month and goes to a little Amish store and gets our sugar, oats and flower there. A few months ago she found they had Fructose and is $3 for a 2lb bag, I've been using 4oz per 5gal batch and seems to work great.
 
I did an experiment last month with two batches, a Honey Porter (Midwest kit) and a SFTH Pale Ale. The Midwest kit came with 5 ounces of corn sugar and the pale ale I used 4.1 ounces of cane sugar. I primed the Honey Porter first on 5/5/12 and it was fully carbed on 5/28/12. The Pale Ale I bottled on 5/13/12 and was fully carbed (but still green) on 5/27/12.

US-05 for the my Pale Ale and S-04 for the Honey Porter. Both were bottled the same way. Both were fermented at the same temperature.

I tested them by pouring a bottle of each at the end of the week into a glass and observed the amount of CO2 was rising from the imperfections in my glass and mouthfeel. Three of four test subjects (friends who like free beer) agreed on the results at each stage. Could be a coincidence, could be some other factor, could be all incorrect. I will try a similar test soon with more detail. For now the sugar I use to make everything else works much better than stuff that takes forever to dissolve and has almost no other practical application.
 
ummmm.... why?

The granular structure on both is similiar, in a similiar amount of water at the same temperature (200+ F), I cannot imagine what difference you could detect. ???


This is the dilemma I'm facing this year: To dissolve cane granulated sugar or try dissolving corn sugar. Cane sugar is cheaper. I want to add what has been used in years past, 5 lbs granulated sugar to 5 gallons of sweet apple cider to boost alcohol content during fermentation. I read you need 25% more corn sugar to reach the equivalent of cane sugar. Cane sugar is hard to dissolve into 50 gallons even if I use 5 gallon vessels.

Does corn sugar dissolve easier? Thoughts?
 
Anyone ever try icing sugar? That's very fine cane.

I seem to recall reading about putting some wort aside before throwing the yeast and then adding it back in for bottling but I have no idea of the quantity or results...just something I noticed when reading up on the subject.
 
This is the dilemma I'm facing this year: To dissolve cane granulated sugar or try dissolving corn sugar. Cane sugar is cheaper. I want to add what has been used in years past, 5 lbs granulated sugar to 5 gallons of sweet apple cider to boost alcohol content during fermentation. I read you need 25% more corn sugar to reach the equivalent of cane sugar. Cane sugar is hard to dissolve into 50 gallons even if I use 5 gallon vessels.

Does corn sugar dissolve easier? Thoughts?

In my experience, no. But the amount of time it takes is negligible if it's what you have on hand and works best for your cider. It takes a little more time but is cheaper. All a matter of preferance. I believe you are correct and will need 25% more corn sugar than you would cane sugar.
 
This is the dilemma I'm facing this year: To dissolve cane granulated sugar or try dissolving corn sugar. Cane sugar is cheaper. I want to add what has been used in years past, 5 lbs granulated sugar to 5 gallons of sweet apple cider to boost alcohol content during fermentation. I read you need 25% more corn sugar to reach the equivalent of cane sugar. Cane sugar is hard to dissolve into 50 gallons even if I use 5 gallon vessels.

Does corn sugar dissolve easier? Thoughts?


I'm not sure why you are having problems dissolving any kind of sugar. Are you just adding sugar directly into the fermentor? I could see an issue with any type of sugar then. If so, you could reserve some of the cider, heat it up with the sugar to dissolve the sugar, then cool it and add to the fermentor.
 
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