Priming with brown sugar?

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jdoyle83

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I did a search for this, but didn't come up with a whole lot.

I am bottling a dark/red/some-kind-of ale(?) today [7 lbs extract, crystal 60 & roasted barley steeped, Millenium & EKG hops] and just realized I don't have any priming sugar! :mad:

Has anybody primed with brown sugar before? would you recommend it?

I haven't been able to find dextrose at any of the local supermarkets, do they call it something else or do I have to go to the (not-so) LHBS if brown sugar is a bad idea?

I was going to bottle with DME this time around anyways, so maybe brown sugar wouldn't make a drastic difference? :confused: I was going to bottle at 4:00 and now I'm using my prep time screwing around on the internet!
 
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter11-3.html

You can prime your beer with any fermentable that you want. Any sugar: white cane sugar, brown sugar, honey, molasses, even maple syrup can be used for priming. The darker sugars can contribute a subtle aftertaste (sometimes desired) and are more appropriate for heavier, darker beers. Simple sugars, like corn or cane sugar, are used most often though many brewers use dry malt extract too.
 
I did a pumpkin porter primed with brown sugar (a couple commercial pumpkin ales are primed with it so I thought "what the heck!")

It came out nice, you could definitely taste it, it went well with the molasses, pumpkins and spices.
 
...and for those of us without scales, about how much did you use? 3/4 cup okay for a 5 gallon batch? more? less?

sorry to be so damn helpless, but everything I found on the subject was in terms of weight, which only confused me.

Thanks for the help, you people amaze me.:mug:
 
Arrgh...I can't find the refrence, but I believe you use less than normal. I'm pretty sure that you use 1/2 cup for 5 gallons....and you dissolve it in boiling water like you normally do with priming sugar.

grr...I wish I could find the source...But I'm almost positive 1/2 cup was what I used for my porter.

EDIT Palmer says this...

Here's how to make and add priming solutions:
1. Boil 3/4 cup of corn sugar (4 oz by weight), or 2/3 cup of white sugar, or 1 and 1/4 cup dry malt extract in 2 cups of water and let it cool.

Since brown sugar is really just table sugar with mollases go with 2/3 of a cup.
 
just finished up bottling, I used 2/3 cup dark brown sugar and am very excited to see how it turns out. the hydro sample tasted AMAZING. :ban: I'll let you know how the carb worked out in a few weeks! :mug:
 
Well...it's been a few weeks and I'm about to prime a couple different batches with brown sugar and am curious how this worked out for you. How is the head? Was 2/3 cup good for 5 gallons?
 
I would measure brown sugar by weight because the volume can vary greatly depending on how tightly you pack it into the measuring cup.
 
I would measure brown sugar by weight because the volume can vary greatly depending on how tightly you pack it into the measuring cup.

yessir

the front of the package says 32 oz.
the back of the package says 4 2/3 cups "firmly packed sugar"

according to something that Revvy posted at some point, 5 oz of corn sugar begets the same amount of carbonation as 4.75 oz of cane sugar.

by my math... that is between 2/3 and 3/4 of a cup (.69)

however, in my opinion, a darker beer tastes just as good dead and flat.
so i am going to err on the safe side and do 2/3 cup superpacked brown.

***(given a recipe calling for 5 oz corn sugar)

additionally,
i have to say that brown sugar is not refined sugar with molasses mixed back in.
well, at least not in all cases. just look for a sticker that says NO BEET sugar.
you will probably only find it on one brand: C&H.
 
Chris, how did this turn out? My next batch will be a porter and I'm curious if you can taste any difference with brown sugar.

AWESOME! No, really. Tho I think you should wait as long as possible before cracking them open. For some reason mine took quite a while (over a month) to prime. The early bottles really tasted of brown sugar but the one I cracked today tasted LOVELY!
 
So since there seems to be a slight variety of answers, I was wondering if someone has a more definitive answer for how much brown sugar to use. I'm about to bottle my pumpkin ale and I really want to try this out.

How much brown sugar (by weight) should I use for 5 gallons? I'm not sure exactly how the brown sugar compares to the other types of sugar as far as how much to use. What has worked for people that have used this already?
 
So since there seems to be a slight variety of answers, I was wondering if someone has a more definitive answer for how much brown sugar to use. I'm about to bottle my pumpkin ale and I really want to try this out.

How much brown sugar (by weight) should I use for 5 gallons? I'm not sure exactly how the brown sugar compares to the other types of sugar as far as how much to use. What has worked for people that have used this already?

There is a chart in my bottling tips thread. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/index3.html#post1114892
 
So since there seems to be a slight variety of answers, I was wondering if someone has a more definitive answer for how much brown sugar to use. I'm about to bottle my pumpkin ale and I really want to try this out.

How much brown sugar (by weight) should I use for 5 gallons? I'm not sure exactly how the brown sugar compares to the other types of sugar as far as how much to use. What has worked for people that have used this already?

I am getting ready to bottle my Vanilla Pumpkin Spice Ale as well - I am going to use 2/3 cup (with slight rounded scoop on top) and add it w/ 2 cups water for my priming solution. I think this is going to be great! I just hope it doesn't take TOO long to carb up.

Any experiences with what the head looks like after using brown sugar? i was going to bottle today, but can postpone if needed. Do you think this sounds good?
 
I bottled a porter with brown sugar and had zero head, but that's usually the case with my beers anyway. I don't know if it changed the taste of the beer or not, but if it helps, the three-four month old beer I had yesterday was fantastic.

My beers carbed up in a normal amount of time with brown sugar, but it took a longer time for the CO2 to dissolve into solution.
 
My beers carbed up in a normal amount of time with brown sugar, but it took a longer time for the CO2 to dissolve into solution.

This doesn't make any sense. If the co2 isn't in solution, then the beer's not carbed.
 
how many volumes of Co2 will this give?
I would like to use brown cane with my american hybrid amber, ideally I would like a mid range 2.4 / 2.5
 
...and for those of us without scales, about how much did you use? 3/4 cup okay for a 5 gallon batch? more? less?

sorry to be so damn helpless, but everything I found on the subject was in terms of weight, which only confused me.

Thanks for the help, you people amaze me.:mug:

Not that you can't measure by volume, but I would HIGHLY recommend buying a scale. You can get a cheap kitchen scale for about $5. Well worth it.
 
I'm fairly new to brewing and am working on upgrading my setup to do five gallon batches, but today I bottled my porter that I primed with brown sugar. I did a 2 gallon batch (using a Mr. Beer keg/fermenter) and used 1/4 cup firm packed brown sugar that was dissolved into 1 cup of boiling water. The sample today tasted great. Looking forward to trying it out in a few weeks.
 
Update: the porter I brewed with brown sugar for priming turned out pretty well. The brown sugar shows just a hint at the end and isn't over-powering by any means. However, the beer feels (to me, though my wife disagrees) slightly over-carbonated. Not sure if this is related to using brown sugar vs. white sugar as the recipe called for.
 
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