Brown Sugar for priming in a Christmas Ale

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snipper_cr

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I have a Christmas ale that I brewed a while back that I am ready to put into the bottles and let condition for a while. The recipe is below. What would be the effects of priming with brown sugar (in an attempt to get a subtle taste contribution)? Otherwise I can use corn sugar. If that taste would be good, I'd like to add it but if bad, I'll stick with corn sugar. I'll probably go with 3/4 cup (5 gallon batch) to use normal carbonation. So any thoughts?

8 lb Pale Liquid Extract
1 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
1/2 lb Honey Malt
1/2 lb Special B Malt
1 oz Northern Brewer [7.50%] (35 min)
1 oz Hallertauer [2.50%] (10 min
1 tsp Ginger Root (Boil 5.0 min)
1 tsp Nutmeg (Boil 5.0 min)
2 tsp Cardamon (Boil 5.0 min)
2 tsp Cinnamon (Boil 5.0 min)
1 oz Orange Peel, Sweet (Boil 5.0 min)
Belgian Wit Ale (White Labs #WLP400)
 
I did a pumpkin ale with brown sugar as the priming sugar (a commercial pumpkin does it as well) and I noticed a distinctive and pleasant hint of brown sugar in the taste. So I say go for it.
 
I prime my porter with brown sugar, because we don't need no cream in da coffee.

If it adds any flavor, it's very subtle.
 
I primed my porter with a portion of DME and brown sugar. Has a nice creamy head but I don't know if it added any flavor, just seemed right with that kind of beer. Lots of flavors in a porter to pick out a few ounces of brown sugar.
 
Ditto the Rev. I did a test batch of Cali Common but used four different priming techniques. Each added its own flavor. I did one with table sugar, one with honey and table sugar, one with brown sugar and lastly one with raw sugar. I personally thought brown turned out the best but the raw was pretty good also.
 
Would you have to use the same amount of brown sugar as you would corn sugar? I have a Bourbon Vanilla Porter that needs bottling and I might try brown sugar.
 
I've used it for some dark beers carbed to 2.2 volumes or less. Such a small amount in such a flavorful beer is unnoticeable. One ten gallon batch of Stout I used brown on half and cane in the other half. Nobody could ever tell any difference. If you want it for flavor I think you will need to add it to the boil, not the bottle.
 
I'm adding brown sugar for priming to my cranberry/ginger Holiday Ale that I'm bottling this weekend. I considered molasses, but I'm not sure if it would make that much of a difference.
 
Would you have to use the same amount of brown sugar as you would corn sugar? I have a Bourbon Vanilla Porter that needs bottling and I might try brown sugar.


Brewheads.com has a nice priming sugar calculator that has cane, corn, brown, maple, honey, DME, LME, and a couple of others. It gives the answer in weight, rather than a volume measurement, so you will probably need a scale.
 
When using Brown sugar, it tends to hold shape a bit and I know in baking, some recipes call for "2/3 cup loose brown sugar" and some call for "2/3 cup packaged brown sugar." I would guess "Packed" is correct to get rid of the air and get a better measurement?
 
When using Brown sugar, it tends to hold shape a bit and I know in baking, some recipes call for "2/3 cup loose brown sugar" and some call for "2/3 cup packaged brown sugar." I would guess "Packed" is correct to get rid of the air and get a better measurement?

It really is better to measure by weight not by volume....Like Liberty dude said. :D

Priming (corn sugar) sugar for non carbed to style recipes, meaning what you get in a kit are either 4.5 oz or 5oz.....
 
Would you have to use the same amount of brown sugar as you would corn sugar? I have a Bourbon Vanilla Porter that needs bottling and I might try brown sugar.

I would use the same as the amount of table sugar as Rev said. Let me know how this turns out. The molasses should add a great flavor to the Vanilla. Killer combo.
 
Seemed like it would fit the flavor profile I was looking for.

I've had the this beer in the bottles for about a month now. Overall really good but still think it could use a bit more time. The brown sugar added a nice flavor although I might have put a bit too much in. I would not say its OVER carbonated, but a bit more than I think the style called for.
 
I used about 3/4 cup non-packed brown sugar for my porter and it hardly carbed at all. I can say that I do notice the slight brown sugar flavor, and that is really nice. Thankfully my TAD system finished the carbonation.
 
I have primed brown ales (including my spiced christmas beer this year), a cider, vanilla bourbon porter, and a milk stout all with brown sugar. All have been great.

Go for it.
 
I used demerara sugar to prime my Tripel. Ruined it.

Tasted like liquid gold prior to bottling, but now it tastes borderline-undesireable. I'll give it time, but the change was so drastic, I'm almost certain that it was the cause of the problem.

I do not suggest demerara/turbinado sugar for anything, based on my experience.
 

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