Adding priming sugar

My buddy adds alittle bit of priming sugar to each bottle, not the bucket.. he says it gives him a nicer foam head... Is this good or bad practice..??
Thx

It's all just priming sugar, all other things being equal it shouldn't matter whether he adds it to each bottle or to the bottling bucket.

However, I would believe it would be easier to maintain consistent carbonation by using the bottling bucket. When you're using such a relatively small amount of sugar in the first place, then dividing that by however many bottles, the margin of error becomes much larger.

The main reasons priming sugar is added to the bucket and not the bottle directly are:

1. To maintain consistency in carbonation from bottle to bottle (instead of some that are gushers and some still flat after 2 months)

2. To ensure that the sugar is sanitary and well dissolved in the flat beer by boiling it with water prior to adding to the bottling bucket.

Adding a few mg of sugar to each bottle would more than likely result in inconsistent carbonation.

Best of luck!

Tom

Thanks.. Thats what I thought but I just let him do his own thing.. who am I to judge... My beer being better then his will be the final result.. lol..lol...

Weight is more accurate making that harder to add directly to the bottle but ive used 1/2-3/4 tsp dextrose and i dont think that is so inconsistant. I would be more likely to get flat or gushers from bulk priming if it didnt mix well,which would be rare because i stir for a minute after racking/priming to the bottle bucket,anyway.Ive also had some from the same batch that a few were more carbonated than the others,from bulk priming. I always bulk prime but i have primed just to the bottle dry before.

I would think it hard to keep the dextrose consistent and sterile unless you are using drops.

+1 to bucket additions.

acuenca said:

I would think it hard to keep the dextrose consistent and sterile unless you are using drops.

+1 to bucket additions.

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I dont see how drops are any less sterile than packaged sugar.

Sorry...i was trying to say that drops would be easier to keep sterile than adding a powder to each bottle individually. NOT that they were less sterile

I use some kind of "pellet" that's a fixed amount of sugar. I mostly bottle 500ml bottles (heh) and two of the "pellets" work well. If I'm bottling 335's I use one. So it has less carbonation, sue me.

I use priming sugar for 2l growlers, but that's the only time I get really fancy with all that boiling sugar water stuff ...

tallgirl said:

I use some kind of "pellet" that's a fixed amount of sugar. I mostly bottle 500ml bottles (heh) and two of the "pellets" work well. If I'm bottling 335's I use one. So it has less carbonation, sue me.

I use priming sugar for 2l growlers, but that's the only time I get really fancy with all that boiling sugar water stuff ...

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Are you aware that alot of growlers are not intended to hold the pressure of second fermentation? Im shure they might be fine-just wondering if you were informed,seems people have this idea to use growlers and not really know they are not intended to hold what most 12 oz beer bottles hold for pressure. I thought about them when i first started brewing and had i not stumbled upon the information,i wouldnt have known and may have used them myself.