different priming techniques

I want to try using some techniques other than just commercial priming sugar. I want to see if some other have tried a few of the assorted sugars to use for priming. What have you found that works for what. Just curious

I use table sugar (sucrose). Works perfectly well and much less expensive than dextrose from the HBS.

Bottle primed 3 one liter flip tops yesterday...two sugar packets per bottle.

Yes, sugar packets like at the 7/11, I think they are a teaspoon each???

I like the sugar packets. Anyway, I like the previous posters always use table sugar. Slightly more fermentable (5%?) than dextrose and way cheaper.

daksin said:

I like the sugar packets. Anyway, I like the previous posters always use table sugar. Slightly more fermentable (5%?) than dextrose and way cheaper.

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Do you just throw a teaspoon in each bottle or do you prime the whole batch

Ivypunx said:

Do you just throw a teaspoon in each bottle or do you prime the whole batch

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Typically I keg, but when I have "extra" beer in the fermenter and the keg is full, I fill a several, 1 liter flip top bottles. I researched a priming calculator, and the contents of a sugar packet and concluded two packets was sufficient.

You can certainly bottle prime with a measured amount of sugar, but, If you are not accurate carbonation can vary bottle to bottle.

Ivypunx said:

Do you just throw a teaspoon in each bottle or do you prime the whole batch

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Prime the whole batch, it's WAY more consistent, and a lot less work.

I dissolve the correct amount of table sugar in a small volume of water, and pour it in to my bottling bucket. Then rack the beer on to that... siphoning the beer on the priming solution ensures good mixing - each bottle will get the same concentration of sugar.

Easy and cheap.

Ivypunx said:

I want to try using some techniques other than just commercial priming sugar. I want to see if some other have tried a few of the assorted sugars to use for priming. What have you found that works for what. Just curious

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I used light brown sugar in a stout I recently did (I know, the brown sugar you get at the local grocery store is just table sugar mixed with molasses) . It bottle carbed nicely. I don't know how much it affected the taste, but I liked it.

I brewed a saison-brett last winter, and primed half the bottles with montmorency cherry concentrate. Most things like that list the amount of sugar per serving (it's all fermentable), and I think I added 4 or 5 mL per 12 oz bottle to get around 2 g of sugar per bottle (my usual target). It turned out fine, and gave the beer a light cherry aroma and flavor. I bottled the rest with glucose, my go-to priming sugar.

A year ago, I did a dark mild and carb'd a few bottles with Virgil's root beer and a few others with Whole Foods brand cola (about 10 ml per bottle). As I recall, there was a surprising amount of cola taste in those bottles, but he root beer was more subdued. I'd probably pass on either of those sodas, though. It definitely helps if you're comfortable bottle-priming, as you can just test out a few beers and not blow a whole batch on a crazy idea. A flavored syrup like those used in Italian sodas might be fun.

Captain Damage said:

I use table sugar (sucrose). Works perfectly well and much less expensive than dextrose from the HBS.

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I usually mix 2 ozs. table sugar with 2.5 of dme....seems to work great for me. Gotta remember to stir the bottling bucket though....