Does priming sugar effect taste?

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beerkench

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I had a case recently where I made my priming solution too thick so that it didn't distribute evenly resulting in some bottles that were gushers and some that turned out lightly carbonated. The taste difference was quite big with the lightly carbed beer tasting really good and the gushers having quite an astringent alcohol taste and also the horrible sweetness of the sugar that was still in. (Yes potential bottle bomb I know).
Anyway this has taught me some valuble lessons, one of them being that it is ok to lightly carb my beer and not to go mad with the sugar thinking bubbles are best.
I was wondering however what the offical status is on priming sugar taste in beer?
 
Normally priming sugar adds no taste to the beer since it fully fermentable and has no flavoring added. If you use maple sugar, for instance, it is not fully fermentable and will leave a residual flavor.
Dextrose, corn sugar, is fully fermentable and will easily distribute into solution if it is not a thick syrup. Using at least 2 cups of water for about 4 to 5 ounces of corn sugar will mix rather well into the beer. If you would have happened to short your fermentor by a quart of liquor, it can be made up with the volume of your priming sugar solution.
Does this help?
 
Under normal circumstances priming sugar does not affect taste. The off flavors your getting in the over carbed beers is because of the excessive amounts of carbonation and still unfermented priming sugar. Next time take steps to make sure the sugar is evenly distributed.
 
The priming sugar itself should not effect the taste but keep in mind that proper carbonation has a lot to do with the overall mouth feel of the finished product which will translate into how taste is perceived.
 
The question is what sugar did you use? Corn sugar should have little effect on flavour at the levels using in priming.

Sucrose can however cause hot alcohol flavours, which is way it not prefered
 
Under normal circumstances priming sugar does not affect taste. The off flavors your getting in the over carbed beers is because of the excessive amounts of carbonation and still unfermented priming sugar. Next time take steps to make sure the sugar is evenly distributed.

Yes I've noticed the overcarbed ones taste too much of alcohol. Why does the over carbing give such flavours?
 
Sucrose can however cause hot alcohol flavours, which is way it not prefered
I've never noticed an alcohol flavor due to sucrose (table sugar) for priming. Dextrose (corn sugar) will dissolve in water a little more easily, but assuming you're properly boiling your priming solution, it's a small consideration. After doing a few batches with sucrose a couple of years ago, and tasting no detriment, I now prime all my beers with sucrose.

Use of sucrose as a significant portion of the fermentables in your wort has been associated with cider-like flavors. A number of authors have said this is due to yeast stress and health issues. The amount of alcohol added to your beer from priming, regardless of the type of sugar you use, is roughly 0.25% ABV.
 
yeah I agree, its all theorectical in the amounts involved in priming as they arn't really enough to make a differnce. But if OP has uneven distribution in bottles even you might get the "cider".
 
You can use a variety of priming sugars. Corn sugar is most common for homebrewers. But you could use wort, honey, molasses, candi sugar- any sugar that's fermentable, really. Corn sugar will not have a flavor impact, the others could have a noticeable flavor impact. I tend to slightly overcarbonate, I like lots of effervescence in my brews. I stir the beer pretty thoroughly before bottling, only ever had a few bombs.
 
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