Adding sugar during primary...

Did a search and coudn't find the answer to this simple question.

I have a Belgian Golden strong fermenting in primary right now. The recipe I devised includes the addition during primary of 2 lb of sucrose, which is about 15% of the extract and according to style.

My question is:

Do I add the sugar dry to the carboy or boil a simple syrup and add it as a liquid?

I know that plain white sugar (sucrose) is hygroscopic and shouldn't necessarily be contaminated. Hell, they used to use it to pack wounds under bandages.

I couldn't find the answer in my reading materials and am looking for your 2 cents. Thanks in advance!

I've made a simple syrup simply for ease of pouring. Didn't have any problems; the beer turned out to be delicious, but either way, I'd RDWHHB.

+1 to boiling water and adding. Easier to pour, and will relieve you of any (maybe nonexistant) worries over contamination.

Boil it, that insures sanitization, and prevents the diet coke/mentos affect, which means no threads about gushing fermenters as the nucleation points of the sugar crystals reacts with any co2 in solution.

Revvy said:

Boil it, that insures sanitization, and prevents the diet coke/mentos affect, which means no threads about gushing fermenters as the nucleation points of the sugar crystals reacts with any co2 in solution.

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Not to argue or disagree with this, but the one time I added a sugar syrup post-pitch, I still got a gusher (probably not as much as if I had added dry though). So, pour it slow!

Just boil it in a small amount of water, cool, pour it in.

I usually add it about the third or fourth day of fermentation, just as it begins to slow. It just takes off again.

Works great.

No add straight crystals! Its so cool!!! You night regret it but you've gotta see it at least once. It's better when its a surprise though

I'm trying to visualize it as a couple giant pixie stick like tubes and it just makes me smile.

If you want a really pretty show stick the airlock back on the carboy and let it shoot out the holes on the lid of the airlock. Its like a little fountain. I did this with a dry cider so I would guess ale is a little more nasty

Excellent replies. I did a simple syrup for ease of pouring and to prevent the mentioned gusher. All is well.