Priming: which type of sugar?

Is brown/demerara and standard white cane sugar suitable for priming?

Should I just add straight to the pressure barrel(keg)/bottle or should I make a solution first?

How do I calculate how much sugar to use?

These sugars may or may not be suitable, depending on the style of beer or your preferred flavor profile. In a dark beer, brown sugar may present any noticeable flavor. White cane sugar is said to develop "fruity" notes to the flavor. I've never used either....I just use dextrose (corn sugar) in all my beers, which contributes no flavor whatsoever.

I use 5 oz (by weight) per 5 gal. batch. That's around 2.5 volumes of CO2, and is pretty standard. Some people use more for the lighter beers, and less for the darker.

any sugar is suitable for priming. the darker it is, the more flavor it lends, but its such small amounts its not a huge impact. you should make a solution of whatever one, in about 2 cups of boiling water (for 5 gals)

however, there are some gravity differences so they can't all be used equally. this calculator has a few different options for priming: http://www.brewheads.com/priming.php

You can use just about any sugar/fermentable to prime with, including syrups, fruit juices, odd sugars from around the world, dissolved candy, really anything that they yeast can eat to produce co2.

I give info on priming with alternative primers including fruit juice, and other sugars in my bottling stickey- in this post.

There's a chart listing the amounts of many of the common sugars, plus info on how to calculate the amount to use for things not included on the chart.

Alternative priming sugars, or flavoring your priming solution are great ways to add another level of flavor to your beers.

I have been just fine dumping 1/2cup of raw white sugar into the keg as I am racking into it. Carbs up just fine

I have been using Domino sugar drops. The 198 count. 1 cube = .08 ounce. Never had an issue and all 17 batches have carbed great with no after taste. http://www.dominosugar.com/Product.aspx?id=9 1. cube per 12 oz bottle. I add the beer in 6 beers at a time then add the cube cap then shake and thats it. It is great to have someone fill up while u do the dropping and capping.

4 oz sugar for priming
.08 * 50 bottles = 4 oz sugar. The DOTS work awsome and my carbed bottle are consistent.

I use the cheapo cane and/or beet sugar you buy at the grocery store in the baking aisle. Some people claim you can taste the difference between corn and cane sugar, which MAYBE you can if you are talking about a 1-2 pound addition to your fermentables, but for the amounts used for priming it is totally insignificant and doesn't affect flavor IMO.

I always calculate the correct amount of sugar based on the style, volume of beer, and temperature, weigh out the sugar using my scale, then boil up the sugar into a simple syrup solution on the stove. I let that cool a little bit then gently stir it into the beer before packaging. For the relative volumes/weights letting it cool to room temperature isn't really an issue. At most you are going to raise the temp of the beer one or two degrees Fahrenheit by adding a cup or so of solution to a 5 gallon batch.