first time brew ready to bottle

well i have a mr.beer kit and i have read around here in the forums about people saying not to use regular suger when bottling. ...... as for me im getting ready to bottle today (once im outta work ) im hoping to get some opinions/answers/or advice on what i should use ....
thanks alot .

btw i have the pale ale brewing , if that makes a difference

dextrose (corn sugar) is what you should use in my opinion. you could also use dry malt extract, and some do.

chainsawbrewing said:

dextrose (corn sugar) is what you should use in my opinion. you could also use dry malt extract, and some do.

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I would stick with the dextrose - cheaper and easier to work with, no real flavor difference.

Corn sugar is the most common, and DME is also a good option, both can be purchased at your homebrew shop. About 3/4cup of corn sugar will get you an average level of carbonation in a 5 gallon batch.

Just out of curiosity, when did you brew this batch?

I'm also ready to bottle my first brew. It's been in primary for 15 and 1/2 days. My last hydrometer test done yesterday was at 1.0125, if it's the same today I'm going to try and bottle. If today it's still falling (recipie called for between 1.012 and 1.011) I will wait it out another day or two. My question is this, you say use about 3/4 cup of corn sugar for an average level of carbonation. I'm doing a hefe and thought that Hefe's are usually a little more carbonated than say your standard ale or lager. Should I use a little more corn sugar, or is 3/4 cup enough to get a level of carb for a good Hefeweisen.

Thanks for any help

The problem with the Mr. Beer is that you're bottling right from the fermenter, and if you try to prime the whole batch with dextrose you will stir up the trub. For bottle priming, it won't measure the same as regular cane sugar which could be problematic unless you have the conversions. I've used cane sugar for priming several times with no issues, I would go ahead and do it per their directions, at least for your first few batches. It's too small of an amount to worry about affecting the taste IMO.

BarleyWater said:

Corn sugar is the most common, and DME is also a good option, both can be purchased at your homebrew shop. About 3/4cup of corn sugar will get you an average level of carbonation in a 5 gallon batch.

Just out of curiosity, when did you brew this batch?

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today would be the 3rd week and 1 day since i stuck it in the fermenter keg .

Table sugar is fine for priming as long as you are working with weights and not volumes IMO.* Remember to boil it in a small amount of water (a cup or two) to sanitize it. You may want to reduce the amount by weight by about 5%.


* due to varying densities between the two.** Working with weight is a good habit to get into anyhow.
** I haven't really thought this out, but wanted to warn the OP that table sugar is prolly denser and so doing it by liquid measure could cause overcarbing.