Adding sugar

[Lauritsen]

Does it really matter if you Just add sugar or need to dissolve it first I hot water??

Any benefit adding The sugar after a few days after letting The yeast multiply i primary or are there no difference?

 

[Jelmi]

If you just throw in some sugar it will sink to the bottom and lay there forever.

What I do when adding sugar in stages is dissolving the total needed quantity into water and pour into a sanitized bottle. Keep the bottle near the fermentor. Than every few days pour from that bottle into the must. No hassle with weighing again and again and easy to see how much is left to add.

 

[rockdemon]

I usually add sugar during the boil if i have enough yeast. If i forgot to make a starter I add the dissolved sugar to the fermenter after 2-3 days...
To me the reason for adding sugar during fermentation is that i need less yeast to begin with...

 

[theDREWery]

If you add yeast a few days into fermentation, don't forget to pull some liquid out to mix in with your sugar to make a slurry. If you don't, then the granules of sugar act a nucleation points for any dissolved CO2. Think diet coke + mentos...

 

[DoctorCAD]

The first thing you need to know is why you are adding sugar.

Was your starting SG low?
Do you want a sweet finished wine?
Are you trying to make jet fuel?
Did you read it on the internet and feel you must?

Each reason requires a different solution.

 

[theDREWery]

Did you read it on the internet and feel you must?

This is either a 300 page psychology thesis, or a t-shirt... I want it either way!

 

[Stigmond13]

In my experience adding sugar after a couple of days makes it more difficult to calculate the final alcohol reading. I also find that adding sugar without dissolving first is fine it you stir the hell out of it. However it's much easier to dissolve in hot water, leave to cool and then add to the fermenter!