Powdered Priming Sugar - Need to hydrate?

[edgeofblade]

My homebrew store packs corn sugar packets for their kits. Their instructions say to make a simple syrup on the stove first before adding it to the bottling vessel. Is there a reason besides sanitation that I cannot add the granular sugar to the vessel without boiling it? Does it just not dissolve very well at fermentation temps?

 

[FensterBos]

It mixes in the bottling bucket better than just adding in as granules. I used to get very uneven carbonation before I boiled the sugar.

 

[Golddiggie]

it mixes in the bottling bucket better than just adding in as granules. I used to get very uneven carbonation before i boiled the sugar.

+1

 

[brewit2it]

My homebrew store packs corn sugar packets for their kits. Their instructions say to make a simple syrup on the stove first before adding it to the bottling vessel. Is there a reason besides sanitation that I cannot add the granular sugar to the vessel without boiling it? Does it just not dissolve very well at fermentation temps?

If you add it during fermentation it will ferment so you will have flat beer. If you add it to your bottling bucket it will be very hard to get it to disolve and you will have to stir/aerate the heck out of your fermented beer to get to disolve which is a bad thing since it causes Oxygenation which you want to avoid.

So boiling the priming sugar serves 2 purposes that you mention, sterilization and ease of mixing into your beer to get even carbonation.

 

[weirdboy]

Do you have something against boiling it?

There are a couple of issues I can think of:

One is sanitation. Sugar in particular is attractive to pests, so it's a good idea to boil it first.

You can also run into issues with the sugar not dissolving completely or dissolving slowly, which results in unpredictable carbonation.

It is just a good practice to boil the sugar in a bit of water, gently stir that solution into the beer, and wait 10-15 minutes before you start bottling. You get consistent results with low risk of introducing bacteria.

 

[brewit2it]

Do you have something against boiling it?

There are a couple of issues I can think of:

One is sanitation. Sugar in particular is attractive to pests, so it's a good idea to boil it first.You can also run into issues with the sugar not dissolving completely or dissolving slowly, which results in unpredictable carbonation.

It is just a good practice to boil the sugar in a bit of water, gently stir that solution into the beer, and wait 10-15 minutes before you start bottling. You get consistent results with low risk of introducing bacteria.

Thats not actually accurate. The recomendation to boil it is spot on, but rather than being particulary attractive to "pests" (we're talking bacteria here, if there are mice in your sugar, boiling isn't going to help) sugar is actually very resistant to bacterial infection and spoilage. Thats why you can store it for years or even decades if kept completely dry. Basically it will suck the moisture out and kill bacteria and mold if they try to eat it.

 

[weirdboy]

You are right. I was talking about the latter. Not mice, but insects, which can harbor nasties and are not always easy to spot in a pile of sugar.

 

[brewit2it]

You are right. I was talking about the latter. Not mice, but insects, which can harbor nasties and are not always easy to spot in a pile of sugar.

Very true and good point. Some ants roaches, etc. I always boil mine.