priming sugar

[sross]

hey i got a simple question. i don't have any priming sugar at my house and i am in no mood to go out and buy some. can regular sugar that you can buy for 99 cents a bag at the grocery store be used instead? also are there different ratios for adding it to a 5+ gallon brew?

 

[Beezy]

Yeah you can. I think you can use the same amount. I have been using priming sugar but just switched to cane for my last brew as corn sugar is a bit pricey and probably not necessary.

 

[RCCOLA]

You can, but need to use a little less. Here's a calculator for you.
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

 

[wcrooker]

There is a slight difference. I don't know what it is off the top of my head but you can Google calculators for table sugar vs priming sugar. Or download beersmith lol

 

[day_trippr]

I went through this once a long while ago and still have my notes on it:

- 2 Tablespoons of table sugar per ounce
- 3 Tablespoons of corn sugar per ounce

Pretty significant, imo.

So, if the typical 5 gallon keg carb prime using corn sugar is 1/2 cup, which equals 8 tablespoons, the equivalent in table sugar would be ~ 5.5 tablespoons...

Cheers!

 

[weirdboy]

My suggestion is don't measure sugar by volume. Measure by weight, and use an amount of sugar to get the appropriate level of carbonation for the style of beer you are making.

Use the TastyBrew calculator linked above, and if you don't have a good scale that can measure grams, get one (they're cheap) and use that to measure both your priming sugar and hops additions.

 

[Beezy]

I looked at the tasty brew but I really wasn't sure what the volumes of CO2 should be and it wasn't a common style. I ended up putting a little less than 3/4 cup. If I knew how many grams it should have been I would have weighed it.

 

[GoHawks]

What about brown sugar? Would that be different due to the molasses?

 

[Beezy]

Not sure the difference but you can use it. Honey you can use. Been thinking about trying to krausen using unfermented wort.

 

[weirdboy]

I looked at the tasty brew but I really wasn't sure what the volumes of CO2 should be and it wasn't a common style. I ended up putting a little less than 3/4 cup. If I knew how many grams it should have been I would have weighed it.

What was the style?

 

[Beezy]

Dampfbier. It is supposed to be low in effervescence but I wanted it a little fizzy screw it. When my skills are a little more honed id like to krausen it.

 

[sross]

the style i am making is peach hefewiezen. it needs about another week or so in the fermenter.