Best sugar for priming

[jmcdaniel0]

I have been looking over the carious methods of priming bottles, and there seems to be a whole heck of alot of different options.

Is there a certain sugar that works the best?

I see dextrose being used the most, and it is really cheap. Coopers, Mr. Beer and many other companies market priming tablets and drops. Are they any different than just using straight up dextrose? and if not, is there a table somewhere that tell how much dextrose to use per bottle?

 

[C-Rider]

Just use plain old TABLE SUGAR. The yeast don't know the difference and there ain't nuttin cheaper. Just adjust your calculator to the right type of sugar. I use the calculator in BeerSmith. But if you search I'm sure you can find one online.

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

You want to use a priming sugar calculator and mix in the sugar to the wort before bottling, rather than individually per bottle.

This is a helpful resource: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=94812

Calculator: http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator

 

[McKnuckle]

Domino Dots. They are 2.4g of table sugar in an extremely convenient form for dosing a 12 oz bottle. One box contains 198 of them.

 

[petrolSpice]

I've used both corn sugar and table/cane sugar (in cube form). Both seem to work just as well. I only use the sugar cubes when bottling straight from the fermenter. Otherwise I use the bottling bucket and boil corn sugar in water as usual.

 

[GrogNerd]

I used DME once or twice, but stopped since it left krausen in the necks of the bottles

we don't use table/cane sugar in the house, or I would probably use it.

otherwise, dextrose is cheap and works and OMG it's time for a beer

 

[jmcdaniel0]

good info guys! thanks

So a sugar cube is enough for one 12 ounce bottle?

 

[McKnuckle]

So a sugar cube is enough for one 12 ounce bottle?

It sure is! The Domino cubes weigh 2.4g. Check that out in any of the online priming calculators, and you'll see that it gets a bottle to the average carbonation level of most American styles and most lagers. Roundabout 2.5-2.6 volumes if I recall correctly.

 

[z-bob]

good info guys! thanks

So a sugar cube is enough for one 12 ounce bottle?

I use 1 small (Domino) sugar cube per 11 or 12 ounce bottle, 2 cubes for a 22 oz. bomber, and 2 large (C&H) sugar cubes for a 1 liter plastic bottle.

The C&H cubes are too large to fit the neck of a beer bottle.

I don't remember how much sugar I use for 500ml European beer bottles (I have a case of those but haven't used them for a while) but I think it's a teaspoon of granulated sugar poured in with a little funnel.

 

[jmcdaniel0]

It sure is! The Domino cubes weigh 2.4g. Check that out in any of the online priming calculators, and you'll see that it gets a bottle to the average carbonation level of most American styles and most lagers. Roundabout 2.5-2.6 volumes if I recall correctly.

I dont think it get much easier than that.....

 

[violinguy]

I just tried my first bottle primed with the Domino "dots." Even a little early (only 12 days since bottling) it was carbonated perfectly. I can't wait to drink the other ones next week after a good 3 weeks of conditioning. For me, I'll keep using them. Very easy, and really cheap - less than $2 for 192 of them.

 

[petrolSpice]

I've use the Domino cubes on 4 batches now and so far so good! 1 per 12oz, 2 per 22oz bottle. Some bottles have a narrower opening than others and need a little push to go in. Some fall right in.

 

[BrettCo124]

Great advice. I'm definitely going to pick up the cubes. I feel like it's not worth chancing the corn sugar mixture that comes in the kits. I just brewed my first batch and I'm waiting for it to carbonate now, but I'm afraid that the mixture may not be enough to carbonate. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks. I just poured it in the bottling bucket and let the stream of beer entering it mix it up. I did not stir. One sugar cube seems a lot easier than that!

 

[A2HB]

By volume, Domino's dots are more expensive than just buying a bag of sugar and measuring out the correct amount for your batch. If you're a cost conscious brewer, just buy a standard $3 5 lb bag of sugar (vs. $2.50 box of dots which is about 1 lbs) and use that. There are several great priming sugar calculators that will tell you exactly how much sugar you'll need for your specific batch size and you can batch prime in the bottling bucket and get the same results as the dots for less $$. I'm cost conscious so that's what I do, YMMV

 

[petrolSpice]

Great advice. I'm definitely going to pick up the cubes. I feel like it's not worth chancing the corn sugar mixture that comes in the kits. I just brewed my first batch and I'm waiting for it to carbonate now, but I'm afraid that the mixture may not be enough to carbonate. I guess I'll find out in a few weeks. I just poured it in the bottling bucket and let the stream of beer entering it mix it up. I did not stir. One sugar cube seems a lot easier than that!

The cubes work great, but honestly mixing in priming sugar is easier than putting cubes into each and every bottle. And by boiling the corn sugar in water you guarantee that it's sanitary, which you can't do with the cubes. However, bacteria doesn't like to grow on pure sugar (or so I've read).

I only use the cubes when bottling directly from the primary because I can't mix in priming sugar without stirring up all of the trub.

Another method is to do the math and create a sugar/water mixture where an easy volume to measure (e.g. 1 Tbsp) of the mixture yields the exact amount of sugar per bottle. Then just scoop the mixture into each bottle with a funnel. You'll want to make extra of the mixture to account for errors in measuring.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

good info guys! thanks

So a sugar cube is enough for one 12 ounce bottle?

If you don't have cubes, 3/4 Tsp./12 oz. bottle works just fine for me.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I used priming pills on my first few batches and then after carbonation issues, (turns out not related to the pills), went to a bottling bucket and table sugar. The table sugar has no taste after carbonating and the bottling bucket is way better than trying to bottle out of my fermentors. I would use corn sugar if I had it, because it is my understanding that the yeast like it a bit more than table sugar. If I had brewed with a kit and corn sugar was provided in the kit, that is what I would use. It doesn't take much sugar to carbonate I brew 2 gallon batches and use a 1/4 cup of table sugar. I prefer beer that is more carbonated than average.

 

[z-bob]

Another method is to do the math and create a sugar/water mixture where an easy volume to measure (e.g. 1 Tbsp) of the mixture yields the exact amount of sugar per bottle. Then just scoop the mixture into each bottle with a funnel. You'll want to make extra of the mixture to account for errors in measuring.

I have thought about doing that; my bottling wand leaves a little too much headspace when using tall bottles. I could make a sugar syrup that would have the right amount of sugar in a syringeful. Maybe when I run out of sugar cubes. Meanwhile I'm stocking up on short bottles.

 

[BrettCo124]

Thanks for all of the advice! So many different ways to do things. I love it.

 

[GrogNerd]

Thanks for all of the advice! So many different ways to do things. I love it.

Ask 10 brewers their thoughts on whatever, you get 12 different answers

I love it

 

[jmcdaniel0]

I am just glad this community is so helpful! I have not been posting much, but I have been reading and learning on here for a long time. Im just now getting into beer, but I have been using the wine making forums for a long time.