How much water to use for your priming sugar?

[josbor11]

So I know there are several calculators available online (not sure which is the most reliable) that tell you how much sugar to use based on your style and volume that you are bottling but I can't seem to find any info on how much water you should be boiling said sugar in.

I'm bottling roughly 3.5 gallons this weekend and I'm not sure what to use. Is there a general rule of thumb that you should use X amount of oz or cups per gallon and I can just do the math for each batch?

Thanks

 

[lumpher]

Just enough water so the sugar doesn't scorch when boiling it.

 

[josbor11]

Just enough water so the sugar doesn't scorch when boiling it.

No kidding, so quantity doesn't matter? If anything, does this mean less is better?

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Most of the instructions I followed when I did extract called for a cup or a pint. I've kinda stuck with that ever since and it has always worked fine.

 

[lumpher]

Less water means you don't water your beer down. There really is no rule of thumb, as it's not really important is you use 8 oz for 3 1/2 gallons or 8 oz for 5 gallons. The idea is to boil and sterilize the sugar, not add hot water with sugar.

 

[TonyKZ1]

In the recipes I've got, I've seen 1 cup of water for a 1 Gallon batch to 2 cups of water for a 5 Gallon batch, so hopefully that'll give you some idea.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

"Yep" to everyone here. Except that guy...don't listen to that guy.

 

[Jaybird]

I use 3/4 to 1 cup myself. I just get close. Never really went too crazy with that measurement as it is just enough needed to get the sugar in suspension and not burn. But honestly I don't boil the sugar with the water these days. I simply bring my water to a good rolling boil, turn it off and then stir in my sugar.

Cheers
Jay

 

[josbor11]

Thanks guys, was overthinking it the whole time! Do you guys recommend anything over table sugar or is that the best route?

 

[ncbrewer]

Table sugar is cheap and readily available, and I've never found it to cause any off flavors. Just be sure to use the right amount. It takes less table sugar than it does corn sugar.

 

[Jaybird]

Thanks guys, was overthinking it the whole time! Do you guys recommend anything over table sugar or is that the best route?

I'm in the Dextrose camp myself... I like it.

Better or worse I cant say myself.

Cheers
Jay

 

[Hoofer]

I use dextrose too. Generally 1.5 cups of water with anywhere from 110 to 120g of dextrose depending on beer volume, style and amount of carb that Im lookin for.

 

[DaNewf]

Last night I bottled 23 litres of Orfy's Hobgoblin Clone (ii). I boiled up 111gr of table sugar in 250ml (1 cup) of water. I got the sugar weight from an online calculator targeting about 2 volumes of CO2.

I exclusively use table sugar for priming and for my 5/6 gallon batches a cup of water is plenty to dissolve and sanitize it (even for wheat beers which require a bit more priming sugar).