Priming sugar vs. Pale DME for IPA

[BigJay13]

So, I am going to bottle a Pike IPA clone either today or tomorrow and I the recipe calls for 1 cup pale DME for priming. I just realized that I don't have the DME on hand but I do have priming sugar. What is the difference in taste between the priming sugar and the DME?

I did a search and could not find anything. I think I read somewhere that the DME will add a little malt flavor to the final product. Any thoughts?

 

[bradsul]

Technically the DME will add some flavour, but it's unlikely you'd notice. 1 cup going into 5 gallons really isn't very much. If you go with the priming sugar (dextrose I assume) you only want about 3/4 cup. Personally I only use dextrose for priming, but as always you get people on both sides of the fence.

 

[Poindexter]

I don't notice any difference in taste. If you like what you are drinking, buy a scale and then start buying DME in the bigger bags on the cheap. Then you can prime with it and you won't have to worry about having corn sugar around anymore. And so on.

Even though I don't notice a flavor difference I am certainly not going back to priming with corn sugar now that I have 'extra' DME in the freezer.

 

[BigJay13]

I just finished priming with the DME. We'll see how it ends up--it was delicious today!

 

[realdh]

In my limited experience, priming with dextrose has been more reliable. The corn sugar solution mixes more readily with the beer, and you have a pretty good idea of how much sugar you are really adding. Shouldn't be an issue, even if your recipe calls for DME. I think I may switch to priming only with dextrose in the future.

 

[Danek]

HowToBrew.com suggests that you may get a tiny ring of krausen in your bottles if you prime with DME, which apparently doesn't happen with priming sugar. I've never tried it and never seen it, but that might be something to factor into the decision as well.