Priming sugar

[Alan Parrotte]

I have been using powdered corn sugar to prime my beer before bottling. I have stuck with the suggested 5 ounces per 5 gallons, stirred into the beer before bottling.
My question, is can I substitute cane sugar? If so, do I need to run it through a blender first? How much would I use for a 5 gallon batch?

 

[dmtaylor]

5 ounces will likely result in very high carbonation. I would only use 4 ounces.

For cane sugar, no special treatment needed, but definitely don't do 5 ounces as it is slightly stronger than corn sugar. 4 ounces is plenty.

In any case, you should always boil the sugar in about 2 cups of water, cool, then add to the beer. Otherwise it might not dissolve very well, and could introduce contamination if not boiled.

 

[Alan Parrotte]

Thanks Dave.
Have you actually done a 5 gallon batch with cane sugar?

 

[bucketnative]

Cane sugar, corn sugar, beet sugar, honey, etc... they will all prime your beer. Just use a priming calculator to determine the correct amount of priming sugar for your desire carbonation level. I suggest the one that Northern Brewer has on their site: https://www.northernbrewer.com/pages/priming-sugar-calculator

It gives you a lot of options based on the fermentability of the sugar source.

I'd also add to @dmtaylor suggestion for boiling the water... I further recommend that if using tap water, you treat the water to remove any chlorine/chloramine in the same manner that you would for the rest of the water used in your beer (Campden tabs). It can impact quality of the beer by eliminating the risk of chlorophenols forming in the finished product.

 

[dmtaylor]

Thanks Dave.
Have you actually done a 5 gallon batch with cane sugar?

Yes, about 125 times. I don't actually weigh mine. I use 5/8 cup for 5 gallons. Any more than that is too much.

 

[Jtk78]

I have very successfully used cane sugar as well. No matter what type of sugar you use to carbonate, I do recommend using a calculator to get the correct carbonation level without the risk of bottle bombs. I usually use brewersfriend.com.

 

[beerbomb]

Yes, about 125 times. I don't actually weigh mine. I use 5/8 cup for 5 gallons. Any more than that is too much.

Thanks, very helpful.

 

[beerbomb]

I have very successfully used cane sugar as well. No matter what type of sugar you use to carbonate, I do recommend using a calculator to get the correct carbonation level without the risk of bottle bombs. I usually use brewersfriend.com.

Thanks.

 

[beerbomb]

I have very successfully used cane sugar as well. No matter what type of sugar you use to carbonate, I do recommend using a calculator to get the correct carbonation level without the risk of bottle bombs. I usually use brewersfriend.com.

Thanks

 

[beerbomb]

Thanks

Brewersfriend makes it easy to calculate[emoji6]

 

[ncbrewer]

I'd also add to @dmtaylor suggestion for boiling the water... I further recommend that if using tap water, you treat the water to remove any chlorine/chloramine in the same manner that you would for the rest of the water used in your beer (Campden tabs). It can impact quality of the beer by eliminating the risk of chlorophenols forming in the finished product.

Supposedly, chlorine can be removed by boiling, where chloramine can't. My tap water is treated with chlorine, and I just boil it for priming - no campden. Nobody has ever picked up a chlorophenol taste. ymmv.

 

[deadwolfbones]

I have always used cane sugar because it's always around. I also prime each bottle individually, using NB's priming calculator to figure out the right amount for each bottle size and converting it to tsp. Works great.