priming sugars

[phill71]

I bottle pretty much all my beer and to date have only ever used 1/2 tsp of bog standard white sugar per bottle to prime.

This gives me a lightly carbonated beer with good condition and a head that stays to the end, but I wonder if anyone primes with other sugars to get subtle changes to flavours or condition.

I'd be interested to find out if there's anything better than simple white sugar

Phill

[Rookie]

I bottle pretty much all my beer and to date have only ever used 1/2 tsp of bog standard white sugar per bottle to prime.

This gives me a lightly carbonated beer with good condition and a head that stays to the end, but I wonder if anyone primes with other sugars to get subtle changes to flavours or condition.

I'd be interested to find out if there's anything better than simple white sugar

Phill

It depends what you hope to achieve. There is a pretty long list of what you can use to prime. Brown sugar would add to the beer flavor where white wouldn't, so would maple syrup. There are a lot of different honeys also that would add to the beer flavor.

[Dr. Dextrin]

I almost always use demerara sugar at a rate of 110g in a 5 gall batch. Probably that's equivalent to about 100g of white sugar. I just like the very slight brown sugar hint it gives to anything with a malty taste. I probably wouldn't use it in, say, a dry stout, though.

I think of it like putting sugar in your coffee (not that I've done that for many years). Some people like white and some brown and you tend to get used to whatever you choose.

[wilfh]

Blimy 110g. That seems a lot of sugar but then I've never had the nerve to put that much in . I use 2 oz about 60g for 5 gallons myself.
Horses for courses.

[DustyDog]

Have used spray malt before now, but that was a kit beer and not a AG brew, think it gave a slightly fuller flavour, but being a kit, who knows? Like rookie says, it's all about taste, at the moment for me, only getting ready for AG#3 i'm using plain granulated, but hope to try other primer sugars and see what happens. Just enjoy whatever.

[ferry george]

I don't beleive that using different sweeteners for priming will have any efect on the taste, 1/2 tea spoon per bottle may efect the colour, ie using brown sugar but not the flavour, if you want it to have an effect then use it earlier in the brewing process.

[mozza]

I tried priming a couple bottles of red ale with honey as an experiment and compared with brewing sugar, the taste was a lot smoother

[hophit]

I use light spraymalt at about 110% by weight compared to using normal sugar.

ome people argue it changes the flavour of the beer but I disagree - I just can't imagine that roughly a teaspoon of light spraymalt per bottle will really change the flavour by much given that most of the grain bill is pale malt anyway. It justy feels better/purer/more proper to me use malt rather than sugar to me...

[Dr. Dextrin]

Blimy 110g. That seems a lot of sugar but then I've never had the nerve to put that much in . I use 2 oz about 60g for 5 gallons myself.
Horses for courses.

I find it gives about the same level of carbonation as many commercial bottled beers. But I'm aware that many folk find that a bit too fizzy.