Sugar source for bottling?

[snarf7]

So far I've made 3 brews (all ales) and I just followed the instructions on the kit I used for the 1st one on the other 2 (i.e. boil x amount of water, add y amount of sugar, stir till well combined, allow to cool then add beer).

The next one due for bottling is a Witbier and it got me to thinking, are there different kinds of sugar that get added for different types at this stage or does that not matter much since it's really just for carbonation?

 

[Jag75]

I've only used priming sugar for all the beer and cider ive bottled. Not sure what difference kinds of sugar you can use .

 

[RPh_Guy]

Dextrose (corn sugar) is most commonly regarded as the best, although most will say you can also use sucrose (table sugar) without any difference.

The style of beer generally doesn't matter when choosing what type of priming sugar to use.
What matters is the amount.
Here's a calculator to determine the amount to add:
https://www.morebeer.com/content/priming_sugar_calculator

Cheers

 

[Lefou]

I use sucrose or plain table sugar added directly to the bottle in cube form. It's a "disaccharide" or a bound sugar molecule of glucose and fructose. The chemical process to get CO2 is a bit more involved than using just glucose, but the end result is still the same.
Table sugar is cheap, widely available, and easily metabolized by yeast when dissolved (hydrolized) in water or wort. You can add to the bottling bucket, but adding directly to the bottle can eliminate a bit of extra work, possible aeration of the wort that adds oxygen, and makes sure each bottle gets the right amount of priming sugar.

Decide what is best for you and run with it.

 

[JimRausch]

I use Dextrose if I have it, and sucrose if I don't. Have also experimented with honey and maple syrup in the past. Plus I use frozen apple juice concentrate in my cider and graf. But I ALWAYS check the amount with a priming calculator. The amount does vary based on style, volume, and temperature.

 

[Amadeo38]

I just recently heard someone say they can “tell when something is carbonated with straight priming sugar.” This prompted them to start using a Dried Malt Extract solution (dissolved in water) to carbonate their bottles. Seems an expensive route to go for a barely perceptible issue, but hey, it’s an option. This stems from the old “gyle” method, for which there are calculators online and traditionally involve saving some of the wort from your mash (second or third) runnings to use later at bottling time. DME is the safe way to go if you don’t trust your methods to be super sanitary and don’t want to risk priming with infected wort.

My favorite method of bottle priming is juice. You can determine the total sugar content in a juice by finding the amount of sugar (and also carbs, I believe) per serving on the nutrition label or measuring its SG with a hydrometer. If you do the former you have to convert the grams of sugars to ounces, and calculate how many servings/ounces of juice are needed to get your desired volume of co2. If you do the latter, you have to use a gyle priming calculator online to figure out how much juice you need. I usually do this with apple juice when priming ciders, but have also done it with cherry juice when priming a Flanders red.

 

[warex]

Basically any fermentable sugar will work. I use table sugar myself. I raise bees and hundreds of pounds of sugar laying around.

 

[El Nino]

organic cane sugar, i just funnel a heaping 1/2 tsp into each bottle, comes out perfect

 

[RM-MN]

So far I've made 3 brews (all ales) and I just followed the instructions on the kit I used for the 1st one on the other 2 (i.e. boil x amount of water, add y amount of sugar, stir till well combined, allow to cool then add beer).

The next one due for bottling is a Witbier and it got me to thinking, are there different kinds of sugar that get added for different types at this stage or does that not matter much since it's really just for carbonation?

The yeast don't care what kind of sugar is used, they eat any sugar and they don't particularly care how much sugar is there but the bottles sure do. Use the hydrometer to be assured that fermentation is complete so you don't have to take that into your calculations and use a scale to weigh the correct amount of sugar. Guessing isn't an option unless you enjoy cleaning up broken glass and spilled beer.

 

[snarf7]

Dextrose (corn sugar) is most commonly regarded as the best, although most will say you can also use sucrose (table sugar) without any difference.

The style of beer generally doesn't matter when choosing what type of priming sugar to use.
What matters is the amount.
Here's a calculator to determine the amount to add:
https://www.morebeer.com/content/priming_sugar_calculator

Cheers

Oh that's invaluable, thank you for that

organic cane sugar, i just funnel a heaping 1/2 tsp into each bottle, comes out perfect

I hadn't considered adding directly to the bottles but if you get your amounts precise that's less fuss, I'm going to give it a try thanks

 

[Calder]

Dextrose (corn sugar) is most commonly regarded as the best, although most will say you can also use sucrose (table sugar) without any difference.

I don't know if it is regarded as the best. I think you are assuming too much. I think anyone would say extract (or preferable wort) was better than any other sugar ..... even dextrose.

I use table sugar; it is a lot cheaper, and I have noticed no difference to dextrose.

As to the original question "are there different kinds of sugar that get added for different types": Corn and table sugar are pretty much tasteless, but you can use juice, honey, brown sugar, malt, and anything that has a decent sugar content. Unfortunately, the sugar content of some of these can be variable, and you may be guessing as to the amount required.

These other sugars will add some flavor, but don't expect much. You are probably better adding the flavors you want to the main recipe and using a plain sugar to carb with.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I don't know if it is regarded as the best. I think you are assuming too much.

It's all good.

 

[Ronald C Gregory]

Like most people said, you just need some kind of sugar. I used table sugar in my first beer I made. I just brewed my second and I plan on using honey for priming it. My second beer is a honey brown ale so I am using the honey for the slight increase in honey aroma and taste I might get.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

For what it's worth I recently make a wit (my second beer) and it turned out great with corn sugar. I was worried because my first (a porter) really didn't carbonate very much. The corn sugar did the trick on this one. Do you have John Palmer's How to Brew book? He has a bunch of helpful tables and info on different sugars.

 

[porter1974]

I used to use corn sugar. Then I didn't have it one day and used table sugar. I always use table sugar now. Just boil it up in some water, let it cool, add it to my bottling bucket and bottle. Always works.