# Dextrose Or White Sugar For Dry Bottle Priming?



## Barley Belly (6/6/08)

Do you use Dextrose or White Sugar for dry bottle priming?


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## boingk (6/6/08)

White sugar all the way. Dextrose it a bugger because it sticks to the neck of the bottles after I've washed them and clumps in the measurer so its not always accurate. Add to the fact that you need 7g of dextrose and not the 6g the measurer provides (per longneck) and it gets irritating. Oh, and it costs three times as much as white sugar. 

So sugar, please!

Cheers - boingk


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## warra48 (7/6/08)

Caster sugar for me, as the grains are a little finer than normal white sugar, and flow easier through my small funnel into the bottle.

My last bottling session, an American Brown Ale, I weighed the sugar bowl before priming my bottles. I used the measurer to dispense the sugar. I weighed the bowl again after priming, and the total sugar used came to within 2 grams of what Beersmith told me to use if bulk priming.


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## Steve (7/6/08)

Home brand white sugar. Ive tried malt, dextrose, combinations of both you name it etc etc.....ended up with plain ole white sugar as I couldnt detect any difference and sugar was cheapest.


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## microbe (7/6/08)

+1 to what boingk said

Cheers,

microbe


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## solidghost (7/6/08)

Yes, plain table sugar is what I am using as well.
The main reason is that it is cheap and most importantly easily available.


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## EK (7/6/08)

What about an option for those of us who cop out and just buy the carbo-drops?

EK


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## Barley Belly (7/6/08)

EK said:


> What about an option for those of us who cop out and just buy the carbo-drops?
> 
> EK



Sorry EK

Just tryin to make up my mind what I wanna use?

Sorry to alienate the "carbo droppers"


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## EK (7/6/08)

finners said:


> Sorry EK
> 
> Just tryin to make up my mind what I wanna use?
> 
> Sorry to alienate the "carbo droppers"



heh no worries...

Is use the drops because they are convenient and I am getting a more accurate measure than if I were to use that stupid sugar measure that comes with most kits and I don't get white sugar everywhere when using the drops. I get almost two batches from a bag of drops and am happy with the final product.

:icon_cheers: 
EK


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## brettprevans (8/6/08)

not all carb drops are glucose (brewcraft arent). table sugar v drop as basicly convenience and accuracy. unless you batch prime or you are doing a belgian and want to keep using table sugar in your flavour profile. table sugar and crbs drops are much of a muchness as youre using such little quantities for bottling.

actually i think the brewcraft carb drops are great.they give a consistent high carb. about one of the only things brewcraft do well.

as far as dex v sugar, well as said if your bulk priming it doesnt matter but if its straight into bottles, at least sugar doesnt go sticky on the bottle necks where as dex does. 

horses for course (ie personal preference).


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## pint of lager (8/6/08)

What about carbonation drops, raw sugar, dried malt extract, jelly beans, brown sugar plus other forms of sugar?

I haven't tried the jelly beans but others have.

For the record, I use caster sugar after trying the others.

Horses for courses.


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## Steve (8/6/08)

buttersd70 said:


> Carb drops are glucose, and I would use them over table sugar any day of the week. At least you know what you are getting. Table sugar is a combinations of various sugars, some of which, such as fructose, do lend a particular flavour (which some ppl do not like). It can be hard to detect if you have an unpracticed palate, but if you are sensitive to subtle flavour shifts, steer away from it. Dextrose on the other hand is ferments cleanly, does not effect the flavour profile (even for sensitive palates) and you can batch pime anyway to adjust your carbonation to taste.



You must have a very practiced palate, i have never noticed any subtle flavour shifts between malt, dextrose or sugar. Friend of mine used black jelly beans to prime their stout (one in each bottle)...it was delicious. Each to their own and all that.
Cheers
Steve


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## brettprevans (9/6/08)

a palate due to cooking dosnt mean shit. im a bit suss of a practiced palate due to cooking. my old man is a chef. a proper old skool chef. but i give him some beers and i can pick more flavours than him, give him food and yes he can beat me hands down vut beer i kill him. and just in case theres any questions i worked as his kitchen hand and cook for 10years. if your palate if that good i envy you. the best beer must taste like nectar. then again avg beer must taste like shit.


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## dr K (9/6/08)

table sugar is pretty much sucrose,well technically sacchorose, sucrose is a disaccharide resulting from the bonding of the mono saccharides glucose (blood sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar)...dextrose is glucose, sinestrose is not used in brewing.

K


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## haysie (9/6/08)

coopers carbonation lollies, although ran out about 4 brews ago, dex is abundant here and no probs...... but wheat beer is another story, foam and more foam when using dex, have to cap straight away. Nevertheless i only bottle 6 tallies or 12 stubbies per brew. If i was bottling all, look no further than Tony`s priming calculator.
Haysie


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## peas_and_corn (9/6/08)

After using the cab lollies for one batch I got rid of them for other sugars- though they were delicious.


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## brettprevans (12/6/08)

my 18month old bottling assistant took a likeing to car drops on thw weekend (I was too lazy to batch prime). She took off with the whole bag Id just opened and stuck some in her gob and threw the rest in the garden before I could stop her. damn lolly looking things. I suppose thats another vote why to use sugar not carb drops. or its a vote for force carb kegging!


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## Stuster (12/6/08)

buttersd70 said:


> well, yeah. I do have a highly sensetive palate, due to cooking experience. Sometimes I forget that others don't.But you're right, each to their own. SometimesI get a little over picky with the flavours, cos i usually do my own recipes in extract, and spend a lot of time on the subtlety.



Have you actually done a blind test to know if you can tell this or did you know what you primed with when you tasted the beer. I'd be amazed if you can tell any difference. Both sugars are totally fermentable.

And if your palate is so good, why are you still messing with the equivalent of condensed milk? :lol:


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## Adamt (12/6/08)

Stuster: Some people take a liking to the taste of powdered milk/soup/wort!


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## Stuster (12/6/08)

Adamt said:


> Stuster: Some people take a liking to the taste of powdered milk/soup/wort!



Actually, I quite like the taste of condensed milk. Kopi susu anyone. :icon_drool2:


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## petesbrew (12/6/08)

citymorgue2 said:


> my 18month old bottling assistant took a likeing to car drops on thw weekend (I was too lazy to batch prime). She took off with the whole bag Id just opened and stuck some in her gob and threw the rest in the garden before I could stop her. damn lolly looking things. I suppose thats another vote why to use sugar not carb drops. or its a vote for force carb kegging!



:lol: 

Last sunday I was putting all my bottles into the laundry tub for sanitising, when my 21month old daughter came in. She saw what I was doing, and jumped right in alongside me, passing me longnecks from the crate. 
I really had to step up my pace before she dropped any, but she was a great little helper indeed.


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## Daawl (12/6/08)

I use dextrose & bulk prime. 
For no special reason but stops SWMBO getting frustrated when I keep pinching the sugar out of the cupboard.

When I keg I use sugar with one of those scoop thingies for those extra bottles.

Will probably go sugar all out (except in the fermenter) as things are getting a little to tight.


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## Stuster (15/6/08)

Interesting. Good that you've tested it. I might have to have another try, although the pain of individually priming is putting me off.



buttersd70 said:


> as far as condensed milk....I actually brew all grain, but sometimes you don't have the time. And some time it's good to have a bit of rough.



:lol:


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## wallablack (29/6/09)

Personally I went from using plain 'ol white sugar then went to carb drops for these ease of use.
Also was told that carb drops produce less sediment in the bottle - hardly noticed the difference.


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## Thylacoleo (30/6/09)

I've used carbo-drops in the past, mainly because they came with the kit. I reckon I'll keep using them because, as was pointed out earlier, they are dextrose (D-glucose) and it's just so easy. Had no exploding bottles from over priming (or bottling early, either) and no flat bottles, all had about the right about of carbonation. Plus; perhaps I'm an over-grown 18 month old, but the last couple that weren't worth keeping about were rather tasty!

Cheers!


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