priming sugar

markcollard

quick question, just about to start my very first brew using one of the john bull range. i have bought 1kg of brewing sugar to use during the fermentation process because of the taste issues i have read about regarding sucrose.

i know i need to add priming sugar when i put it in the pressure barrel, but, what is priming sugar? where can i get it?

thanks in advance

HBO_Staff

Hi there, it is just sugar referred to as 'priming' because it is used to prime the bottles or a keg. You can use several things to do it, either ordinary sugar, or brewing sugar, or even spraymalts or enhancer. There are 'carbonation drops' available which are almost like boiled sweets, they are a handy dose for a 500ml bottle, and are clean and easy to put in a narrow neck on a bottle, to avoid spilling sugar all over.

Many people use whatever is to hand, so sugar is the most common

markcollard

ah okay cool, thanks very much

 

the directions say to add 1kg of brewing sugar to the fermentation part so i just got 1kg of that. in theory if i bought a big supply of this to use for future brews i could just use that right?

thanks very much, great site and customer service, legend

HBO_Staff

If you bought a big supply of brewing sugar you could then use that in the primary fermenting stage, and add 1kg at the start, or whatever quantity the kit needs, and then use the same brewing sugar to prime the keg or bottles. The brewing sugar would do it all. One thing to bear in mind though, is if you opted to try different beer/lager or cider ingredients kits later, the larger 3kg kits come with all the ingredients needed for the initial fermentation, you don't need to add the 1kg of sugar as the manufacturers have already included everything needed. You would just need a bit to prime your keg or bottles still though.

The 3kg kits (often referred to as 2 tin kits) are usually more expensive, but you don't need to buy any brewing sugar or enhancer, so overall they can compare quite well

markcollard

brilliant information! ill put up an indepth brew diary as i go!

HBO_Staff

yes please do that, it's always good to hear how you get on, and your experiences will no doubt help others new to brewing too. We think on their first brew quite a few people worry that they might not be doing it right, but soon realise how easy home brewing can be, especially with the quality of the kits that are out now, and the finished product usually compares well with pub/shop bought drinks, many times even better!