Priming sugar for beer. Alternative options?

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So you’ve meticulously crafted your very own batch of beer some number of weeks ago, and that liquid gold has undergone days if not weeks in the fermenter going from “sugary yeasty wheat-tea” to what you’ve been working all this time for – BEER! But wait, why isn’t it bubbly?! 

The next step and arguably one of the most important steps in finishing your beer – carbonation!

Beer is carbonated by adding CO2 to beer in an air-tight system (i.e. a bottle or a keg). Based on the style, beer requires varying amounts of CO2 that absorbs into the beer and voila! Bubbly delicious beer!

In this article we talk about bottling and bottle conditioning with priming sugar for beer. However, if you are interested in carbonation for kegging then please check out my other articles:

• 15 minute “in a pinch” carbonation method
• 2 day middleground “quick-ish and specific-ish” carbonation method
• 7 day beer variety-specific carbonation method

Now let’s get into specifics.

Quick jump guide:

What is priming sugar for beer? How does it work?

Types of priming sugar for beer

How much priming sugar for 5 gallons of beer? What if I want more?

Priming sugar calculator

How to use priming sugar for beer

What is priming sugar for beer? How does it work?

To achieve carbonation when bottling there are a few things required and a little science involved. At the end of fermentation there are a few things occurring. First, the yeast is no longer active and the majority of it has collected at the bottom of the fermenter in the yeast cake. The reason for this is there are no remaining fermentable sugars in the beer. This is important because as we know:

Fermentable Sugars + Yeast → Alcohol + CO2

So, once the fermentable sugars are gone, the yeast falls out but some yeast remains. It is with this yeast that we create carbon dioxide (CO2) through the addition of new fermentable sugars. We do this by adding priming sugar. The small amount of leftover yeast consumes the priming sugar inside the closed system (bottle) and boom – SCIENCE! And BUBBLY BEER!

It is important to note that the yeast content is LOW and the overall sugar content is LOW so you won’t have any off flavors from the yeast and/or sugar. Also, once the priming sugar carbonation process is done you have fully carbonated beer with a hint of more alcohol and a thin layer of yeast at the bottom. 

Priming sugar is any fermentable sugar. Some examples of fermentable sugars are corn sugar, table sugar, malt extract, honey, and sugar drops – more on that below.

Types of priming sugar for beer

There are a few different types of sugars used for beer and all fall under two categories, either fermentable or non-fermentable sugars. Typically additional sugar is added to finished beer for the below reasons:

• Prime the beer for carbonation (fermentable sugar)
• Increase the abv without changing the body/mouthfeel/flavor of the beer (fermentable sugar)
• Change the body of the beer without changing alcohol level (non-fermentable sugar)
• Add flavors (fermentable and non-fermentable sugars)

Fermentable sugars

Fermentable sugars break down per the equation above and are used primarily to increase the alcohol level and/or to prime for carbonation. Some fermentable sugars also impart flavors necessary for the final flavor profile.

Corn sugar – the priming sugar most commonly used by home brewers. It comes standard with most recipe kits, is inexpensive, and achieves a great result. Corn sugar has a 100% fermentability meaning all of it converts to alcohol and CO2. Corn sugar may lighten the body of the beer only slightly, but so little of it is needed to prime that the body-changing effects are rarely noticed. The flavor profile is neutral so the finished flavor will not change with corn sugar.

Carbonation tablets – the EASIEST carbonation method. These look like small hard candies with 100% fermentability. Drop 1 into each 12 oz bottle when filling and let chemistry and time take care of the rest! Some do say that these can result in slightly over-carbonated beers.

LME / DME – liquid and dried malt extracts are highly fermentable but they will impart some flavor on the beer. So long as the LME/DME matches the style of beer, you shouldn’t have any issues! Be prepared for a slightly longer wait to fully carbonate as well.

Table sugar – this is a great option and can be used in place of corn sugar. It has 100% fermentability as corn sugar does, it just requires slightly more.. Also who doesn’t have table sugar on hand? Can be great in a pinch if you forgot your corn sugar!

Honey – 95% fermentability so it is mainly used to raise ABV and prime for carbonation. Honey doesn’t impart any strong flavors and may slightly increase the body of the beer.

Molasses – 90% fermentability meaning it will leave some non-fermentable sugars behind. This results in a slight change to the flavor profile, body, and mouth feel of the beer. Molasses may sometimes be used in porters, stouts, and darker sweeter beers.

Maple syrup – 95-100% fermentability but if added when primary fermentation is complete it will impart a nice maple flavor to the beer. This characteristic is desirable in some porters, stouts, and amber ales.

Non-fermentable sugars

Non-fermentable sugars are not consumed by yeast and are often used to both impart flavors and increase the body and sweetness while not raising the ABV. They include:

• Lactose – ¼ as sweet as table sugar but non-fermentable by yeast, use lactose to sweeten or add body to a beer
• Xylitol
• Erythritol
• Maltodextrin – only 3% fermentable by yeast, use maltodextrin to add body and mouthfeel to  the finished beer
• Artificial sweeteners like stevia, splenda, and sweet ‘n low

While these sweeteners are not used to carbonate they do have other important uses in brewing, like using lactose for cream ales!

How much priming sugar for 5 gallons of beer? What if I want more?

The brewer’s rule of thumb to find out how much priming sugar for 5 gallons of beer is below – keep in mind that these quantities are linear and if you make a 10-gallon batch then double the below or divide for a smaller batch. 

¾ cup of corn sugar (most common)

⅔ cup of brown sugar

⅔ cup of table sugar

½ cup of honey

½ cup of maple syrup

1 ⅓ cup of dried malt extract (DME)

The “rule of thumb” for priming sugar is good to follow if you’re in a pinch and just want your beer to be plain ole carbonated. However, different beer styles have specific carbonation levels that they are served at – measured in volumes of CO2. 

For example, a porter or stout is typically lower in carbonation than a wheat ale or a lager which has more carbonation. If you want to get true to style please visit our priming sugar calculator section below.

Priming sugar calculator

Or, we can eliminate the guessing work with this priming sugar calculator, via the link below.

MoreBeer.com Priming Sugar Calculator

MoreBeer’s priming sugar calculator is AWESOME because it does the work for you! You can fine-tune it specific to your brew day. Instead of just asking how much priming sugar for 5 gallons of beer, you can change the batch size, fermentation temperature, and the amount of carbonation required for your specific beer type. It will spit out the exact amount of sugar needed for every common type of fermentable sugar!

All natural carbonation, no sugar added

If you want a truly authentic beer that is made of only water, malt, hops, and yeast and you don’t want to add in additional sugars to taint it’s purity then there is a solution for you! It is called gyle. 

Gyle: an amount of wort that is left unfermented to be used to carbonate beer. During the brewing process, an amount of wort  is kept in a sanitized and sealed container, separate from the wort going into the fermenter. After fermentation ends, the gyle is added to the beer and mixed throughout the beer. The gyle then provides the unfermented sugars to the beer that will be converted to alcohol and CO2.

Please visit the link below to determine how much wort needs to be kept separate after brewing.

Gyle and Krausen Priming Calculator

How to use priming sugar for beer

Priming sugar occurs at the end of the brewing process and during the bottling process.

If you’re using the carbonation tablets you can skip the steps below, it is the easiest route – just pop 1 tablet in each bottle after you fill and let ‘er rest for 2 weeks!

If you are a glutton for punishment and want to do it the harder way, please follow the steps below:

1. Mix
   In a small pot, mix your priming sugar with 12-16 oz of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat to cool, and set aside.

2. Transfer beer to bottling bucket
   Use sanitized transfer tubing to move the beer to a bottling bucket.
   Let sit for at least an hour after transferring so the trub (yeast and sediment) can settle.
   Be careful to not slosh around your beer when transferring as oxygen is now your enemy!
   When 3-5 inches of beer are in the bottom of your bucket, gently pour in your priming sugar/water mixture. The remaining yeast in the beer will consume the sugars that will carbonate your bottles.
3. Stir
   GENTLY stir to mix the sugar/water with the beer. Do not slosh or swirl too much because we don’t want oxygen in our beer!
   Once stirred, cover with a lid or foil to prevent airborne bacteria from getting into the beer
4. Bottle
   Using your bottling wand attached to the bottom of your bucket, fill your bottles to the top. When the wand is pulled out, the beer displaced by the wand will allow for just enough head space for carbonation.
5. Seal your bottles
   Using your bottle capper and bottle caps, cap your bottles.. That was a bit repetitive and self explanatory but I’m leaving it in there.
6. Conditioning
   Your beer is ALMOST finished!! You now need to allow your bottles to condition, this allows them to carbonate
   Store at room temperature area away from sunlight for 2 weeks. UV rays can penetrate bottles and alter the taste of beer. A common term “skunked beer” is when it has been exposed to too much UV rays prior to drinking. Have you ever had a corona that smelled skunky? That’s a product of UV rays.
   Your beer will improve the longer it ages. Age in the fridge after the 2 weeks at room temp for even better flavor.

7. Time to drink

Congratulations! You have now made BEER that is carbonated and DRINKABLE!!
Throw those puppies in the fridge, or hell! Drink ’em warm! You’ve waited long enough!!

Cheers!

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