I got the Big Mouth Bubbler starter kit which includes the corn sugar to use for carbonation. I was curious if I can use regular cane sugar as a substitute in lieu of the corn sugar. Thanks in advance!
Table sugar can definitely be used in place of corn sugar. It is not a one to one substitution with corn sugar though. This carbonation calculator will show the amounts of different sugars to use for a certain level of carbonation.
It is also better to weigh the priming sugar rather than use a volume measure for the best accuracy.
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Thank you!
I mostly use cane sugar but corn sugar may dissolve easier
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@brew_cat is correct that corn sugar dissolves MUCH easier, but Table sugar is easy enough to work with if you know the trick…
Boil some water in a tea kettle, weigh the sugar out and add it to a measuring cup. add the boiling water to around the 1c mark, and stir. You can add more boiling water if you need, but the sugar will dissolve quite easily.
Dump this syrup in your bottling bucket, and rack the beer on top of it. Don’t even worry about the temperature. The bottom of the bucket will cool it fast enough, and the volume of the beer itself will also prevent yeast injury. Racking the beer will also help distribute the sugar around. I never had inconsistent bottles with this method.
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So, per the link I input the IPA selection for the beer, 68°F for temp, and then 5 gallons for quantity. The corn sugar and the same in grams. The sugar syrup is the same as cane sugar dissolved in water, right?
I’m not sure I understand your question.
I entered 2.8 for the carbonation level. This would be:
148.24 grams of corn sugar
134.90 grams of sucrose (table sugar)
196.41 grams of corn syrup
Does this help?
Here is what I had…
Corn Sugar 117.84 grams
Sucrose 107.23 grams
Invert Sugar Syrup - All 117.84 grams
With 2.4 carbonation level. I assumed the Inverted Sugar Syrup was the same as Corn Sugar, from your reply it sounds like I need to use “sucrose” quantities.
I would use the sucrose or more commonly called table sugar. You could make up some invert sugar to different degrees of darkness to add flavor. Usually invert sugars are used in the fermentation but it is one of the many sugar sources that could be used for bottle or keg carbonation.
Got it and thank you. I would still dissolve the sugar in water, and then mix into the batch, correct?
Yes, dissolve the sugar in hot water but pour the sugar solution into your bottling bucket then siphon the beer into the bottling bucket. With the siphon tube curled, and flat to the bottom, the sugar will evenly mix with the circular motion created by the siphoning acton.
I use at least two cups of water to dissolve the sugar. I figure the less syrupy the solution is the easier it will mix. I heat the water to a boil in a small kettle. Let it boil on low heat a few minutes to sanitize the kettle and lid. Remove from the heat and pour in the sugar. Stir to dissolve and add lid back. The sugar solution does not need to be boiled. 171°F for one minute will pasteurize the sugar even though it doesn’t need it.
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