Hoppy Brewing

So I’ve been thinking of experimenting with different sugars for priming my beers. In my research, I found the following chart suggesting the following equivalents to achieve approximately 25 lb/sq. in. in 5 gallons of fermented wort:

Sugar Type                       Amount (Cups)

dextrose                        ¾ c.
honey                             1 c.
maple syrup                 1 ¼ c.
molasses                        1 c.
brown sugar                 2/3 c.
cane or beet sugar      2/3 c.
dried malt extract      1 ¼ c.

(Papazian, The Home Brewer’s Companion)

I think that the full amount of some of the stronger stuff in there (case and point, molasses) shouldn’t be used by itself for priming unless you really know what kind of flavor you will be imparting. But maybe half and half (1/2 c molasses and 3/8 c dextrose) would be good.

The other way to prime is the process of kraeusening. The truest form of kraeusening is the process of adding freshly fermenting wort instead of the other sugars for priming. The wort should have just reached the kraeusen stage in order for this to work best. You can use unfermented (yeastless) wort, but this will lengthen the conditioning period because of a lack of oxygen making for a slow refermentation. *Technically, using Dry Malt Extract to prime is the latter type of kraeusening.

I’ve yet to try kraeusening or using anything but dextrose for priming, but I hope to do so in the near future, namely in Clementine’s Molasses Porter in which I want to use some molasses to prime.

Homebrew is all about adventure, so get out there and try something new!