Carb Drop Sanitation

gswartley

I have not used carb drops, but was thinking about them recently and now I have a question.
When I go to put the priming sugar into my bottling bucket to prime i always boil it for a few minuets to sanitize it, but if i was to use carb drops how do i sanitize them?
I'm guessing you don't have to worry about it to much as the alcohol will kill some bugs on the drops, but if that is true why should I boil my sugar?
I will still be boiling my sugar, but wouldn't the concept be the same the drops are not sanitized so the sugar does not need sanitized.
Thanks for your opinions.

Lennie

Don't touch them and they'll be fine. Stuff doesn't grow on sugar, the osmotic pressure is too high for organisms to live on it. Boiling the sugar is more for dissolving it and making it distribute in the beer quicker.

luhrks

+1 what he said.
No need to boil sugar. Just get the fluid hot enough to dissolve it.

luhrks

I know, old post, but Ive been thinking about this same issue all week. I normally use priming sugar dissolved in water and boiled, but a recent batch of RIS resulted in undercarbonated bottles, and I'm planning to re-open the bottles and add a small carb drop to each. I'll try just a few first and wait a week to make sure I don't get any bottle bombs before proceeding with the rest. But I was concerned with sanitation. Thanks for the advice, all.
I am also wondering if, when following the common practice of boiling the priming sugar in water for ten minutes, part of the hope is to boil off the oxygen from the water?