RCCOLA

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I've added honey to my brew at the beginning of the boil and at the end of the boil and in small to large amts. but the flavor never makes it thru to the finished product.I've also used honey malt and really don't think it tastes anything like honey.I know that sulfiting and adding to the keg and force carbing would be the best way but I don't yet keg.So,what do you all think about adding after the main fermentation has stopped?I was thinking of steeping 2-3 lbs. in water at 170F to sanitize and then adding to the fermenter after the krauesen drops.What say ye?

Yooper

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Honey is fermentable, so if you add it to your beer, the yeast can ferment it. That's probably why you don't have any real honey flavor. I've used it to thin out and help dry out a beer, but not to get honey taste so I'm not sure how it'd be best to get the honey flavor in beer.

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Sulfiting then force carb is really the only way to impart a lot of honey flavor into your beer. Honey is almost 100% fermentable and the yeast will consume it no matter when in the process you add it. You could use honey to carb with and it will still be fermented out by the yeast, and not leave a lot of flavor. Honey malt is the best alternative, but as you say you do not think it tastes like honey.

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bbrim

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In Designing Great Beers there is a short insert about the use of honey. It says the best approach is to steep the honey at 176 F for 2 1/2 hours. I think this would be a job for a warm oven. I haven't tried it yet but it sounds better than boiling. I have a trippel coming up that I will try this approach in.

DD2000GT

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The closer you add to the end of the boil - the more flavor will make it to the final product. When I add honey to a brew (like I just did with my Porter), I always add all the honey in the last 2 minutes or so.

But - as the others have said - you still will not get a "punch" of honey flavor (but you will get a kick on ABV).

blindtiger

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Have you tried just adding the honey to the primary?

Jewrican

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From everything that i have read, you are not supposed to warm / boil / heat honey. Just throw it into the primary after a few days. If you heat it, you destroy the compounds that make it so good.

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dontman

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Even two minutes is enough to destroy most of the delicate floral aromas that honey can impart.

The best way to preserve what little flavor honey can impart is do add it to beer with as little heat as possible. The biggest problem is that the natural wild yeast and bacteria can spoinl a beer.

If you thin out the honey with some boiled cooled water and then add a campden tablet you should be safe to add the honey to primary.

There might still be a problem if you are expecting actual honey flavor in your beer. This would be nasty because it would be way too sweet. You should be looking more for just subtle hints and aromas in the nose and on the palate. Any more would be cloying.

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brrman

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I you are all grain you can add honey malt to the mash.

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Danek

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+1 to honey malt. I asked this question a while ago and got some very helpful answers. Might be worth looking for it via the search option.

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