About Honey

Hey guys,

Im using 1# of Orange Blossom Honey for my next recipie i was wondering if this is good for a Coopers lager?

NO CLUE!? Sounds like it might be good, I don't see any issues other then taste- worth a try I'd say.

I've added honey to every batch of brew Ive ever made; from extract to all grain and the results have been fantastic. Each pound has the same gravity potential as a pound of grain, which is.. Im not sure but I think about .7 lb of pale malt extract. Just like with liquid extract make sure to remove from heat when stirring it in.

Nikobrew said:

Just like with liquid extract make sure to remove from heat when stirring it in.

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NOT!
If you heat it, don't waste your time...just add the extra pound of extract and forget about it.
I recommend that ALL honey additions be done on day 3 of the ferment, and NOT mixed in. Just pour it in the fermenter at room temp, and leave it alone! This process allows a healthy colony of yeast to digest the honey, and also provides that you are not going to destroy the flavors of the honey by boiling the hell out of it.

Nikobrew said:

I've added honey to every batch of brew Ive ever made; from extract to all grain and the results have been fantastic. Each pound has the same gravity potential as a pound of grain, which is.

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this isn't true. honey is much more fermentable and will not give you the same gravity potential as a pound of grain.

OK so you add it to your fermenter. What about after that? Will the yeast take care of it enough so you don't end up with a big sticky blog on the bottom of your carboy when you rack to the next stage?

My Honey Wheat desires this info!

According to beer smith 1 lb honey was the same potential as 1lb grain as long as I read it right. As far as adding in your fermenter, you can recommend whatever you like, and Im sure the flavors of the honey are different/better when adding to the secondary. This is how Ive made every batch and its been great. I don't get as much of the honey flavor but it ends up making a nice flavor all around. I may go for this other way on my next batch

Speranza said:

OK so you add it to your fermenter. What about after that?

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Leave it alone. You are going to add it on day 2 or 3, there will be a HUGE party of Yeast just looking for some more sugar to devour at that point. The yeast will seak it out and Mix it up!
Seriously...dump it in there, then put it away. The yeast activity will stir it up, and it will all be fine. If you go to jacking with it, you're going to either oxygenate the beer, or you're going to give it an infection. Open the honey container, remove the lid, dump the honey in, replace the lid, go watch TV.

I promise that it will work.

That sounds delicious Any idea then what kind of abv to expect? I may boil half the money I usually do then add the other half to the fermenter like you're saying on the next batch I do.

Nikobrew said:

That sounds delicious Any idea then what kind of abv to expect? I may boil half the money I usually do then add the other half to the fermenter like you're saying on the next batch I do.

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AVERAGES HERE....Hightest would stroke out if he had to deal with this kind of generalization.....Honey will raise the gravity of 1 gallon of water .033 points. So, 1 gallon of water + 1# of honey = Sg, 1.033 / 5 = and adjusting for the fact that you're not going to get the full # in there, you should raise your abv by arould 8/10 of a %.

BigKahuna said:

Seriously...dump it in there, then put it away. The yeast activity will stir it up, and it will all be fine. If you go to jacking with it, you're going to either oxygenate the beer, or you're going to give it an infection. Open the honey container, remove the lid, dump the honey in, replace the lid, go watch TV.

I promise that it will work.

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Thank you for this advice. Proof again that we almost do more harm than good by overthinking.

I am guessing this is only good for honey that has been pasteurized...like the stuff you find in stores? I buy mine pure and untouched so I have to pasteurize it slowly and carefully. Otherwise I just dump it in like you suggested.

-Tripod

It's probably the safest to pasteurize the honey. It can have spores of botulism in it. While it's rare to get enough growing to cause a problem, I can assure you that it's an evil disease to get. I agree, though, that you don't want to boil it. That will drive off all the good flavor and aroma and leave you with just more fermentables.

I have read that honey malt gives a good honey taste. I have a pale ale in secondary that has some in, and am looking forward to trying it out. Anyone with experience with that?

Tripod said:

I am guessing this is only good for honey that has been pasteurized...like the stuff you find in stores?

-Tripod

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Nope.
I try my best to get RAW honey straight from the hive.
Honey has compounds in it that are basically very diluted Hydrogen Peroxide. That's why it's good as a wound treatment. ALL honey has this property, and it only converts when it's fighting an infection...so don't go all goofy over drinking Hydrogen Peroxide.

neuron555 said:

It's probably the safest to pasteurize the honey. It can have spores of botulism in it.

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Not True.
Heating honey only serves to drive off the delicate flavors! The alcohol in your beer is gods plenty to kill the botulism if there is any.

according to the ole half-reliable wikipedia, you just shouldn't give it to your kids:

Botulism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

humm.. I always chuck my honey into the frementer when the yeast goes in, then shake the bejeebus out of the whole lot.... is this a bad thing? I brewed 3 this weekend with honey in it & did the same with all...


should I start an "Is my beer ruined" thread?

BigKahuna said:

Leave it alone. You are going to add it on day 2 or 3, there will be a HUGE party of Yeast just looking for some more sugar to devour at that point. The yeast will seak it out and Mix it up!
Seriously...dump it in there, then put it away. The yeast activity will stir it up, and it will all be fine. If you go to jacking with it, you're going to either oxygenate the beer, or you're going to give it an infection. Open the honey container, remove the lid, dump the honey in, replace the lid, go watch TV.

I promise that it will work.

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Seriously, he knows what he's talking about here (I mean between me/colors and you who else uses more honey?). If you going to boil honey, just don't use it. And honey has way way more potential gravity than malt.

I used to have it in my sig.... DON'T HEAT HONEY!!!!

zac said:

is this a bad thing? I

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No, That's fine....Fine and Dandy. I like to put it into beer late for the added yeast count...but a # or 2 in 5 gal isn't a big deal.

zac said:

should I start an "Is my beer ruined" thread?

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Yes...Yes You should.

z987k said:

And honey has way way more potential gravity than malt.

I used to have it in my sig.... DON'T HEAT HONEY!!!!

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I must be reading it wrong or something, according to beersmith honey 1.035, and pale us 2 row 1.036, so yeah thats not exactly the same, pretty darn close? Are these numbers off then? I believe you I've just been using beersmith for a while and thats what it says, I may be reading the wrong info or I dont know what..

Nikobrew said:

I must be reading it wrong or something, according to beersmith honey 1.035, and pale us 2 row 1.036, so yeah thats not exactly the same, pretty darn close? Are these numbers off then? I believe you I've just been using beersmith for a while and thats what it says, I may be reading the wrong info or I don't know what..

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Part of what you are missing is that the gravity that malt adds is not nearly as fermentable as honey. Honey is extremely fermentable, as is demonstrated by the fact that many meads will finish at .996, .998, .990 WAY below 1.000. Beer, and thus Malt, isn't nearly as fermentable, You've noticed that beer usually finishes around 1.020, 1.015 Somewhere in there....that's because the malt does not fully ferment.

That makes a helluva lotta sense. Just makes it slightly more difficult to calculate but thats fine by me. And yeah I started out homebrewing by making mead for about a year, and do recall the final gravity being lower than with beer. So even if beer smith says there's a certain amount of gravity, its somewhat skewed because it's not going to ferment out as much. Also makes sense as to why Ive had batches of beer that I thought would be one strength, and ended up fermenting out stronger than anticipated I wonder if beer smith takes this into consideration when giving an estimated ABV. Good to know, thanks for the info.

Nikobrew said:

I wonder if beer smith takes this into consideration when giving an estimated ABV.

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Fantastic Question.....You gonna test it, or do we have to wait till I get home to try.
Give BS a simple recipe....5 gallons, 5# DME, Notty....see what the OG is, What's the estimated FG? Then edit the recipe with 2# of honey. It should UP the OG, and Down the FG.

I'm trying it when I get home.....If you get to it first....post the results!

I sure will. I aleady used my two beersmith licenses on my desktop and the wife's laptop, so nogo here at work. I love brewing with honey as I think it gives it a smoother flavor which would make sense it ferments to a gravity slightly lower than water.

BigKahuna said:

Nope.
I try my best to get RAW honey straight from the hive.
Honey has compounds in it that are basically very diluted Hydrogen Peroxide. That's why it's good as a wound treatment. ALL honey has this property, and it only converts when it's fighting an infection...so don't go all goofy over drinking Hydrogen Peroxide.

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Excellent, Thank You! I'll try just dumping it in there next time without dealing with the slow pasteurization before hand. But I suppose I'll have to cut back on drinking Hydrogen Peroxide in the mean time.

-Tripod

BigKahuna said:

Fantastic Question.....You gonna test it, or do we have to wait till I get home to try.
Give BS a simple recipe....5 gallons, 5# DME, Notty....see what the OG is, What's the estimated FG? Then edit the recipe with 2# of honey. It should UP the OG, and Down the FG.

I'm trying it when I get home.....If you get to it first....post the results!

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Assuming I did this properly..


5lb DME OG 1.044 FG 1.011 alcohol estimate 4.2
3lb DME 2 LB honey OG 1.040 FG 1.010 alcohol estimate 3.84

So not exactly the same but pretty darn close, and less alcohol, I know beersmith is not the final word, that's just what Ive been basing my numbers off of.

Nikobrew said:

Assuming I did this properly..


5lb DME OG 1.044 FG 1.011 alcohol estimate 4.2
3lb DME 2 LB honey OG 1.040 FG 1.010 alcohol estimate 3.84

So not exactly the same but pretty darn close, and less alcohol, I know beersmith is not the final word, that's just what Ive been basing my numbers off of.

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I tested a sample recipe that they had in there.....No matter how much honey you add, it's not dropping the final gravity....which we know from practice DOES HAPPEN! Yooper is currently adding honey to a batch to help "DRY IT OUT" or lower the final gravity....so we know that's wrong.

Wonder if that's user adjustable?

BigKahuna said:

I tested a sample recipe that they had in there.....No matter how much honey you add, it's not dropping the final gravity....which we know from practice DOES HAPPEN! Yooper is currently adding honey to a batch to help "DRY IT OUT" or lower the final gravity....so we know that's wrong.

Wonder if that's user adjustable?

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Well there's the acquired final gravity and the estimated on the left and on the left mine changed a small amount but not much. This would explain why people drinking my brew really like the taste but some like it thicker 'feeling'. I personally enjoy the smoothness but in my next batch I'll just use grains and then when I split my 10 gal over two primaries I'll add honey to one like you were saying. Boiling it doesn't let you go "oh hey that tastes like honey" but does make it a tad smoother. But the other way sounds like a good way to try, I just don't want to overdo it.. ah brewing, this why I love it And in regards to the software I guess its not the end of the world that we have to rely on our own experiences than a software program that is otherwise wicked awesome

Just keep in mind that honey from different sources may vary in its gravity contributions. In my limited mead making experience I found it much less consistent than malt so don't use it if you are one of those people who obsess over a couple points on your OG or especially FG. FWIW, I have known a number of mead makers and none of them boil and only a few pasteurize but take that as anecdotal rather than conclusive. The mead forums here and elsewhere are pretty good sources of (sometimes contradictory) info about honey.

Obsess? Who? Me? NOOoooo.. I do love honey though and continue to use it in everything possible. Actually going to make some more mead soon I haven't made any since I started brewing beer.

Nikobrew said:

Obsess? Who? Me? NOOoooo.. I do love honey though and continue to use it in everything possible. Actually going to make some more mead soon I haven't made any since I started brewing beer.

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i'M ACTUALLY THINKING OF A ROOT BEER FLAVORED BRAGGOT!
I've been hankering to brew someting root beer flavored for about a year now, but I was thinking along the lines of beer. Now i'm more thinking clover honey, 6 row and some roasted barley, bittering hops VERY early, and rootbeer extract. Take it to the limits, leave it sweet, and force carb the hell out of it.

edit***
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f30/its-going-happen-92150/ Root Beer Flavored Braggot.

Mmm... We've got a kid on the way and I see myself making many a rootbeer batch when she's here. That sounds tasty.

BigKahuna said:

i'M ACTUALLY THINKING OF A ROOT BEER FLAVORED BRAGGOT!
I've been hankering to brew someting root beer flavored for about a year now, but I was thinking along the lines of beer. Now i'm more thinking clover honey, 6 row and some roasted barley, bittering hops VERY early, and rootbeer extract. Take it to the limits, leave it sweet, and force carb the hell out of it.

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Make a honey ale and keg it in a corney that held root beer syrup all it's life.
Ask me how I know.
AP