Honey

I heard you can add 2lbs honeys to increase ABV w/o any taste T/F?
If True, when in the boil do you add it? Is just regualr honey ok?

honey added to beer will increast the abv. it will also create a lighter bodied beer due to the highly fermentable sugars. adding honey will aslo add time to the fermentation process as it tends to produce off flavors which need time to dissipate. i would plan for a long primary and an even longer secondary fementation. honey in beer is best added in the last 5-10 minutes of the boil. be sure to account for the volume change when you add the honey. i have made 40-50 gallons of mead using honey rom BJ's wholesale club. it is good, but if you can find local honey, you will be even happier with your results.

the beer to which i have added honey has, while taking longer to finish, been exceptional.

good luck

Thanx I was palnning to add to Pale ALe....

I've made a few honey ales. 2lbs of regular honey is what I use.

Like Blackwaterbrewer says, it does take longer to ferment and clean up.

I have added it at the begining of the boil, and in the last 10 minutes. The later addition has a stronger honey flavor to it (not sweet like honey, but still has that honey flavor), but either works - it depends on what you want - either way will yeild a lighter, higher ABV beer, it just depends on how much honey flavor you want.

Give it a try, either way will work, and you will still end up with a drinkable beer.

You really want to add it at flameout or right into the fermenter after its been going a couple of days to maximize the actual honey flavor.

My experience with honey has been somewhat different - it does take a little longer to ferment but what I have found is that the flavor imparted is minimal - it ferments out almost completely with very little or no lingering honey flavor remaining. If you want honey flavor in your beer use 4 to 8 ounces of honey malt in your brew. This will give you a very pronounced honey profile depending on the total grain bill used. When I add honey I do it at flame out (it is naturally bug resistant and you don't need to worry about boiling to sanitize) and it usually takes my brew down below 1.010 for a final gravity.

I am brewing a honey wheat ale this weekend with 1 pound of pure clover honey in the recipe...if it is added to the boil, will I still be able to taste the flavor?

I know 3lbs of clover honey will greatly thin and change the taste of a cream ale, but with a lil age it is great.

fallsdam if you add it late in the brew or add slightly thinned to fermenter it will taste great. long boils will remove some aroma and taste but still keep the fermentable in.

I have a wild flower wheat in primary right now. Got the recipe out of the back of "Exterme Brewing" and the recipe came from Mike Gerhart of DogFish Head Brewery and I followed that recipe exactly as written which called for adding the honey with the DME right at the beginning of the boil so I'm thinking it doesn't really matter when you are adding it if all you are trying to do is raise ABV and not add flavor. I'm thinking the late addition might provide more of a honey flavor to the beer, but that's also just a guess as I'm pretty new to this myself.

dummkauf said:

I have a wild flower wheat in primary right now. Got the recipe out of the back of "Exterme Brewing" and the recipe came from Mike Gerhart of DogFish Head Brewery and I followed that recipe exactly as written which called for adding the honey with the DME right at the beginning of the boil so I'm thinking it doesn't really matter when you are adding it if all you are trying to do is raise ABV and not add flavor. I'm thinking the late addition might provide more of a honey flavor to the beer, but that's also just a guess as I'm pretty new to this myself.

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Actually I have plenty of experience making beers with either actual honey or honey malt in them. Adding honey to any point (unless you kill the yeast) will not impart a honey flavor; it will simply thin the beer due to the large amount of highly fermentables and boost the ABV%.

If you really want to add sweetness that many will perceive as honey tasting (I personally do), add as much as 1# of honey malt to your mash... but seriously, don't go over unless you like really sweet beer. I usually go with 0.75# in 5.5 gallons of my Honey Orange Hefe

Honey Malt FTW! I use .75lbs along with 2 lbs of local honey at flameout in a honey brown ale recipe and its fantastic.

boostsr20 said:

Honey Malt FTW! I use .75lbs along with 2 lbs of local honey at flameout in a honey brown ale recipe and its fantastic.

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You mind posting this recipe? I'm intrigued.

BBKing said:

You mind posting this recipe? I'm intrigued.

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i just brew a AHS honey ale which had 1 lb of honey malt(maybe a little less not sure)and then i got adventurous and added a bottle of blossomhoney at flameout just to give you a idea for a recipe.

RichN said:

I heard you can add 2lbs honeys to increase ABV w/o any taste T/F?
If True, when in the boil do you add it? Is just regualr honey ok?

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If you want to add ABV without flavor, just use table sugar. It is a lot cheaper. Don't over do it though.

BBKing said:

You mind posting this recipe? I'm intrigued.

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3.00 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 37.50 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 12.50 %
1.00 lb Special Roast (50.0 SRM) Grain 12.50 %
0.75 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 9.38 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3.13 %
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (60 min) Hops 12.5 IBU
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (15 min) Hops 12.6 IBU
2.00 lb Honey (1.0 SRM) Sugar 25.00 %
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

Just learned this lesson myself--a pound of honey added at pitching; no effect on flavour except to thin the beer & give it a noticeable alcohol flavour. FG 1.006. I consider it a failed batch.