Hight Gravity Honey Ale

Modified recipe from my previous post https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/questions-honey-brown-ale-recipe-169810/.

6 lbs light DME
3 lbs Honey
1 lb crystal 60
1 lb carapils
.35 lb chocolate malt
1 oz Mt. Hood hops
California Ale yeast WLP051

Steep grains in 2.5 gallons at 165*F for 60 min (Bags would sink to the bottom so I held the bags for 1 hour, my arms were sore the next morning. Didn't think about setting up a holding device for the bags :cross: )
Add DME, boil, add hops for 60 min. Add honey at flame-out. Cool and pitch yeast.

I was initially aiming for a honey brown ale, but after trying a bottle, I have to say it seems far from it. It almost tastes similar to an abbey ale with the fruitiness of the yeast with a subtle aftertaste of honey. Alcohol taste isn't really noticeable. Overall, it's a very enjoyable and warming dessert brew!

Made a batch of this about 2 months ago and it's great!! Both my brewing partner and I think it is one of the best beers we've made. Smooth and strong.
Well Done!

kfox527 said:

Made a batch of this about 2 months ago and it's great!! Both my brewing partner and I think it is one of the best beers we've made. Smooth and strong.
Well Done!

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I decided to crack open another bottle of this today when I read your post. It's been a LONG time since I've tried a bottle of this.

My initial post was very "noobish". This recipe was not "tried and true", and it maybe should not have been posted until today. Give this a LOT of time to age. This batch is a year old now, and it now it tastes a LOT better and a lot more smooth. I'm not saying it was a bad beer before, but it definitely is much better after some time.

Honestly, this recipe was my first own recipe, and only my second beer ever. Don't expect it to be a professional and exceptional beer, but after a good aging, it's definitely very good. I'd like to make it again sometime, and maybe make it all grain.

Several month's after I posted this recipe, I regretted it because of the fact that I didn't know what effect it would have after several more months. I wanted to delete it and repost it when I knew the final result of aging, but being a non-paying member, I was unable to. Thank you for making it and reassuring my decision to leave it on here. Just take my advise, and age it for at least 6 months. This now tastes a lot like a braggot, but a bit more subtle on the honey flavor, and somewhat Belgian-like (this was fermented before I did any sort of temperature controlled fermentation, so maybe it was fermented too hot and that's why it tastes like a yeasty-Belgian, I'm not sure, I really don't remember the process)

Anywho, I'm glad you like it, but definitely age this. Or at least save some bottles and forget about them.

PS: It's suppose to be "High Gravity Honey Ale", not Height. I was probably drunk or something when writing that.

Im thinking about doing this with a big hop characteristic, like using zeus hops to bitter and then some cascade and sterling for aroma and flavor. thoughts?

I just brewed a 1 gallon batch on 3/23, started at 1.086 and today the SG was 1.018 using Safale US 05. Followed recipe to the T, except used Northern Brewer hops for bittering and some Halletaur around 40 mins. First big beer Ive done and am very excited for the results. Should be ready for birthday this coming november! Have primary sitting in a bucket of cool water to control the temp. Thanks for the post.

3 months later and the alcohol heat is gone and is VERY similar to Dogfish's Raison D'Etre- initial plum, raisin, and toffee transforms into a warmth coming from alcohol (for some reason I get the sense of leather- rustic and warm with lots of character), and leaves a smooth aftertaste with hint of chocolate and that warmth. Checked in at 10.2% ABV from US 05. There is no honey flavor as honey is almost completely fermentable and will no leave a lingering flavor, only dry this beer out to balance the high ABV and maltiness.