Adding Honey will alter ABV how much?

Hi all,
I brewed a batch of Brewers Best English Brown Ale. In the last 15 minutes of the boil I added 2 cups of honey for a 5 gallon batch. I have been doing this for a while because I like the slight honey flavor of the beer and have been wondering how much it affects the ending numbers.

Here are the numbers from the recipe:
SG 1.040 - 1.048
FG 1.010 - 1.012
ABV 4-5%

My hydrometer was broken so I did not get an SG reading, but when I moved it to secondary after 9 days it was reading 1.012.

How much could I expect my ABV and final gravity to differ?

Also, I know other people have done this but how much honey can you safely put in before it gets too strong and kills the yeast and leaves it too sweet?

Is 2 cups per five gallons too little for a true Honey Brown Ale?

Thanks in advance for any help!

according to my software 3 lbs (1 quart) of honey raise the SG .032.
So you would have to add a lot of honey to kill the yeast, I think most ale yeasts can stand a little over 10% if not some more so you would have to double your fermentables in honey to have the yeast quit producing alcohol.

As far as the honey brown goes, that's up to you. If your talking the JW Dundees HB, add oh a teaspoon of honey I would say (I can't taste the honey in that beer). I added 3lbs to a honey wheat and you could taste it. A lot of it fermented out though.

Also when adding honey, add it as late as possible to try to keep the flavor and aroma. Heat kills honey.

Thanks so much for your response and the information

Honey added to the boil, even at flameout is almost entirely consumed by the yeast unless it's over a few lbs. I've done a half dozen honey wheats for that very experimental purpose. I've found that adding honey to the primary after a few days of fermentation does the best flavorwise of the options tried.

RedSun said:

Honey added to the boil, even at flameout is almost entirely consumed by the yeast unless it's over a few lbs. I've done a half dozen honey wheats for that very experimental purpose. I've found that adding honey to the primary after a few days of fermentation does the best flavorwise of the options tried.

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If I may ask, how do you go about mixing it in? Would it not matter that all the sediment will be stirred back up?

I am also interested in knowing this.

i use honey as a substitute for candi sugar, or sometimes even base malt. i toss it in the full boil. i'm looking for fermentables, not so much flavor, if i'm adding adjuncts or sugars.

it doesn't matter if you stir up sediment a few days into primary. it'll settle back out.

a good secondary, especially if you can cool it down, is a nice way to get a clear beer.

yeah I add my honey to the primary after the yeast has taken off really well. Just pour it in kind of slowly and stir at the same time if you want. Don't worry about it sticking to the bottom, the yeast are going to eat most of it anyways.

So i brewed another brewers best Brown Ale kit today. I tried the method of adding the DME and LME and honey after boiling.

Heres the ingredients:
3.3 lbs Plain Amber LME
2 lbs Plain Amber DME
8 oz 60l crystal malt
1.5 oz willamette
dry nottingham yeast
4 cups raw honey

It says the OG should be 1.040-1.048
My reading was for 1.104 adjusted for temperature (it was 1.100 at 93 degrees)

It says the FG should be 1.010 - 1.012
ABV of 4-5%

So my question is with this really high OG reading, what can I expect for a FG reading?

if it only gets to 1.020, i should be looking at around 10% abv

dont these numbers seem a little high?

if not, then with the non-boiled extract method giving a lighter colored ale, which I could readily see when aerating the wort this could be a very kick ass brew.

please let me know what you guys think....thanks in advance.

I think for a true Honey Ale, you should add at least 1# of honey, and add it no earlier than 15 minutes left in the boil. I would probably even add the honey when racked to secondary, to savor the best aroma possible.