Adding honey to primary

I have a beer in my carboy that was brewed two weeks ago. I did a horrible job with the mash process and achieved a 1.040 OG rather than the predicted 1.060 OG.

Now I am wondering whether I can't add some honey to the carboy and thus increase the OG and subsequent production of alcohol. I now realize from another thread that it would have been better to do this when I was starting primary fermentation but ... this is where I am at the moment. Thoughts?

I'm still a noob here (only 4 batches under my belt) but I think your instincts are correct that at this point you should probably just let nature take it's course and let the beer finish out the way it is.

Worse case scenario, you've brewed your first "light beer"

Are you sure that OG is accurate? What efficiency was that target based on? Was your reading taken after being topped off with water? It's possible, but it seems unlikely that your mash would give that poor of yield.

Adding extract would be better, but honey would work as well. Honey is easier since its already pastuerized and can be added directly, but then you're bordering braggot territory with the amount you'd need. At this point I'd just leave it though

If all you want is alcohol, table sugar will work fine. Honey will work, but you just might end up with a strong taste of honey, which might be distracting unless in compliments the beer style you are shooting for.

If you are fermenting at room temp, you might just let it go. I can tell you from experience that just adding simple sugars can result in a fusel-ly mess that is hard to drink. A 1.040 beer with flavor can be a mighty tasty session beer.

[edit] dcp above is correct, best bet would be to add extract if you have it.

You can add fermentables at any time. all you do is get the yeast to start working again, taking longer to clear.

Table sugar will boost the alcohol. In my experience, honey gives very little to beer. Since it ferments out completely, it would be a waste of money to use so much. With both sugar and honey, since they both ferment out completely you will lose body.

If you want to boost the gravity, I would recommend Malt extract; boil, cool, and add.