Adding honey to primary?

Yesterday I just brewed my 1st all-grain batch (5 gal). It's a Blond honey ale. I hit most of the marks dead on (strike temp, sparge temps, OG, etc).

My question is that in the recipe it says to add 1 lb of honey into the primary carboy when there are 4 days left (or when the bubbles in the air lock are at 1 bubble ever 10 seconds). Everything I've ever read or done says that once the wort is in the primary don't open the airlock so as to prevent contamination.

Is it possible to add this honey that far into fermentation without risking messing up the beer?

How does the honey get sterilized (or is that needed)?

Thanks in advance any advice!

Just throw it in there. There will be enough alcohol to help out. Honey is pretty free of any contaminants to begin with. The only concern I would have is getting a good mixture without oxidizing. Need to gently stir it for quite a while without foaming. Heat the honey up in a microwave until it moves freely. I think secondary is a much better option...

Thanks Poobah58!

Although if I heat the honey wouldn't that be detrimental to the yeast cells currently doing their thing in the primary? How hot/warm to heat it?

Adding it to the secondary is an option I might consider. I hate to waste all the time/effort of the all grain brewing and then end up with contaminated beer.

Honey is completely fermentable so I don't think you have to worry too much about mixing it up. The yeast will do their thing and eat right through those sugars.

You might consider using a little bit of sanitized water to thin it out a bit to make it easier to mix.

I'm just had a glass of a Honey Ale that I made 3 weeks ago. I kegged it yesterday. Its still carbing up, but tastes really good already.

I've never added honey once its in the fermenter, but that should not be a issue. I believe I read that honey is the only food item that will never spoil and will not hold bad bacteria. It has some things in it that the bee's produce that keeps spoiling from happening. Even if the honey has hardened up like a rock, you can just warm it up and it will be fine.

I flash pasteurize: I bring the honey up to 165*f for 30 seconds, and let it cool to fermentation temperature in a 2qt covered sauce pan--then dump 'er in. Thinning with a little pre-boiled water sounds like a good idea too.

drkeds said:

Thanks Poobah58!
Although if I heat the honey wouldn't that be detrimental to the yeast cells currently doing their thing in the primary? How hot/warm to heat it?
Adding it to the secondary is an option I might consider. I hate to waste all the time/effort of the all grain brewing and then end up with contaminated beer.

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Just heat it enough to make it less viscous. Of too hot let it cool a bit. I like to put it in secondary then rack on top of it. Cools it down a bit (if necessary) and mixes better.

Fathand said:

Honey is completely fermentable so I don't think you have to worry too much about mixing it up. The yeast will do their thing and eat right through those sugars.

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It's got nothing to do with fermentably. The healthy yeast are in suspension, not sitting on the bottom of the carboy. Need to get that honey mixed well and let them have at it. Hard for those stressed out yeast to "dig" through globs of honey on the bottom. It's even a good idea to gently swirl once or twice a day to get them riled up!