Newby HoneyBrown

Hey everyone,

I've been reading the forums for a few months now and finally started brewing at Christmas with a kit the wife got for me. The first batch of beer i made was a Bock kit from FestaBrew (ready made wort) and it's turned out well. I'm about to start my second batch of beer and I want to do a honey brown beer from the FestaBrew Brown kit. I've searched through the forum and haven't really found much on when to add honey and how much when using a premade wort.

I guess my question is when using a premade wort, should i add the honey to the primary before pitching the yeast so the honey ferments or will i get a stronger honey flavor from adding it to the secondary? I've read that it will take extra time to clear when honey is added, is this true?

Thanks in advance
- Andrew

Aren't there directions with the kit? I'd pasteurize the Honey by bringing it up into the 170's(F) and then cool it down (use an icebath or covered in the fridge) and put it in the primary so the yeast can feast upon it and where it will vastly increase the original gravity and the alcohol by volume of the final product.

Good luck!

Thanks for the quick response Net flyer

I should clarify that i would be adding honey to the FestaBrew kit and it's not a honey brown kit so there aren't specific instructions for doing so.

smithat said:

Thanks for the quick response Net flyer

I should clarify that i would be adding honey to the FestaBrew kit and it's not a honey brown kit so there aren't specific instructions for doing so.

Click to expand...

Ahh, I see, you're going custom ... well, like I said the honey will increase the starting gravity and then the final alcohol will be increased. The thing is how much honey to add? Also my experience with Honey although limited has shown that beer made with honey needs longer to condition. My honey porter tasted like cough medicine at first but now 6 months later it tastes good. Here's the thing, as long as you have to wait from making to drinking don't you want to assure a drinkable product? I ask because although I would totally encourage experimenting, you haven't even made the brown beer yet, why change it before you know what it is supposed to taste like? Just my opinion for what it is worth... Then if you want to experiment spend 18 bucks on Beersmith so you can see what the additions you want to make will do to the brew. Start making your own worts from extracts. Buy kits or look in the recipe section here and find some tried and true recipes and make them.

On a somewhat unrelated note; I did a Festa Brew Brown last April. Boy, did it suck. So I waited a few months...and it still sucked. Terrible. More waiting...more sucking.

Put a few bottles in the fridge a few days ago and cracked one last night--it was phenomenal. Probably the best batch I've made yet. Another testament to the importance of time. And of course by now I've given all but a half-dozen away because I didn't like it. Time to start another to be just right for Christmas!