honey weiss

im making a honey weiss as i type this to you guys and im wondering weather i should add honey while boiling or use honey instead of priming sugar when bottleing. this is kind of an emergency cause im boiling as we speak.

thanks everyone!

I add it at flameout....works very well.

when you add it after the boil and not when bottleing does it have a less pronounced flovor then when bottleing??

wisconsinbrewer said:

when you add it after the boil and not when bottleing does it have a less pronounced flovor then when bottleing??

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I really don't know, as I've never added it at bottling. I used 2lbs of orange blossom honey in mine, and it retained a nice, kind of floral flavor.

How much honey are we talking here? You wouldn't want to add like a pound at bottling....honey ferments almost completely, so at best you're looking at overcarbination. At worst, bottle bombs.

I add it at 15-20 mins. left in the boil, just 'cause I'm afraid of it all sinking to the bottom. I want to make sure it's mixed well. I bet if you add it at flame out and stir well, you'd be fine.

As for taste, it depends on how much honey you're adding. It will tend to make a beer drier. I usually add a pound, but I know others have used 2 or 3 lbs. If I wanted a really pronounced honey flavor, I think I'd do both - add it at boil and use it for priming!

I like honey in the primary, sometimes near the end of fermentation. I don't like honey in the kettle.

thanks for all the help guys

Brewpastor said:

I like honey in the primary, sometimes near the end of fermentation. I don't like honey in the kettle.

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Why? What differences do you notice?

The only reason I add it it flameout is for pastuerization. I understand that it should already be sterile, but it's hard to know how the stuff has been handled.

Hey, I've been thinking about brewing honey weis for a while. Are you using lager or ale yeast? Please share your recipe with me.

Generally, wheat beers are ales.

Ya, use an ale yeast, but if you want real Weissbier then you should get some wheat yeast.

Honey is a slow fermenting sugar. Don't add it at bottle you would be waiting forever for it to carb. If you want to get more honey flavor use some honey malt. Honey is basicly all sugar and adds more alch. but very little taste from I own experience.

Sam75 said:

The only reason I add it it flameout is for pastuerization. I understand that it should already be sterile, but it's hard to know how the stuff has been handled.

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I read somewhere (I think it was Papazian but I'm not sure) that honey has such a low moisture content that the chances of contamination are next to nothing. I dunno- I've thrown it in during the last 15 min of boil, I've also just tossed it into the fermenter and can't recall ever noticing a difference. Oh and as for yeast, I like Wyeast 3056 Bavarian Wheat. Cheers

ablrbrau said:

I read somewhere (I think it was Papazian but I'm not sure) that honey has such a low moisture content that the chances of contamination are next to nothing. I dunno- I've thrown it in during the last 15 min of boil, I've also just tossed it into the fermenter and can't recall ever noticing a difference. Oh and as for yeast, I like Wyeast 3056 Bavarian Wheat. Cheers

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Yeah, I've read that, too. My concern isn't so much with the honey itself, but how it has been handled, and how the packaging it is put into has been handled. I generally don't worry too much about infection, but adding at flameout seems to be easy insurance to me.

Sam75 said:

Yeah, I've read that, too. My concern isn't so much with the honey itself, but how it has been handled, and how the packaging it is put into has been handled. I generally don't worry too much about infection, but adding at flameout seems to be easy insurance to me.

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Honey itself is an anti-bactrial solution. Nothing can really grow in it. They used it in medical bandages (sp?) during WWII. It would let air through but not germs.

sause said:

Honey itself is an anti-bactrial solution. Nothing can really grow in it. They used it in medical bandages (sp?) during WWII. It would let air through but not germs.

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Cool I learned something today. Now I can go suck some homebrew and kill some more brain cells! Cheers

sause said:

Honey itself is an anti-bactrial solution. Nothing can really grow in it.

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Maybe nothing can grow in it, but honey can, and often does, contain botulism spores, which is why it shouldn't be fed to infants without sterilization. Personally, I wouldn't add it to my unfermented wort without sterilization either.