Using honey

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SouthernMissPKT

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Hey everyone,

I am in the process of creating a recipe for a honey ale. My question is, when is the correct time to add the honey? If there are multiple answers of acceptable times, what aspects do they contribute/counteract?

Thanks for the advice!
 
Best time to use honey to maintain aroma is during active primary fermentation. You can add it during the boil, but boiling honey causes haze issues and you will lose aroma.
 
I've added immediately after the boil or directly to the primary when using store bought pasteurized honey. Adding to primary during fermentation is great because the yeast have already gotten past the lag phase - they'll be strong enough to deal with the extra sugar boost.
I've found adding honey will boost attenuation, increase ABV, and depending on the amount in a light-colored wort, will influence the coloration of your beer. Unless it has a noticeable taste, color, or aromatic quality it becomes a very expensive adjunct sugar the yeast will devour.

I make yeast starters from every pack of liquid yeast I buy, adding dilute honey with nutrient, wort, and water to acclimatize the yeast before pitching. At times, I've used a dilute water-honey solution to boost starting gravity when needed when no LME or DME is on hand.
 
Well it is a honey ale so I am looking for the flavor and aroma of the honey.

However, what you said about the extra sugar could stress the yeast. How should I handle this? Add the honey towards the end of active fermentation? Add it all together and add 2 packs of yeast? I usually just rehydrate my yeast since I cant/don't know how to make starters.
 
I usually make yeast starters from liquid packs. For example, White Labs packets advise making a starter if your wort gravity is 1.050 or greater. None of my beers have ever been above that gravity, but I like to do a starter anyway, just for fun. It gives the yeast time to grow a bit.
You should be OK adding the diluted honey at any point during the first few days of primary fermentation, but if you add honey to your wort, it will increase your gravity. If you have a hydrometer, it's your best friend. Honey is a feast for the yeast so expect it to bump your alcohol level up.
If you're using dry yeast, a simple hydration in water is just fine. I sometimes add a bit of Ferm-Aid with diluted LME/DME. If you like, simply sprinkling the packet on top of your wort is OK, too. Two packs of yeast in a typical 5gal. wort would seem like an overpitch to me.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lefou
Unless it has a noticeable taste, color, or aromatic quality it becomes a very expensive adjunct sugar the yeast will devour.


Agreed.

This is something I learned really fast on my first mead. The stated alcohol tolerance for the ale yeast I used was around 9.5% ABV.
LOL It didn't stop there.
With the stepped nutrient additions and high gravity must, the ale yeast finally quit way past the estimated attenuation and left me with a calculated 14% ABV. That was a surprise learning experience about yeast behavior.
 
I have actually found that honey malt will give you more taste and flavor, aroma than true honey. Real honey will usually ferment out then leave your beer thin and dry, whereas honey malt will add the honey taste and sweetness. When I use honey malt I usually add between 8 oz to 12 oz to my recipe.
 
I have actually found that honey malt will give you more taste and flavor, aroma than true honey. Real honey will usually ferment out then leave your beer thin and dry, whereas honey malt will add the honey taste and sweetness. When I use honey malt I usually add between 8 oz to 12 oz to my recipe.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought dryness was associated with attenuation. Wouldn't this be a case where a low-medium attenuation yeast would be warrented?
 
AHA did some research with the National Honey Board and presented their findings at last year's HomebrewCon.

The big takeaway is to add honey at bottling if you want to keep the honey flavor intact. Otherwise, as others have noted, it just becomes a very expensive sugar.
 
AHA did some research with the National Honey Board and presented their findings at last year's HomebrewCon.

The big takeaway is to add honey at bottling if you want to keep the honey flavor intact. Otherwise, as others have noted, it just becomes a very expensive sugar.

I was only able to get through halfway (will continue it later tonight), but VERY interesting read so far!

So you would suggest brewing the beer without the honey, and instead, since I bottle, use it as my priming sugar instead (batch priming of course).
 
I've brewed with honey quite a few times, and one of the things that can be annoying is the flavor profile that it presents tends not to be stable over the long run.....which is fine as long as you drink it quickly:D

IMHO honey is best used with a low attenuating yeast, for better compromise between flavor and ABV in the final product.

Also wild honey can REALLY add some wild flavors to the mix;)
 
I was only able to get through halfway (will continue it later tonight), but VERY interesting read so far!

So you would suggest brewing the beer without the honey, and instead, since I bottle, use it as my priming sugar instead (batch priming of course).

Yeah, you can prime with it. Consult a priming calculator to figure out how much. My impression is that more robust honeys will retain their flavor.
 
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