Adding honey to primary

[xben]

Hi,

I want to add pasteurized honey once primary fermentation is [almost] done. My only concern is about mixing the honey into the beer. Would I need to dilute the honey into hot/warm water to reduce its viscosity or should I just dump and stir to mix?

Did anyone try to add honey straight to primary without dilution in water?

thanks!

 

[Owly055]

Hi,

I want to add pasteurized honey once primary fermentation is [almost] done. My only concern is about mixing the honey into the beer. Would I need to dilute the honey into hot/warm water to reduce its viscosity or should I just dump and stir to mix?

Did anyone try to add honey straight to primary without dilution in water?

thanks!

Seems to me that the honey will initially lay in a lump, but that it should dissipate over time. I'd really be interested in hearing the results over a week or two if you simply add the honey. Why not add it in the boil?

H.W.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

I've poured straight un-pasteurized honey into the bottom of a fermenter, then strated transfering my chilled wort on top of it and gave the whole fermenter a good swirl.

You could if the beer is already in the process of fermenting sanitize a big spoon (if you have the ability boil it, I try to do this because I'm paranoid). Pour all the honey in and give it a good couple stirs. If its just winding down on the ferment or at high krausen the active fermentation will help stir it up. Some will dilute and it will be just fine, as long as you don't get crazy and don't boil the honey, it won't water the beer down or destroy the honey aromas/flavors.

 

[sfish]

The question that comes to my mind is what do you feel the difference is between adding after flameout and adding into the primary. It seem easier to add after flameout before chilling.

I would heat the honey by placing the container into a pot of hot water then add.

 

[douglasbarbin]

I did exactly what the OP is asking about a couple days ago. I have a black RyePA that was about 5 days into primary before I added 8 oz. of orange blossom honey. I'm guessing that most of it sank straight to the bottom and will eventually dissipate and blend with the beer.

The hope was that the yeast would ferment most of the wort, then after a few days, I could add the honey to wake the yeasties back up.

 

[xben]

Seems to me that the honey will initially lay in a lump, but that it should dissipate over time. I'd really be interested in hearing the results over a week or two if you simply add the honey. Why not add it in the boil?

H.W.

Simply because I missed my OG because I did not boil the wort enough to concentrate it (it seems my oven is getting old and my boiloff rate is decreasing...). My grist has 17% candi sugar already and I'm looking for other fermentables than sucrose because I'm afraid of going above 20%!

 

[Owly055]

Simply because I missed my OG because I did not boil the wort enough to concentrate it (it seems my oven is getting old and my boiloff rate is decreasing...). My grist has 17% candi sugar already and I'm looking for other fermentables than sucrose because I'm afraid of going above 20%!

I've done the same thing a few times..... though I add it to the boil. I've used honey, corn sugar, and DME. I see nothing fundamentally wrong with adding honey to the fermenter. Personally what I would do is heat the honey quite hot.... say 180F or so, where it will be nice and thin. I would then pour it hot right from whatever it is being heated in, into the fermenter without cooling it. The volume of wort in the fermenter is so much more than the volume of hot honey, that the temp will not create a problem..... I do this all the time when I bottle condition..(with sugar syrup).. though my brew is coming straight out of being cold crashed in the fridge. If you can agitate your fermenter to create a swirling motion, as you pour it slowly in, it should spread out and dissipate fairly quickly. You can get away with a lot of things...........

H.W.

 

[Redhawk96]

I have added honey (and Cnadi suger) straight to the fermenter many times when fermenting Saisons and Belgians. The theory behind doing this is to get the yeast started fermenting the sugars from the grain, rather than the easier to ferment simple sugar from honey. At least that is what I have read. By adding the honey to the boil, the yeast will consume the simple sugars first, which could possibly cause the yeast to finish quicker than you might want, and leave four FG a little higher than you are shooting for.

I usually add the honey straight to the fermenter from the bottle it came in (after spraying the outside with StarSan). I have never seen any residual honey in the bottom of the carboy after I transfer to a keg a few weeks later.

Adding to the boil probably works just fine, too. Letting the yeast multiply and ferment the tough sugars first seems to jive with what I know about yeast, so that is why I do it.

 

[xben]

thank you everyone, I'll keep you informed with the results!

 

[LexusChris]

Simply because I missed my OG because I did not boil the wort enough to concentrate it (it seems my oven is getting old and my boiloff rate is decreasing...). My grist has 17% candi sugar already and I'm looking for other fermentables than sucrose because I'm afraid of going above 20%!

Lots of great comments on this thread!

If you just wanted to boost your ABV a few points, you could add any sugar .. the difference between sucrose, fructose & glucose to the yeast seems pretty marginal. They are all simple sugars.

However, if you want the added aroma & flavor of honey, then adding it to the primary works well without any dilution needed. The active yeast will eat through it in short order (a few days).

I would not stir the wort at all, as adding oxygen to the beer after primary fermentation will risk oxidation and wet cardboard flavors. This is also the reason why adding water (which has dissolved O2 in it) at this point is also a bad idea.

Personally, I would not heat the honey above 130-F as you start to lose the delicate aromatics as you go higher. If your wort is already fermented, it has alcohol to inhibit wild yeast, and has too many competitive yeast cells to risk getting wild yeast getting established. Just dump it in and let it sit for a few days.
--LexusChris

 

[Stehag]

I brew lager with honey.
When I add honey to the wort, I do it after a few days of fermentation.
I mix the honey with 1 gallon of wort that I have removed from the fermenter before the yeast is added.
So you can say that I have a 4 gallon yeast starter for my gallon of honey wort

 

[Flyboy84]

Hi,

I want to add pasteurized honey once primary fermentation is [almost] done. My only concern is about mixing the honey into the beer. Would I need to dilute the honey into hot/warm water to reduce its viscosity or should I just dump and stir to mix?

Did anyone try to add honey straight to primary without dilution in water?

thanks!

I make a Honey Pils in which I add a pound of orange blossom honey after a d rest and about 90% of the fermentation is complete. This lets the orange flavor of the honey come through more in the finished product as opposed to adding it at flameout.

I've never had any sanitation issues and I've used store bought and local sourced, unpasteurized honey. I would say to be careful on what kind of honey you use. Adding honey after primary ferm is over will leave behind flavors of the source of sugars the honey was made from. In the case of orange honey it is good, but wild and clover honeys can add a grassy, weed like flavor in the finished beer, especially the lighter beers.