Honey prolonging fermentation

[MrBulldogg]

Per advice from a previous post, I added 1.5 lbs honey to the boil to make up for low alcohol content in my kit. Having done a fair deal of reading on the old threads it seems honey will prolong the fermentation, but there seems to be no consensus on exactly HOW long it takes. I read someone mention it taking up to almost three weeks for just the first stage to be done in that particular case! I'll obviously simply wait until my brew stops gurgling, but I'm sure I'll be using honey again in the future so my question is: What's realistic to expect when using honey? Is there some universal rule of thumb for how much honey prolongs the fermentation process?

 

[david_42]

I think people get this impression from the long fermentation times for meads. It isn't honey so much as very high gravities common for meads. High gravities make it difficult for the yeast to drawn the sugar into their cells (osmotic pressure), hence a slow ferment. 1.5 pounds of honey in 5 gallons shouldn't add more than a day or two to the ferment.

 

[MrBulldogg]

Ahh... Ok, that explains things. Thanks!