honey

[beermonster1985]

hey i will be making a honey wheat beer this weekend, i got all the ingredients, and would like to know if it would be ok to put all the honey (two and hald lbs) in a starter instead of in the brewpot or is this a bad idea??

 

[beermonster1985]

half i meant

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

Sounds like a bad idea to me. You don't want to give your yeast a bunch of honey and then throw it into a much more complex wort. I'd just do a normal starter if I were you.

 

[maxamuus]

Yeah i think you should save the honey for the wort. From what i have read and heard honey is a complex sugar that takes some work for the yeasties to breakdown. Not something they would want for a appetizer.

 

[Justibone]

+3

Malt is a yeastie-beastie's *favorite*... along with grapes and orange peels. And apple skins. Well, anyways, honey is not on a yeast's list of favorite things. So I'd think you should skip the honey in the starter.

Raisins are fine though -- not that you asked.

 

[nollie11]

i just made a honey heff this past weekend and the kit recipe told me to add the honey to the wort after the 60-minute boil. The result has been no bubbling for the first 30 hours of primary fermentation and slow bubbling at days 2-3 (once every 30 secs or so). Is this because the honey was added so late?

Hope your brew comes out good

 

[beermonster1985]

well ok thanks, but what do iuse as a normal starter as i cannot get any dme andd i want to do the starter 2-3 days before i do the beer, sugar with water? or will that affect the taste of the beer?

 

[frazier]

You should only use malt sugar in a starter. If you can't get DME, can you get LME? Does the recipe provide any?

 

[beermonster1985]

nope just grains, can i make extract in advance??? how would i do this, i have lots of pale malt

 

[frazier]

Ya know, this is starting to sound like too much trouble. Just pitch the (presumably liquid) yeast as is, into the boiled and cooled wort. It'll probably turn out fine.

For your next order, order a 1-lb. bag of DME for making starters with. I go with a ratio of approx. 1 ounce DME per cup of water, but someone will probably tell you I'm wrong.

Yes, you could do a mini-mini-mash with some pale malt, to get a quart or so of wort to use as a starter.

 

[billvon]

hey i will be making a honey wheat beer this weekend, i got all the ingredients, and would like to know if it would be ok to put all the honey (two and hald lbs) in a starter instead of in the brewpot or is this a bad idea??

I wouldn't put the honey in the starter. The earlier you add the honey the more volatiles (i.e. smell, taste) you lose. When I add honey or fruit I add it in "secondary" (actually just 3-5 days into the primary fermentation; I don't transfer.)

 

[mr_bell]

I don't have time to look for the source, though my guess would be 'How To Brew'. I believe I've read there that making a starter with anything other than malt extract would diminish the yeast's ability to ferment maltose.

As Frazier suggested, you might be better off keeping things simple and pitching the yeast directly into the cooled wort--if it's not too high gravity brew it will should be fine.

 

[beermonster1985]

ok im just making a small brew now, 2 cups on pale malt, thanks every1

 

[beermonster1985]

thanks also with the honey if i addd it to primary and not the mash (cos i want flavour) is that before fermentation or after???

 

[frazier]

My vote is to add the honey at flameout. No need to boil it, but it should be in the primary (IMHO).

 

[nollie11]

Fwiw, on my 3rd day now the wort has gone from a slow to a vigorous bubbling. This with just pitching the liquid yeast itself, no starter at all.

 

[Justibone]

Honey is fine-fine-fine in either primary or secondary. Yeast like to eat it, they just don't like to eat *only* honey. It's poor in essential nutrients, which is part of the reason you will most likely in your life never see "rotten" honey.

Honey will not stop or slow a beer fermentation. If honey is the *only* nutrient, it will be a very, VERY slow fermentation.

 

[cclloyd]

Also keep in mind that even adding the honey after the boil is not going to impart much if any flavor or aroma to your brew - honey is a clean fermentable that leaves very little behind. If you want the honey characteristics in your beer try using a half to a pound of honey malt next time - you'll be amazed at how much it comes through in the end result.

 

[OsbornBrewing]

Papazian says on pg 87 of Complete Joy:

the "stuff" of Honey is not onlysugar but a variety of sugar-ripening enzymes, wild yeast spores, pollen, beeswax, water, bees' legs, antennae, stingers and various other body parts.".

The first part is good news! And I have always loved brewing with honey. The last part has always made me leery of adding it in the secondary. I have always added honey in addition to or in lieu of the malt schedule. It adds to to a dry finish and lighter body, and as others have said ferments out almost completely. The boiling will ensure the honeynis dissolved and pasteurized. If you are using fresh, raw honey it will give the chance to skim any parts off the top.
I primed an Amber once with honey and that was interesting finish, no idea how to describenthe taste, but my notes say to definitely do it again. Just boil the honey like you would priming sugar, I used one lb for five gallons.

 

[smmcdermott]

I made a Honey Beer and it turned out to be my summer seasonal. WOOO!!!

As everyone said, no honey in the starter and definitely do not make a sugar-water starter. Table sugare is too simple a sugar to use for a starter. Like someone said, buy a pund or three and keep it just for starters.

I added my honey at flameout (realize you are done with brewing this btw, but for next time) and got a little more honey flavor then when added in the boil. Hint: put the bottle of honey in hot water prior to adding it to your wort. It will make it ten times easier to work with.