Cali, can you elaborate on a few of the methods you have used to add honey and their results? I've got a cream ale that I'm considering adding honey at secondary and/or bottling and wondering if I am wasting my time. Thanks!
Bio hit it on the head, don't even both with it with a strong flavor profile beer like a supper hoppy DIPA or something. Its really subtle. I actual didn't like honey malt but it does work well. Personally, I take a 3-prong attack with light beers when I use honey. I add 50% of whatever I'm using on day 4 of fermentation or right at the tail end...but before the krausen falls, add the other 50% to the secondary and rack on to it. Finally, I bottle with it, I bottle almost any beer, regardless of style with honey. Bottling probably doesn't do much but in really light beers, I've found you can get a nice hint of the aroma when you pop the bottle just from bottling with it.
I think the main thing to remember here is the later the better. The later into your process of making beer you add your honey, the more likely it is to show up. I personally prefer orange blossom honey, the end result taste very good. Take into account the fact that it will thin out the beer, either mash higher or add some body-building malts/ingredients to balance it out. Its really a tough thing to gauge in that sense, the more you want the honey flavor and use it, the drier it gets.
And strangely enough, sometimes less than ideal situations in terms of fermentation help. I cold crash the primary and keep it low in the secondary. Make it tough for the yeast to work through it. Generally, honey will ferment out 85-90 percent. If the situation is ideal, you can get up to 95%. The lower the better so make it hard for the yeast.
I did most of my experiments with honey on a 4% ABV, pilsner malt recipe. Anything light with minimal hop flavor will help. And I've tried everything. I even added honey to the mash (don't do this, it will redefine the term stuck sparge) Unfortunately, I can only give this advice, everyone's palette is different and you really need to try it a few times to see what works for you. I don't want an overpowering flavor so I am happy with the way I do it, outlined above.