Is Honey measured by weight or by volume

Afternoon all!

I would like to try my hand at mead making but I am not sure if the recipes I see are calling x # of lbs of honey by weight or by volume. Might seem like a silly question and I hope I don't get flamed for it... But if you think about it, 1 lb of feathers wouldn't fit into a 16 oz cup (without being forceful, but I think you should get the point).

I did a search but could not find an answer. Thanks all!

 

Usually by weight.

Often you'll hear to use ~3lbs of honey per gallon of mead.

People that buy honey in bulk often buy by the gallon, which usually comes out to ~12lbs (though it varies by honey depending on moisture content)

 

Most recipes go by weight.

Not all honeys have the same amount of sugar for the same weight, though, as the liquid % can be different. But generally speaking, you will get the same amount of fermentables, and the difference isn't really huge enough to worry about anyway if you are just starting out.

 

Awesome! thanks for the quick replies! There is a local bee keeper that I am going to try to get some raw homey from for a mead but before I decide to get too far I am going to make sure to get all of the FAQ's read. (currently only about half)

 

Yeah, it's about 12lbs of honey per gallon if you want a rough equivalent to go between volume and weight.

 

heres a handy honey conversion calc.
http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/honey_measurements.html
also the weight in recipes is usually just a reference point. i.e Ill write in my brew log that I used ~3lb's of x honey, since that 3lb's of honey came out of a 4lb jar and Im guessing I used 3/4 of the jar. Figure out what starting gravity (OG) you need to reach your desired ABV when dry or the OG in the recipe.

 

If I need to use a partial container of honey I'll use a kitchen scale to measure it out. Say I have a recipe that needs 4 lb of honey and I have two 3 lb containers. I'll pour out a full container (swishing it out with warm water to get as much honey as possible). Then I'll put the empty container on a kitchen scale and pour out 1 lb of honey from the full container. I'll make a note on the container of the amount supposedly left (2 lb) for the next time I need honey. Obviously, this method assumes that the weight of honey in the container is as advertised.

 

I hate having little bits of leftover honey and/or LME when brewing beer. I just design my recipes to use the full container by scaling the volume of mead produced.

 

As far as your feathers question, there are volume (fluid) ounces and weight ounces. Pounds are only used for weight, not volume.