I forgot to ask if I already used yeast, will this eliminate the possibility of honey? I used liquid white lab yeast with the batch
Quick answer is no, you are fine to add honey after. In fact, I recommend it.
But when you add honey makes a big difference.
If it has only been 2 days and the fermentation is still churning a lot and there is a big Kreutzen on top you should get "Option B" from below.
I use 2lbs of pasteurized honey in mine.
Here are your 3 options, in my experience:
If you boil the honey with the wort, you will add alcohol, lighten the body, and add a faint hint of honey character (maybe).
If you add the honey at the peak of fermentation, you will increase the alcohol somewhat (a little less than directly proportional to the extra sugar added) and LOT of honey character.
If you add honey after fermentation is dying down, you will increase the alcohol possibly more than expected for the added sugar, you will still get a lot of honey character (assuming you did not boil the honey) and you will get a drier beer overall. When you add new sugar to a fermentation that is nearing the end, you will be giving a second wind to the hardiest yeast in the batch. If you do this several times, you can get a VERY high alcohol beer from yeast that would otherwise quit much earlier.
Of course, your results may vary depending on the specific yeast you are using, the OG of the wort, the phase of the moon, etc etc.
It will be good in less than a month, and it will be hard to stop drinking, but if you can save some for about 3 months, you will really have an amazing blend of the Irish and the mead flavors. At least, that has been my experience.
What was your general recipe?
Bandit112 said:
It was fermenting hard earlier today and it slowed down a little. It was showing action in the air lock every 3 to 4 secs for the amount of time I was in the room. (I am keeping it at my parents house because my house isnt well insulated) When I checked it a few hours later it had slowed down. The recipe was 6 poiunds of gold malt extract, Grains were crystal malt, special roast malt, roasted barley malt, 1oz cascade hops, 1 oz fuggle hops, 250WL liquid yeast, and the priming sugar. I'm not too familiar with all the different kinds of ingredients just yet...but if it helps, I ordered the Irish Ale Kit from midwest if that helps.
Starting with a kit is a good way to get a feel for things (hell, it's often not any more expensive than putting them together yourself). I figured since your first batch was a somewhat obscure style that you either did a kit or at least had someone help you. I was curious whether you had rye in the recipe or not. Some recipes do and some don't.
Anyway, add the honey or don't, but do come back and let us know how it all turns out for you. I hope I at least gave you some info to help you make a decision. Please don't be afraid to ask questions like this to the general thread. Then, instead of one idiot's opinion, you're likely to get at least 2 or 3.
Jeremy
+1
This is very useful. I was hoping to do a honey ale of some sort in the next few batches and I was wondering what adding the honey at different times would do.
Very informative.
