adding honey after brewin

[cbruce]

So I made an Irish red ale that I was going to add some honey to..I brewed last night and its bubbling away now ...but I didn't really get the OG I was expecting.

It just clicked...almost 20 hours later ...I forgot the honey!

Would it be detrimental to my beer to just dissolve the honey and add it now or should I just leave the stuff out?

 

[Life]

It won't hurt it any, just make sure if it's not a fresh bottle of honey to add the honey you were going to use + a little more, dilute it with some water and boil to kill any kind of nasties that may have gotten into the bottle.

If it's a fresh unopened bottle/jar , wash the cap off (can spray with a quick spritz of starsan even) and go ahead and dump er in.

Unless you made a starter the yeast doesn't really get active until 18-24 hours (sometimes longer) anyways. So the taste should still be comparable to what you would have had anyways.

Edit: I just comprehended your post, you were going to add it to your wort. Doh. You could dilute it some and boil it off, let it cool and if not to thick take a hydrometer reading of your honey water mix. This link has a graph that will show you how to hit the gravity you're looking for. Or you could just dump it in undiluted, and let it ride. That's what I'd do, but I like to experiment.

http://www.beer-wine.com/learning/how-adjust-specific-gravity

 

[Calder]

Adding it late will help retain some of the aromatics; much better than adding it to the kettle. Wait until fermentation has slowed, and then add it.

Dissolve it in some hot water (160 F to ensure pasteurization), and then add it.

 

[Life]

Calder speaks truth, if you're looking for a honey aroma/very light taste. I do this with maple syrup in my American Brown, about a week into my fermentation. It reawakens the yeast, but they leave behind a slight touch of the maple syrup.

 

[cbruce]

So the suggestion is wait a few days then add it?
That sounds good to me
I'm definitely all for just throwing it on in and letting it ride, I just didn't know it is would produce any off flavors being a "very" late addition lol

That's for the help folks

 

[petrolSpice]

What about adding honey to the secondary? My american honey pale ale has been fermenting for about 8 days in the primary and it is done, no airlock activity and no krasuen. I was going to move it to a secondary at 2 weeks (to open up the primary for another batch) and perhaps add 0.5lb of honey. My OG was also lower than expected. Will there be enough yeast left after moving to secondary to process the honey? It will be in the secondary for about 2 weeks as well before bottling.

 

[Calder]

What about adding honey to the secondary? My american honey pale ale has been fermenting for about 8 days in the primary and it is done, no airlock activity and no krasuen. I was going to move it to a secondary at 2 weeks (to open up the primary for another batch) and perhaps add 0.5lb of honey. My OG was also lower than expected. Will there be enough yeast left after moving to secondary to process the honey? It will be in the secondary for about 2 weeks as well before bottling.

You can do that. It will help ensure you have a CO2 blanket over the beer.