Adding honey to up the ABV%

[bigskooter]

I brewed a light ale on Saturday. 2 days into fermentation and all is good. My question is can I add some honey to my Carboy to up the ABV% or should I have done so while in the boil process? This recipe was an extract kit full boil method but with a low ABV% and I would like to up it a bit.

 

[mewithstewpid]

I've always added it at the end of the boil and stirred it into the wort to dissolve it.

Since you are still fermenting I don't think it will hurt to add it and stir it in. Just make sure everything is sanitized. But again I only have experience adding it at the end of the boil.

 

[diS]

If your concern is infection you can pasteurize it @175F.
Also, measure OG of honey to be sure how much to add to accomplish desirable overall gravity. FG and %ABV will depend on what strain and how much yeast do you have in primary.

 

[HopOnHops]

I've seen someone heat honey up in a water bath before adding it to the fermenter. It has a dual purpose as it loosens up the honey to make it easier to add to the fermenter and it'll pasteurize it as well. Make sure to wear gloves, honey holds in a lot of heat.

Definitely use some sort of calculator to determine the gravity impact it will have unless you want to end up with bum wine

 

[badlee]

You will probably get some unreckoned for honey flavour this way. But, heck, this is homebrew. Go for it

 

[mewithstewpid]

i didnt think honey needed to be pasteurized, as the osmolarity and acidity naturally make honey antibacterial

 

[bk0]

No need to pasteurize honey, but it's cheaper to use table sugar if you just want more ABV.

 

[Gear101]

Only time that I have added honey was at flame out and it made the beer really dry.

 

[beertroll]

I would recommend that you thoroughly mix the honey with ~145 degree water to get the honey into suspension, otherwise most of the honey will just sink to the bottom of the fermenter (obviously, let the mixture cool to about 70 degrees before adding it to your beer). It's pretty unlikely that you'd introduce any bacteria with the honey, but a low temperature pasteurization can't hurt. Gotmead.com has a handy chart. If you use 145 degrees and stir frequently, by the time you're pasteurized the honey should be well suspended.

 

[stratslinger]

And, like Gear101 suggestested, keep in mind that this will tend to dry your beer out. You're talking about adding a lot of simple sugar to your fermenting beer - simple sugar that will ferment directly to alcohol and not contribute any kind of body to the beer. Depending on what kind of base beer you're adding the honey to, you may have a beer that can support that and it may come out nicely balanced. Or it may come out super dry and thin. Just try to keep that in mind - maybe try adding only a small amount on your first try, and if you like the result, try the same amount or more on a future attempt.

 

[dcp27]

No need to pasteurize honey, but it's cheaper to use table sugar if you just want more ABV.

+1, you can just toss it in (i've never had an issue with it sitting on the bottom beertroll mentioned), but its basically expensive table sugar as the flavor/aroma added is minimal

also, how much are you looking to bump the ABV?