Beer w/ Honey {not mead}

[RandallFlag]

I have made 3 beers so far to try and showoff the honey that our bees (down on ye olde farm) have ever so lovingly produced. However, the styles I have chosen aren't really delivering the goods.

1) In your opinion, what is the best style of beer to really make a honey profile shine? I've tried a couple of ales and the bitterness seems to compete with the floral aroma and taste. I just made a honey chocolate porter and it came out pretty good, but I want more.

2) What's the recommendation per gal for honey? I've been adding it at flameout thus far.

Thanks!

 

[ChelisHubby]

Try a Blonde and use honey malt with the honey!

 

[BlkWater_brewer]

Many Belgium brews use honey. Or a Honey Heffe.

 

[ColoHox]

I second the use of honey malt. Honey is just so fermentable, often leaving very little residual flavor.

After a few batches using honey alone, I pulled the most flavor by using it to bottle condition.

 

[Rockn_M]

I've done a blonde lager and added the honey when I kegged the beer. I think it was about half a pound of honey for 5 gallons. I just kept adding honey until I got the honey flavor I was looking for. I heated up a little bit of the beer to dissolve the honey, put it in the keg and racked onto it. Tasted it and I added a little more warmed up beer with a lot of honey. I wanted just enough honey for someone to say "Hey, is there honey in here?" Turned out better than I thought it would.

 

[RandallFlag]

... and use honey malt with the honey!

Had seriously never heard of honey malt. It appears to be in the melanoidin malt family (which I like). Thanks!

 

[RandallFlag]

...I pulled the most flavor by using it to bottle condition.

How, exactly? As your priming sugar or in addition to, etc.?

 

[ColoHox]

How, exactly? As your priming sugar or in addition to, etc.?

As a replacement for the corn sugar. Measure the honey by weight, not volume. Normally, 5oz honey into 5 gal beer.

 

[fsr_racer]

I like a nice Honey Wheat, and second the idea of using honey to bottle condition.

 

[solbes]

Honey Wheat (+1 above) and Honey Kolsch are my two favorites. Agree that you need a more delicate beer as it will not shine in many styles. Although almost all of the honey ferments out, you can taste it in the aftertaste in the back of your tongue. It also helps dry these styles out, which is a good thing on a hot summer day.

For the Honey wheat, I would go with an american ale yeast fermented fairly cool (or even a lager yeast). Have 25-50% of the grain be white wheat malt. Leinie's Honeyweiss is a good commercial example.

10 oz of honey added at flameout in a Kolsch is killer. I've made variations of that recipe 5 times now (ferment WY2565 for 1.5 weeks at 58F, and lager for 3 weeks at 35F). The one Kolsch I made without any honey was not quite as good.

 

[BeerFst]

I just did an IPA with a pound of Honey malt, with 8 pounds pilsen DME. The honey malt is seriously potent. I had read some that a pound was probably too much for an IPA, but it was a recipe a buddy said turned out great, so I went with it. The honey malt dominated the aroma (even though I dry hopped 3 oz for 6 days).

I would say a lb was way too much for an IPA, but for a honey forward beer it would probably work great

 

[RandallFlag]

I just did an IPA with a pound of Honey malt, with 8 pounds pilsen DME. The honey malt is seriously potent. I had read some that a pound was probably too much for an IPA, but it was a recipe a buddy said turned out great, so I went with it. The honey malt dominated the aroma (even though I dry hopped 3 oz for 6 days).

I would say a lb was way too much for an IPA, but for a honey forward beer it would probably work great

That's some good info especially given that I just learned of honey malt.

 

[Sailingeric]

I did a quarter pound of the malt for blonde ale and the bucket smelled like a jar of honey but the flavor has a hint of honey, it is everyone's favorite of my beers. Next time I might up to 6 ounces to see how much stronger it comes through.

 

[rodwha]

At a food event many moons ago the beer choices were quite limited. I ended up trying a Blue Moon honey wheat and was wowed. Since that time, as SWMBO loves wheat beers, I was on a mission to create a beer that tasted as though there was a shot of honey in the glass prior to pouring. I've asked for lots of help and have tried many things, but always felt it fell short until Blue Moon rereleased their honey wheat (it was absent a couple of years).

What I finally settled on was 1/2 lb honey malt and about 2 lbs of honey at flameout. You don't want an overly hoppy presence (15-20 IBU's or so). I've also made a blonde in this fashion.

I've used too much honey malt and not enough. I've used to much honey and not enough. I've also tried honey in the boil, after the boil, in the fermentor a week after fermentation began, as well as a priming sugar. I chose flame out so as to more easily figure the ABV. For priming it's probably not worthwhile.

 

[RandallFlag]

What I finally settled on was 1/2 lb honey malt and about 2 lbs of honey at flameout. You don't want an overly hoppy presence (15-20 IBU's or so). I've also made a blonde in this fashion.

Would love to see your recipe. It sounds like you have traveled further down the road that I am currently walking. In short, I love honey and I really want it to shine thru in something I brew.

 

[rodwha]

Partial mash 5.5 gal batch:

3.5 lbs 2-row
3.25 lbs malted wheat
2 lbs honey (FO)
1/2 lb honey malt
1 oz Willamette @ 70 mins
1/2 oz Willamette @ 21/7 mins
US-05

1.051/1.010
5.4%
23 IBU's
4 SRM

I usually get a bitter higher attenuation with honey and get 0.2-0.3% higher ABV. I usually use a wheat yeast, but these days have been using dry yeasts.

 

[GMAbrewco]

I have a Belgian wheat fermenting right now - 2 weeks in, would adding honey at this point add any flavor?

I am curious about adding to my secondary when bottling as well, am I too late for a light honey flavor?

 

[rodwha]

You most certainly can add honey later. A brewer at a festival who had an amazing honey beer told me that he adds his honey a week after fermentation began, and I've done it with good results, but I prefer to add mine at flameout so that I can get an accurate OG reading instead of assuming.

The honey flavor you get isn't exactly like you placed a shot of honey in your glass and poured your beer on top though. It has a slightly similar taste but not precise. Mine tastes very much like Blue Moon's honey wheat.

I've also used honey to carb, but I don't think it's enough to get a real flavor from by itself.

 

[GMAbrewco]

Great, how much would you add to a 5 gal batch? Newbie question, but is it added raw? Diluted? Looking for subtle

 

[BrewHound]

Is Braggot too mead-like for you? You could go 50/50 with barley and honey with a more neutral bettering hop... Do a late addition for some of the honey perhaps.

 

[rodwha]

GMA: I added it raw. On that note raw honey can harbor wild yeast, and so it may be that you may not want to harvest from it as it may eventually show it's ugly head later down the line.

Some have used just a pound with noticeable effects. I use about 2-2.5 lbs for mine. That seems to be about the borderline for me as too much more and it became strangely thin which I didn't care as much for.

I have a honey wheat I'll be brewing up on Monday and the recipe is (5.5 gal partial mash/partial boil):

3 lbs malted wheat
3 lbs 2-row
2 lbs honey (FO)
1/2 lb honey malt
1/4 lb rice hulls
3/4 oz Willamette @ 70 mins
1/4 oz Willamette @21 mins
US-05

1.048/1.010
5% ABV
23 IBU's
4 SRM

When I use large portions of honey my FG is always several points lower and so I expect to have a 5.3-5.5% ABV beer. The honey is 22% of my fermentables.

 

[GMAbrewco]

Just to confirm, before I blow it. I am just past week 2 fermenting, I can just add 2pds of honey to the bucket and let it rock? I don't want to pitch again, I guess it will mix during racking and bottling after fermentation, correct?

 

[rodwha]

I'd add it now and give it a minimum of a week, though I'd think 2 would be better. That way it would give the yeast another go at cleaning it up. Try not to splash when you pour it in.

The yeast will ensure it's all mixed thoroughly. No worries there.

 

[Fishin-Jay]

I make a Honey Lemon Lavender Kolsch (I know, ironic) that comes out pretty nice with a mild honey/lemon/lavender flavor.

I use EdWort's Bee Cave Kolsch recipe, add one pound of honey at flameout, rack on top of one cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, ferment for 2 weeks, cold crash, and then rack to the keg on top of 1/2 oz of home made lavender tincture (one oz culinary lavender in a bottle of 100 proof vodka for one month). It's a nice summertime beer and a favorite of my wife.