Brew with honey

[brandtrepair]

I found a recipe that was telling me to use 3lbs of honey. It wants me to put it in the last 15 minutes of the boil. Whats your thoughts on this? Does it need to be pasteurized? Ive also heard that you shouldn't boil the honey...just want to get everybodys opinion.

 

[madscientist451]

Boiling the honey will drive off the honey aromatics. I just listened to a mead making podcast on the Basic Brewing site, and he didn't recommend going over 105 degrees F. He did add sulfites to his mead must, however. You could mix up the honey with water and sulfite it 24 hrs before your brew day, then reduce the brewing water a proper amount to make up for the water/honey mixture. Dump the honey/water mixture in the carboy first, then dump the chilled wort on top,of it to help mix it all in. The pod cast also talks about using yeast nutrients when using honey:

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/2/8/2/282...88239266&hwt=4a0f4e7332f92d9da040871d7dbdd2ab

 

[kev211]

What are you brewing? And how much? 3lbs is a ton of honey. For my 5 gal batch of honey blonde ale I use 1.5 lbs of honey.

I put it in at flameout. With 15 mins you will boil off most of the volatile compounds that give you the honey flavor and wont get much out of it. Honey is naturally anti-bacterial so in theory does not need to be pasteurized. That being said, I put it in at flameout just to kill anything that could be hiding in there.

I actually emailed a local brewery here with a honey beer and the head brewer said they add at flameout as well. He also added that you could add at high krausen, but ultimately recommends at flameout.

 

[Sheldon]

Agree with Kev211

 

[rhys333]

The honey is going to lighten the body a lot like any simple sugar, but you may not get a lot of actual honey character from it. You could try adding about 3% or so honey malt as well as or instead of the liquid honey.

 

[Jimbodaman]

I've always just poured honey directly in secondary no problems whatsoever, it's naturally pretty clean. No sense in destroying the beautiful aroma more than the yeast already will. Cheers

 

[brandtrepair]

It's a hopslam clone I found on beersmith. 11 Oz of hops this thing takes also!

 

[brandtrepair]

It's a bells hopslam clone I found on beersmith

 

[kev211]

Are you sure it wasnt honey malt in the mash? That just seems like an awful lot of honey for a beer that isnt even a honey beer. Id assume it would be just to dry the beer out a bit, so I would probably just use corn sugar

 

[brandtrepair]

It says honey...I lowered the amoint of honey to 1.5lbs. The gravity stayed in the "good range" if I put it in the secondary and not in the primary will my gravity get lower or will it stay the same?

 

[brandtrepair]

Or at flameout? Will that change anything???

 

[kev211]

Flameout. I doubt you want a ton of honey flavor in a DIPA. Adding at flameout will allow some of the flavor to get lost when its fermented. Also, if you add honey to secondary it wont get fermented out and your beer will be an awkwardly bitter honey ale

 

[brandtrepair]

Ok. Sounds good! I'll give it a try and let u all know how this turns out.

 

[Mic Carp]

Hopefully you have dialed in your honey.

I know I am late to the party, but here's my $.02
I added a pound at flamout to a 5-gal blonde and could barely taste it
added 2lb and it was like syrup.
I had read on here that corn sugar will boost ABV but it will dry out your beer, which was exactly what I needed, so i now add 2lb honey (@ flameout) and about 3/4 cup of corn sugar in the boil.
the results are a very crisp drinkable imperial honey blonde that goes down way too easy for a 8.5% beer.
Served at abolut 30 degrees, it is a favorite of all my friends and my favorite on lawn mowing days.

 

[dreaded_rust]

Mic, that sounds delicious. Care to share the recipe?

 

[kitr]

My understanding is that about 80 percent of the honey converts to alcohol leaving only 20% of the honey flavor left over. I add 2 lbs to my Heff. Anything more and the taste of alcohol was too strong.

 

[couchsending]

Hopefully you have dialed in your honey.

I know I am late to the party, but here's my $.02
I added a pound at flamout to a 5-gal blonde and could barely taste it
added 2lb and it was like syrup.
I had read on here that corn sugar will boost ABV but it will dry out your beer, which was exactly what I needed, so i now add 2lb honey (@ flameout) and about 3/4 cup of corn sugar in the boil.
the results are a very crisp drinkable imperial honey blonde that goes down way too easy for a 8.5% beer.
Served at abolut 30 degrees, it is a favorite of all my friends and my favorite on lawn mowing days.

Send pics of your lawn after a few of those easy drinking 8.5% lawnmower beers....

 

[Mic Carp]

Mic, that sounds delicious. Care to share the recipe?

I haven't made it since I have gone all-grain yet, ao i haven't converted the recipe, but it is next on the list.
Basically, I brewed a regular Blonde Ale adding 1/2-4/4 cup of corn sugar to the boil. Then I added 2 pounds of honey at flameout. with some vigorous stirring.
it's really very simple. I hope you enjoy it.

 

[cefiro355]

Are you sure it wasnt honey malt in the mash? That just seems like an awful lot of honey for a beer that isnt even a honey beer. Id assume it would be just to dry the beer out a bit, so I would probably just use corn sugar

Actually Hopslam is known for containing quite a bit of honey.

 

[kev211]

Actually Hopslam is known for containing quite a bit of honey.

So what's your point?

 

[cefiro355]

So what's your point?

Just correcting your statement.

 

[kev211]

Just correcting your statement.

How is that correcting my statement? I never said hopslam didn't contain honey, not did I say beers don't contain honey. I DID however say that it seemed like a lot.

 

[cefiro355]

How is that correcting my statement? I never said hopslam didn't contain honey, not did I say beers don't contain honey. I DID however say that it seemed like a lot.

No reason to get all bent out of shape. You mentioned just using corn sugar instead of honey on a beer that is known and advertised for having a lot of honey in it's (changes every year) recipe.. was just updating as the thread popped up for someone that's trying to replicate. Was no attack just adding to the convo/info.

 

[kev211]

Just correcting your statement.

And, fwiw hopslam contains honey, but not nearly the quantity in which op was planning on using (assuming he was making a 5 gallon batch).

 

[cefiro355]

And, fwiw hopslam contains honey, but not nearly the quantity in which op was planning on using (assuming he was making a 5 gallon batch).

It's in the ball pall park, I looked up the recipe a friend brewed that came out very close and it's 2.8lbs.

 

[kev211]

It's in the ball pall park, I looked up the recipe a friend brewed that came out very close and it's 2.8lbs.

According to the recipe on bells website it's 12oz for a 5 gal batch