Critique my honey ale.

[timrox1212]

Wanting to brew something light enough that my BMC friends will enjoy, but sill enough flavor that I will like it as we'll.

Honey ale

5 lbs light liquid extract(all at 5 mins left)

2 lbs honey ( all at 5 mins left)

Steeping grains- 1&1/2 lbs honey malt

Hops- 1 oz cascade @ 60 and 1 oz cascade @ 5 min

Pacific ale yeast ( because I have this on hand)

Irish moss at 15 min left

 

[BigFloppy]

I'd add some (8oz) or so carapils

 

[timrox1212]

What benefits or flavors would carapils add?

 

[dcp27]

What benefits or flavors would carapils add?

none, its already in the extract, plus the honey malt will add the same body & head retention.

1.5lbs honey malt could be too much. some people find it overpowering, I wouldnt go over 1lb unless you've done it before

 

[FreddyMar3]

none, its already in the extract, plus the honey malt will add the same body & head retention.

1.5lbs honey malt could be too much. some people find it overpowering, I wouldnt go over 1lb unless you've done it before

I agree on cutting back the honey malt and maybe upping the actual honey. I recently brewed a braggot like this that was 4lbs honey and 4 lbs light LME. No honey malt and I still got good honey flavor but mostly just aroma. Honey makes the body lighter since honey is 95% fermentable.

 

[timrox1212]

Sounds good. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[gibsonmi]

I made something similar in all grain that I have had on tap for a few weeks now, I used 1lb of honey malt and .75 of crystal 10L in a 1.075 grain bill. I also used 2oz of goldings at 60 for bitterness, still way to sweet, if I do it again I'll remove the crystal and cut the honey malt to .5 - .75lbs. Make sure you use a high quality honey too

 

[MarcusKillion]

Use good honey not that regular stuff sold in stores . You can buy orange blossom honey , quite tasty , in dillons ,kroger etc. your local natural food store should have others that are very good like Tupela ( yum ) and rain flower . A bit pricey for these but they have a real strong flavor nothing like normal honey

 

[timrox1212]

Brewed the beer last night. Decided on 3/4 lb honey malt and upped the honey to 3 lbs. and I used honey from my LHBS. It said wildflower honey on it and the guy there said it was really good honey not the grocery store stuff. So we will see how it goes.

 

[MarcusKillion]

wild flower honey is tasty stuff . I have found that the flavors left over from the honey are good for about a month or so then start to fade away