Forgot an ingredient

[Carrollyn]

Ok, messed up on my recipe. Is there a nice way to fix it? Made a cream ale flavored with orange peel. I should have added a half pound of honey to it (5 gallons) at FO, but I didn’t. I just put it in the fermenter about 4 hours ago. Is there a way to add it now? Should I wait until it is almost done fermenting and then add it?

 

[beerlover77]

You should be able to add the honey to the fermentor right now

 

[day_trippr]

If one allows time for it to ferment out, honey - or any simple sugar - can be added pretty much any time post-pitch. Indeed considering how ephemeral honey characters are it's probably not a bad idea to add it after the CO2-scrubbing throes of primary fermentation have settled down.
I would bring the honey up to 150°F for five minutes to pasteurize it, then let it cool covered 'til it's ready to pour in.
Don't boil it as that'll attenuate what little "honey" character ends up in the beer...

Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

What @day_trippr says ^
Add your honey later rather than sooner to keep as much of the subtle flavor in the beer. Never add your honey to the boil.

I always add sugars, syrup, honey, etc. when the main fermentation has slowed down quite a bit. It will kick up again, but much more restrained. Don't do secondaries, they're not needed.

 

[Bamos6928]

From my experience, honey at flame out doesn’t give you much flavor. I agree with everyone else add once fermentation has slowed down. Definitely pasteurized before adding.