Honey addition

[Gavittk]

I am going to brew an amber ale with honey. Last time i did it, i was VERY new to the game and poured my honey in at the start of the boil. As you all can imagine, i had no honey flavor come through.

I have been reading up more this time and it seems that adding it at flameout is the way to go. Thoughts from the more experienced crowd?

By the way, i am gonna make sure to use good local farmed honey, not diluted crap from the grocery store.

 

[arnobg]

I've both added it at flameout and in primary and had no issues. If you want to retain some flavor you can add it after primary fermentation starts in the fermenter.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I made a honey wheat this summer and added the honey in secondary.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

I have been told honey can be full of all sorts of wild things (especially the local stuff I use) so I add at flame out so it has a few minutes near boiling to kill anything that might come to life in the fermenter.
It will also take longer for the yeasts to break down those sugars as well, so give it some extra time to finish.

 

[arnobg]

If you add it in primary fermentation at high krausen you don't have to worry about wild things. Like a day or two after pitching is great. Adding it at flameout is better than earlier in the boil but you really lose some aromatics and flavor from the honey even by putting it in a flameout. If you don't want any of this from the honey then that doesn't matter.

 

[day_trippr]

If you add it in primary fermentation at high krausen you don't have to worry about wild things.[...]

Because?

 

[arnobg]

Honey has antibacterial properties and is antiseptic. It is my understanding that it kills most organisms through osmosis. In addition most honey is already pastuerized. With primary fermentation small amounts of alcohol will also kill off most bugs if they did exist.


Do some google searches and you will find a lot of people add it to primary and it causes no issues at all.

 

[Brewer_Ben]

I agree with the flameout theory, i have done it and had no ill effects. You may loose some of the aromatics but the heat should kill the nasties.

 

[arnobg]

The OP asked for advice because he wasn't happy with aromatics. I'm simply informing that there are no issues adding it to the fermenter and you will get ALL of the aromatics you are looking for that you will lose even at flameout.

If you have never done this before because you think it isn't safe and you'll get an infection, well that is not experienced information and you're losing the aromatics you're looking for. I have added to primary plenty of times as well as many other people and it isn't an issue. Just look it up. You can even heat it to 170F to pastuerize and throw it in the fermenter after cooling if you're that worried about it.

Another reason I like adding it to the fermenter after fermentation starts is because it gives the yeast a chance to go to work on the sugars from the grain rather than a chance of consumer simple sugars from the honey and stalling early.

Again, if you don't care about aromatics add it at flameout.

 

[Gavittk]

when it is added to the primary, how much does it really get mixed in? i wouldn't think that you would want to do too much stirring and I don't have a secondary fermenter to utilize.

 

[JJack887]

Flameout. Cheers!

 

[k1ngl1ves]

If you want aroma and/or a honey type flavor, use some honey malt instead. In my experience, you don't get much from the honey if you're gonna ferment it. It's almost 100% fermentable (not sure that's a word. Lol!).

I add honey when the krausen starts to drop... straight from the container. I just sanitize the bottle and the funnel. Then give it a nice swirl, and again the next morning for good measure. The yeast will take off again like a rocket. I do this so the yeast will put in the effort to break down the wort's sugar chains first, then get to feast on the "easy pickings" honey afterwards. Kinda a nice dessert for putting in that extra effort. Nice work, guys! Lol!

The reason honey doesn't spoil from microbes is because of a lack of moisture. When you introduce water to the honey, the microbes become active. Unfortunately for them, they're waking up to a very hostile environment when added near the end of fermentation. Almost no chance for survival. The alcohol and your billions of yeast will make sure of that. Lol!

At least that's my understanding, and has worked well for me for years now. Never once have I picked up anything unwanted.

 

[Magnus314]

Add it when the krausen drops in primary or when you rack to secondary. Anything earlier, especially anything HOT, and you'll lose major flavor.

To be clear, honey fermented out tastes like flowers, so be aware/prepared if that's what you want. It does NOT taste sweet or like "honey" once the fermentables are gone.

If you want "sweet honey" flavor, there's a much more complicated process.

 

[Lefou]

I put my honey in immediately AFTER the boil. The hot wort dissolves it more easily - it just takes a stir or two.
I personally never use more than 4oz. in a 3-5gallon batch, but that's just personal preference. It's a good way to boost gravity and ABV, aroma, and adds a bit of golden color, too.

Later on, I plan to compare the honey with Gambrinus Honey malt. The malt has a "bready" aroma you don't get with honey, and I want to see how it turns out.

 

[Hoppity]

2nd the thought of Honey malt for Honey flavor. Seems like an expensive sugar to me to make beer. You should make a mead instead if you're that interested in the ingredient.

 

[Lefou]

Honey IS an expensive ingredient. My local brew shop sells the Gambrinus around $2/lb.
Honey ferments out really well and ale yeast will tear right through it, leaving very little sweetness in the wort. A 5lb. bottle of store-bought pasteurized honey goes for about $13-$14 in a local Costco, so buying grain would be a bit cheaper.

 

[arnobg]

If you are looking for a dryer beer, real honey in the fermenter is also going to leave you with that and extra gravity points compared to the honey malt.