Honey Ale

[luckylogger6]

Im looking for some input on a light honey ale with a defiant honey flavor. This is what the guy at the local shop recommended

4lbs light DME
1lb Wheat
1lb Crystal 15
1-2 lbs honey last 5 min boil
Safale 05

For hops Im thinking .5oz Cascade at 60min and 30min.

The shop was out of honey malt but a friend has 1lb that I can have. Would it be too much to add ½ -1lb of the honey malt along with the 1lb of Crystal 15 to really bring out the honey flavor.

 

[SkewedBrewing]

Sounds good to me. Honey is extremely fermentable so that won't impart a lot of flavor itself, but will add some dryness, color and ABV.

I would stick with a lb of honey if you want to keep it light.

 

[luckylogger6]

Thanks for the feedback, but what about adding .5lbs honey malt to the 1lb crystal 15. From what I understand honey malt is crystal and Im afraid that might be too much crystal. Thanks.

 

[Germey]

Honey ales usually use honey.
Honey Malt is a kind of malted barley that has been said to impart a somewhat "honeylike" character. But, I assure you, they are two different beasts.
What is it you are hoping to brew? I have experience with both.
Cheers.

 

[Mead_guy_from_md]

I just did a Honey Blonde, bottled it tonight actually. Here are the cliff notes:

Blonde Ale all grain recipe, first all grain attempt.

Ingredients :
5 lbs Pal Ale Malt (2 row)
.5 lbs Wheat Malt
.5 lbs Carapilsner
3 lbs Alfalfa Honey

1.5 oz Cascade 4% alpha, 90 minutes
.5 oz Cascade 4% alpha, 15 minutes

Wyeast Labs 1056 American Ale yeast


Target O.G. 1.046
IBU’s - 30

Overview:
Collect approximately 5.25 gallons of wort. Mash at 150° F, boil for 90 minutes and ferment at 68° F. I created a 2L starter with 1.010 liquid. I used 2 cups of grain to accomplish this level. Honey added as temps began dropping before transfering to primary. Honey is very delicate and I have learned from making Mead, not to boil it.

Actual O.G was 1.055 and S.G. at bottling was 1.007 = 6.3% abv. Interesting flavor, definite honey aroma and lingering flavor. Not carb'd yet, so that's about all I can say.
~Phil

 

[fastricky]

I dunno, everytime I've used honey in a brew, it just fermented away so that the end result didn't really have any honey essence - it was just much DRIER and had a higher ABV, which I don't like.

 

[luckylogger6]

My goal is a light beer with distinct honey flavors. I think I will just use honey and save honey malt for next time if the results are unsatisfactory.

 

[luckylogger6]

I dunno, everytime I've used honey in a brew, it just fermented away so that the end result didn't really have any honey essence - it was just much DRIER and had a higher ABV, which I don't like.

Just curious if your experience with honey has been in lighter brews as I can see the honey flavor getting lost in darker beers.

 

[fastricky]

Good point, I haven't tried it in a lager/Kolsch/lighter beer yet. I really like the concept, but the reality of added fermentation yielding a much drier beer isn't appealing to me. Hey, but that's just me!

 

[ruffdeezy]

I dunno, everytime I've used honey in a brew, it just fermented away so that the end result didn't really have any honey essence - it was just much DRIER and had a higher ABV, which I don't like.

I think you have to add the honey right near the end of the boil, otherwise it just turns to sugar and there will be no honey flavor. You can also prime with honey to give it more aroma/flavor.

 

[Germey]

I add the honey, unboiled, to the fermenting beer... right when the krautzen really gets going (usually after 24-36 hours). This timing does not usually alter the finishing gravity (in side by side comparisons) and adds a very nice honey character.
Here are your 3 options, in my experience:
If you boil the honey with the wort, you will add alcohol, lighten the body, and add a faint hint of honey character (maybe).
If you add the honey at the peak of fermentation, you will increase the alcohol somewhat (a little less than directly proportional to the extra sugar added) and LOT of honey character.

If you add honey after fermentation is dying down, you will increase the alcohol possibly more than expected for the added sugar, you will still get a lot of honey character (assuming you did not boil the honey) and you will get a drier beer overall. When you add new sugar to a fermentation that is nearing the end, you will be giving a second wind to the hardiest yeast in the batch. If you do this several times, you can get a VERY high alcohol beer from yeast that would otherwise quit much earlier.
Of course, your results may vary depending on the specific yeast you are using, the OG of the wort, the phase of the moon, etc etc.

 

[Piotr]

I have heard that honey beers need more time for conditioning and maturation, they are ready for drinking after at least 6 months.
Is that true?

 

[fastricky]

Well, I did just last week bottle a wheat beer and used honey to prime, so I'm very anxious to see the results of that caper...

That aside, if I wanted the most honey character, and the least added fermentation, is the move to add the honey at knockout or at the height of fermentation?

Or is using it to prime the best option??

 

[blackwaterbrewer]

i just did a honey pale using 2# of honey malt and 8# of pale 2 row. it is reaaly good, but not that distinct honey flavor. i believe the only way to add honey sweetness is by adding a pasturized honey wort after fermentation, prior to a crash-cool-keg, that way it will not ferment. i am not sure about this. if you ferment 1# honey, you will not taste any sweetness. i would go with 2-3# of honey malt and mash in around 154 to get some sweetness. keep the bittering hops down if you want the sweet.

 

[luckylogger6]

Thanks everyone. Im brewing tonight and will resurrect this thread in a few weeks with the final recipe and the results. Thanks again.

 

[Hammy71]

I brewed a Honey Ale back in Feb (Allgrain) for the summer.

5 lb Pale Malt 2-row
3 lb Honey
1 lb Crystal 10L
.5 lb Car/Pils Dextrin
2 oz Cascade (60 min)
WLP 051

I used orange blosson honey (added just a minute before flame out) and I also bottle primed with orange honey. Took about a month to carb up. The first couple bottles had a strong alcohol taste (came in over 6%) and a strong aftertaste. Now after several months the beer is actually quite good with a nice light taste from the honey. I'm assuming most of the honey taste is from the priming. Not a bad brew and I'll definetly do again. Hope yours turns out fine....I'm sure it will....

 

[Sycamore_Rocks_Craft_beer]

I have used 1 lb jar of local honey and a jar of bee pollen at the end of the boil and the pale ale came out great. I am brewing (as I write this) a pale ale with orange blossom honey and am going to add 3 lbs this time. I will update as it comes along. My goal this time is to bring out a little more of the honey flavor to compliment Spring.

 

[JKaranka]

Curious about this, do you find it takes longer to ferment / condition with the honey? I have a braggawd in the fermenter (50/50 honey and malts) and it seems to gently be fermenting away. Plenty of dark malts in that one to balance the dryness of the honey, currently tasting fairly fruity, like apricot and dried fruits. Only commercial braggawd I've tasted was transparent like water, with a gentle pale yellow colour, and fairly odd flavours from all the spices added to it.

 

[pumpkinman2012]

I use honey fairly often in my recipes, I've found that if you want to retain a bit more of the honey flavor, substitute honey for the priming sugar. You will need to allow some extra time for carbonation when using honey.
I have to agree that when added to the boil, you can taste a faint hint if you are familiar with using honey, and to me at least, it seems to add a little body to the beer, but for the most part, it really just boils away and raises the abv since it is a very fermentable sugar.

 

[hillhousesawdustco]

Just a heads up that this thread is from 2009- search around the forums and you're sure to find lots of info regarding all this.

In my experience, a little honey malt in a beer goes a long way and in my OPINION is a good addition to a honey ale. In the right dosage it seems to impart that bit of sweetness and aroma that is obviously lost with fermenting with straight honey. That said, of course use real honey too!