honey amber ale2 questions

[michaelob]

I just tryed my first one and the taste is great but its kinda dry. did i do something wrong? If it wasnt so dry it would be perfect. my other question was my alcohol % my og was 1.080 and my final was 1.029. It seems high but im not sure? but the beer tastes great, its only my second brew and im proud as hell with my first two brews

 

[hercher]

I've made honey ambers in the past, and learned that to retain some of the honey sweetness, you want to stop your fermentation a little before it is completely done. Now, if you are bottling, this could be a little risky. I keg, so it isn't an issue for me.

Also, to retain the aroma of the honey, be sure you are adding it the end of the boil, then cover the pot.

Your alcohol is about 7%.

 

[lunchbox]

6.7, assuming the OG is adjusted.

 

[Revvy]

If your recipe called for actual honey, then that's why it is dry.

When you add honey you are actually doing more to boost the ABV and dry the beer out, than to actually get any honey flavor.

That's the thing with people adding honey to beer, they really AREN'T getting much honey flavor in their beer, because it is fermenting away to alcohol, like making mead.

Which unless you kill fermentation and back sweeten with honey that won't ferment, really doesn't have that much of a sweet honey flavor.

To get a real honey flavor, use the darkest you can find, with the most concentration of flavor, or even better, use Gambrinus honey malt ProBrewer Interactive - View Single Post - Honey Malt

So if you put a lot of honey in, it will have the same basic affect as adding table sugar to it...it's going to dry out and thin the beer.

If people want a real honey taste then ad some honey malt to your grainbill you will be surprised...it will taste like most people want honey beers to taste.

In bottling the same thing is going to happen....only a little bit of "honey flavor" is going to come through, because most of it will ferment out. And it is really hard to control how much flavor is going to be left over. One thing to consider would be to use the darkest honey possible, so there is unfermentable left behind.

(Like bottling with brown sugar or even mollasses.)

I did an amazing Belgian Dark Strong with a couple pounds of Honey malt, and it was like what a honey beer SHOULD taste like.

 

[michaelob]

thanks for all the helpful info . i much appreciate it

 

[Pezman1]

I just put a Northern Brewer cream ale in secondary. The specialty grains were 3/4 pound Gambrinus Honey malt and 1/4 pound biscuit malt. The gains did indeed smell like honey- just as Revy says. As a matter of fact, I kept taking them out just to smell them.

I also made a honey brown ale with 1lb. of honey at flameout. Starting OG 1.05, FG 1.010, ABV 5.2%. There was a very subtle aroma of honeyin the nose, and a sweetness on the finish, but by no means was the honey character prominent.

Pez.