Honey in Beer!

[Johnnyooze]

Noob Question! I have a honey brown ale in primary and im going to rack it over to secondary today or tomorrow. Basically im planning on sampling some when i rack to secondary and if i want a stronger honey taste, dilluting a pound or so and adding it to the secondary. Aside from it being flat does the beer have most of its flavoring character at this point or will it change very much from secondary to when its bottled and ready to drink? Thanks!

 

[Desert_Sky]

Honey ferments out almost completely but will boost alcohol %. next time use a honey malt if you want a bit more honey flavor.

And the beer flavor will change from primary to fully carbed and aged. I say wait it out, keep notes on the flavor and next time change to suit

 

[ChshreCat]

+1 to what Desert Sky said

If you dump a bunch of honey in it you're mainly going to thin out your brew, kill the mouth feel, possibly give yourself some hot alcohol flavors and maybe... MAYBE make a slight detectable change in the honey flavor.

 

[RukusDM]

I want to try making a Honey Lager. The clean taste of the lager and then the subtle taste of honey really sounds good to me.

I'm going to do this one right after Christmas.

 

[PanzerBanana]

The sugars in honey completely ferment. I've got a very experimental brew in secondary right now. I put a full 160z of honey in it and as of racking it had a very distinct honey flavor and character.

Unfortunately that weird "tart"(for lack of better descriptor) sensation you get with raw honey, carried over.

But now I know I need less honey and more of everything else.

The honey definitely lightened the body...but on the other hand I was working at a lower gravity to begin with so I'm certain if it affected it that much.

If you work with lighter flavors, you should be able to get more of the honey to come through.

 

[Johnnyooze]

oh i forgot to mention that i did add half a pound of honey malt to the boil. i was mainly wondering if the taste of the beer going into the secondary will be similar to the final product (minus some fining that the secondary brings and the beer being flat). Im essentially trying to copy Dundee brewerys Honey Brown. Which is one of my favorite bottled beers, but i cant get it unless i drive an hour and a half down to seattle. Good thing ive got a good brew shop right here in town!

 

[Desert_Sky]

oh i forgot to mention that i did add half a pound of honey malt to the boil.

say wha?

 

[wrelsien]

You are going to see some changes in the beer during its aging process. But I would say that you should figure in more Honey malt in the boil next time, as that most things in the secondary add more to aroma than taste.

 

[RCCOLA]

But I would say that you should figure in more Honey malt in the boil next time.

Uh...guys...grain doesn't go within 42 degrees of the boil--ever.

 

[ChshreCat]

+1 RC. I think that was just a mix up, but definitely good to point out for the beginners reading the forum. Absolutely don't go boiling your grains.

 

[Johnnyooze]

Uh...guys...grain doesn't go within 42 degrees of the boil--ever.

woops. i meant i added honey malt when STEEPING.