Honey instead of honey malt in a NEIPA

[jaymosbeershack]

Im finally jumping on the band wagon and brewing my first NEIPA. i see most recipes use a bit of honey malt. We have a great local apiary with wonderful honey. My question is has any one used honey instead of honey malt? My intended recipe is below. Thanks for the help.

 

[bucketnative]

The big difference between the two is that honey malt will leave behind unfermented sugars, while honey is basically 100% fermentable sugar. This will result in a drier beer. Plus, during the primary fermentation, a lot of the subtle honey aromas will be lost as they will be blown out the airlock with all of the CO2. So, it won't be a substitute for honey malt.

 

[filthyastronaut]

I'd save that kind of honey for a more delicate beer where you would be able to taste it. The flavor will be vastly overpowered by all those hops. Also, honey will ferment out completely, unless you're backsweetening, and NEIPAs are generally supposed to have a fuller body than normal. I would stick to a light Crystal, which honey malt is.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Thanks for the advice. Its getting fermented under pressure so the flavor shouldnt get srubbed away, i was thinking like an NE meets hopslam kind of idea. Maybe i will just save ut for my next batch of simco+amarillo ipa(a varient ive run before with much success)

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Or maybe ill throw it in here any way, whats the worst that could happen.

 

[stickyfinger]

honey should result in a drier finish and honey malt results in at least the perception of a sweeter finish, so they are not comparable to me. besides, honey malt doesn't taste like honey.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

honey should result in a drier finish and honey malt results in at least the perception of a sweeter finish, so they are not comparable to me. besides, honey malt doesn't taste like honey.

Also good to know, as ive never brewed with it before.

 

[couchsending]

You never need more than 2% honey malt, a little of that stuff goes a long way. More is not always merrier.

 

[myndflyte]

Is this a recipe you got from somewhere or threw together yourself? Because if the former, I'd suggest just brewing it how it is before throwing things like honey in it that aren't normally in a NEIPA.

 

[anteater8]

Trillium makes a series of NEIPAs called Cutting Tiles that use raw wildflower honey which I got to try once and it was excellent. They even do an all Mosaic version with a grain bill a lot like yours:

MALT: Pilsner, White Wheat, Flaked Wheat, Dextrine, C-15

I say brew it as is, sounds great.

 

[Queequeg]

My advice is don't use either.

 

[BridgewaterBrewer]

Most beers fermented with honey have little or no honey flavor, unless they add a ton at flameout. It’s possible fermenting under pressure will help but don’t expect an obvious flavor.

 

[rlonardo]

I say go for it. You will get a drier beer from the added honey, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. To avoid the delicate honey aromas being scrubbed out by the CO2, consider adding the honey toward the end of primary fermentation by dissolving in water that you add directly to the fermenter. By then the vigorous churning should be finished and more of those aromas should stick around.

Your recipe sounds great, by the way. I just added my second dose of dry hops to my NEIPA - that things smells and tastes amazing!

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Is this a recipe you got from somewhere or threw together yourself? Because if the former, I'd suggest just brewing it how it is before throwing things like honey in it that aren't normally in a NEIPA.

Its a recipe of my own. Ive never been one to brew whats on paper. I ran a similar bill for a milkshake ipa(no honey)i did and it was great

 

[couchsending]

I second the Trillium IPAs with Honey, the Cutting Tiles series. After having el Dorado Cutting Tiles for the first time a few winters ago, I was blown away. I’ve had plenty of “juicy/hazy” IPAs before, and nothing even came close to actually tasting like juice as that beer did. It was almost like the can was full of Dole Pineapple juice. I detected zero honey but I wonder if the yeast/Hop/Honey interaction created some different compounds. I tried replicating the beer and came very close although I didn’t DDH it. El Dorado comes off as incredibly juicy on its own but the honey somehow seemed to magnify it.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

If anyones interested, i added the honey after 5 days in fermentation, the beer has plenty of body (7% FG .017) and tastes great. That said i dont taste the honey at all. I may run the same beer without it to see if i can tell a difference.

 

[taylorjohn11892]

I am attempting a double NEIPA this weekend and am using honey to dry it out purposely. I believe the water profile and grain bill will give it enough body.

My first attempt at a NEIPA came out great but very low attenuating (SG: 1.06 ; FG: 1.017) in which I wanted a little more heat on it. Going for a SG: 1.08 ; FG: 1.015 but we will see how it goes. London Fog is the yeast I'm using.

 

[stickyfinger]

I think some really nice honey like orange blossom honey would work very well in an NEIPA if you could add enough to taste it without drying out the beer too much. It would also work pretty well in a brut IPA I think, probably more so. Anyway, I've also heard it is better to add the honey to the fermentor as boiling it will drive off a lot of the nice flavors.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

I think some really nice honey like orange blossom honey would work very well in an NEIPA if you could add enough to taste it without drying out the beer too much. It would also work pretty well in a brut IPA I think, probably more so. Anyway, I've also heard it is better to add the honey to the fermentor as boiling it will drive off a lot of the nice flavors.

I did a batch with the honey added after the krausen started to fall. Fermentation took off again. I used 24 oz in a 5 gallon batch and couldnt taste it. It did help thin out the beer some without killing the mouth feel. I will continue to use the recipe for that reason. I did really like the final product.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Nice shot of honey NEIPA

 

[taylorjohn11892]

I did a batch with the honey added after the krausen started to fall. Fermentation took off again. I used 24 oz in a 5 gallon batch and couldnt taste it. It did help thin out the beer some without killing the mouth feel. I will continue to use the recipe for that reason. I did really like the final product.

Nice! Looks great! Did you add honey straight into the fermenter? I've read mixed opinions on whether you have to pasteurize or not. What was you FG with that beer?

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Nice! Looks great! Did you add honey straight into the fermenter? I've read mixed opinions on whether you have to pasteurize or not. What was you FG with that beer?

I did dump it right in, the beer started at 1.071(figuring in the honey) and dropped all the way to 1.011.

 

[rhys333]

I haven't read through the enitire thread, so I may be repeating. Honey is likely too delicate for a hop-forward NEIPA, but honey malt is powerful stuff and I can see why some people add that to an NEIPA.

A pound of liquid honey in a simple wheat beer or similar style can be really nice though. The trick is to avoid the generic clover honey you find in the grocery store as it's often very mild and the characteristics don't come through very well. Stronger honey like wildflower of buckwheat are a good way to go. Buckwheat can actually be too powerful for a light beer, but nice in brown ales and such. Wildflower is perfect for light beers, as it adds a wonderful flavor and aroma without taking over.

I add it directly to primary as the fermentation process is winding down. I heat it in warm water slightly to make pouring easier, but not too warm.

 

[AzOr]

Nice shot of honey NEIPAView attachment 600035

Are you sure that’s not a big ol glass of orange juice?
Seriously, that is a gorgeous pic. For the first time ever-I’m tempted to brew a NEIPA.

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Are you sure that’s not a big ol glass of orange juice?
Seriously, that is a gorgeous pic. For the first time ever-I’m tempted to brew a NEIPA.

Haha, It was pretty close to orange juice. 1 lb of mosaic and half a lb of citra. Fermented with Voss Kveik and dropped the first dry hop 12 hours after pitching the yeast.

 

[taylorjohn11892]

I did dump it right in, the beer started at 1.071(figuring in the honey) and dropped all the way to 1.011.

What kind of yeast did you use?

 

[jaymosbeershack]

What kind of yeast did you use?

I used London Fog in that one.
No, that one was Voss Kveik

 

[jaymosbeershack]

Ive made 2 NEIPAS, one with voss and one with london fog. Both with honey. Both came out well.