How much honey malt to use for an IPA

[autonomist3k]

I'm going to make an IPA using all or mostly Simcoe, and I have 1# of honey malt on hand.
I want to make this beer have a distinct honey flavor, I don't want to over do it, but I don't want to under do it either.
I keep reading different things about this grain, some beers I've seen up to 3#, and I've heard some people say to use only 4oz, that makes me think it depends on the beer.
What is a good amount that would work with the hops instead of drown them out or be drowned out in a Simcoe IPA?

 

[djevans3]

It's hard to say without knowing all of the grain bill and IBU's that are in the recipe. I brewed 7.5 gallons of an imperial IPA with around 75 IBUs at 10% ABV and used 2 lbs of honey malt. It was definitely present so I wouldn't say 1lb would be too much, but you may be able to only use .5 lbs if you have a OG of 1.065 and not a lot of crystal malts.

 

[neovox]

Really depends on how much sweetness you want to impart into the beer. If it were my beer, I'd keep it on the lower end -- like quarter to half a pound. That said there's nothing wrong with going sweeter, if that's what you're shooting for.

 

[autonomist3k]

Right now my recipe is
12# 2 row
.5# carafoam
.5# crystal 60
2.2 oz crystal 75
6 oz honey malt

SRM 8.9
OG of 1.065

3oz simcoe

54 IBU

US-05 yeast

think that's enough honey malt?
I would totally be willing to up the hops if it won't effect the honey character. because who doesn't hove hops?
I'd like to keep the OG about the same though.

The crystal in the recipe is just what I have on hand, but I also have .5# each of crystal 10 and 20, that I could use instead of the 60 and 75. I just wanted to use up that 60 and 75.

Or do you think I could up the hops for an IBU of around 70 and use a full pound of honey malt?

 

[autonomist3k]

Anyone else have any input?

 

[JakeSparrow]

I just brewed my first ever batch of a pale ale. I used honey malt and I think I may have over done it since the honey flavor and sweetness is a bit overpowering. Mine was a five gallon batch:
11# 2 row
1# crystal 20L
1# honey malt

1 oz mosaic @60
1 oz amarillo @30
1 oz citra dry hopped for 6 days

It may have been more balanced if I doubled the hops and added a late addition. The honey and sweetness overpowers the hop flavor. But everyone that's tried it really likes it. If I brewed again I'd up the hops and cut the crystal and honey at least in half. In my opinion after tasting it honey malt is very strong so I'd go with half a pound I'm sure it'd give enough honey character.

 

[autonomist3k]

Awesome thanks, that's similar enough to mine to make a good guess, I think I'll use a half pound.

 

[Calder]

Anyone else have any input?

How much honey malt to use for an IPA - None

I've tried the malt, and really don't like it. It gives a very sweet flavor to the beer that I don't like, much more sweetness than crystal.

For an IPA, I'd go about 0.5 lbs Crystal max. Crystal (and honey malt) tend to make it sweet, and an IPA should be dry IMO. If you want some honey malt, I'd replace the same amount of crystal, and not use it in addition.

 

[Math0]

When these things happen go with your guts. You were thinking of 1lb and the other guy was saying 0.5lb. So you should try 0.75lb !


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[Brewmex41]

I'm just curious where the 2.2oz of crystal 75 is coming from? Seems random.
Edit: I see now its because you have it on hand. Ignore this lol

Also 3oz of hops can be a little bit on the low end for an Ipa

But that being said I like honey malt and I brewed a blonde ale with 12oz honey malt and 8lb of golden promise. Tons of late hops and I wish I had gone with a full pound of the honey malt.

 

[autonomist3k]

I was originally thinking 6 oz but now I've opted for a half pound.
I had 3 oz of hops because I was thinking that the honey malt would be overpowered by the hop flavor, but now that I'm pretty sure that I'm going to get a lot of flavor out of the honey malt I'm going to change that. Maybe around 5 oz or so.

Here's my updated recipe, what do you think?

Estimated OG: 1.066 SG
Estimated Color: 8.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 57.9 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 72.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name
12 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Carafoam (2.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM)
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min
1.10 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min
1.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)
2.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7 Days

 

[JakeSparrow]

Looks good in my opinion. Always good to start with a smaller portion of the honey malt and add more to the next batch if it isn't enough for your taste. Like a steak, better to undercook it than overcook it. Let us know how it goes!

 

[autonomist3k]

Thanks, I think I'm decided on the recipe above for sure, accept for a .5oz flameout addition that I'm going to add in there.

 

[djevans3]

Great, let us know how it turns out. After you posted your grain bill, I'd go with 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound btw. Also, my personal opinion is to mash low, say 148-150, when using honey malt in these beers. It will help your fermentation attenuate down further to keep the beer from being too sweet. This way the honey flavor from the malt comes through and doesn't get lost in a general sweetness/maltiness of the brew.

 

[autonomist3k]

Interesting, I didn't think about using lower mash temps, will do.

 

[Babbage78]

I was just wondering if you ever got around to brewing this recipe? I had previously made an IPA with 6 oz of honey malt and maris otter as the base malt. It also had a BU:GU ratio of about 1 and dropped it to 1.011 but the final product was WAY too sweet for my taste and I usually like malty IPAs.

So I'm just wondering how this might have turned out? Maybe there was just something wrong with my process that left too much residual sweetness.

I've been thinking about brewing this up fairly soon but am a little afraid of my specialty malts.

5 gallon batch
SG - 1.071
IBU - 75

6.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.1 %
6.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 47.1 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3.9 %
0.25 lb Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 2.0 %
1.00 oz Magnum [14.00%] (60 min) Hops 47.9 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (15 min) Hops 7.2 IBU
0.30 oz Calypso [12.00%] (15 min) Hops 6.1 IBU
0.30 oz Simcoe [12.00%] (15 min) Hops 6.1 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (5 min) Hops 2.9 IBU
0.30 oz Calypso [12.00%] (5 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.30 oz Simcoe [12.00%] (5 min) Hops 2.5 IBU
0.30 oz Calypso [12.00%] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 oz Simcoe [12.00%] (0 min) Hops -
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50%] (Dry Hop 4 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Simcoe [12.00%] (Dry Hop 4 days) Hops -
1 Pkgs California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) Yeast-Ale

I've decided to try and cut the sweetness of maris otter by using half that and using 2-row pale malt for the rest of the base malt grist and have cut my honey malt addition from 6 oz to 4 oz.

If anyone can offer help or suggestions I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[Babbage78]

Whoops I'm also using citra instead of calypso

 

[Babbage78]

PPS...I also dropped the maris otter to 4.5# and added 1# of sugar and will be mashing at 148 F in the hopes of finishing dry

 

[autonomist3k]

I did brew it, it's in bottles now and I will let you know how it turned out in about 2 weeks when it's ready to drink.
I don't think I can really give you any insight until then, since this was my first time using honey malt.


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[wingedcoyote]

Haven't used honey malt yet so I've nothing very useful to add, except that I really like the idea of an IPA with background honey flavor and I'm looking forward to your tasting notes!

Quick add-on question for anyone who's used it: does honey malt add mouthfeel and head like a crystal malt, or just flavor? Thinking about using it in recipes, and not sure if I still want something like carapils in there.

 

[Babbage78]

In my experience, honey malt definitely adds some mouthfeel, even when pretty lightly used. I didn't notice any increase or decrease in head retention when I used honey malt, but I only used about 4%, so maybe larger additions would have a more noticeable effect.

 

[Calder]

I was just wondering if you ever got around to brewing this recipe? I had previously made an IPA with 6 oz of honey malt and maris otter as the base malt. It also had a BU:GU ratio of about 1 and dropped it to 1.011 but the final product was WAY too sweet for my taste and I usually like malty IPAs.

It is the honey malt that is making it taste sweet. I used it a couple of times, but it was way too sweet for me.

 

[copyright1997]

I've made a couple of different things with Honey Malt. One, an adaptation of Cream of Three crops...didn't like it so much. I also brewed Kabes Secret Ale, which is quite tasty. Here's a link to the recipe and discussion: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/bbd-brewing-kabes-secret-apa-139831/ In this, the Honey Malt makes up 10% of the grain bill...and I wouldn't go much (if any) beyond that %.

 

[autonomist3k]

I couldn't wait and I tried one, it's been almost 2 weeks in the bottle.
Most of my beers seem fully carbed in 2 weeks, but a usually a little green.

this is the recipe.
12 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 89.3 %
8.0 oz Carafoam (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 3.6 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3 3.6 %
8.0 oz Honey Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.6 %
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - First Wort 60.0 min Hop 5 24.5 IBUs
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 20.0 min Hop 6 13.5 IBUs
1.10 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 7 -
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 8 11.1 IBUs
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 9 8.1 IBUs
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Boil 5.0 min Hop 10 4.4 IBUs
0.50 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min Hop 11 5.5 IBUs
1.0 pkg Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05) [50.28 ml] Yeast 12 -
2.00 oz Simcoe [13.00 %] - Dry Hop 7.0 Days Hop 13 0.0 IBUs


I got a good deal on Simcoe so I was using it up lol.

Honestly it's kinda dry, I mashed at 148* to offset the extra sweetness of the honey malt but I don't detect much more sweetness than my last beer which was basically the same beer but no honey malt.

I think the percentage of honey malt in the grain bill is too low (3.6%) and possibly the IBU's are too high (67.1)

Time will tell though, I'll drink another one in a couple weeks and let you guys know what I think.

 

[CASPERBREWS]

All that means is that somebody once uploaded a recipe with 91% honey malt and called it an APA. Doesn't mean that it's to style (but who cares?) or a good recipe (I think we all care, right?).

I've never used Honey Malt while brewing so there's a lot I don't know about it...Opinions of others do matter to me especially those with more experience...Yes ultimately the goal is to have a good beer when it's all said and done...The joys of being able to Home Brew you can co-mingle styles this is something I'm trying to create using ideas from NEIPA and adding my own spin to it...Per Brew Father recipe builder ABV, OG, FG, SRM, IBU, BU/GU checks all the boxes of an APA...At the end of the day I don't care about the style it's not being enter to a competition...My question was how much Honey Malt should I use in the grains for my recipe and if anyone has used honey malt in the past and thoughts and experiences of using it..?

 

[Willy]

Awesome thanks, that's similar enough to mine to make a good guess, I think I'll use a half pound.

For most styles, in a 5 gal batch - I think 1/2 lb should be about right at the top end. I often use honey malt but usually just 2-4 oz in batch --- average grain used is between 10.5-14.5 lbs.