Questions on backsweetening with honey

[J2W2]

Hi,

I'm cold crashing my first hard root beer attempt right now. When that's complete, I need to backsweeten, flavor and keg. Per the recipe, I'll be backsweetening with a pound of sugar and a pound of honey. I'm planning to boil 5-6 cups of water, dissolve the sugar and honey in that, let it cool, and then put that and the flavoring in the keg before I transfer the "beer" in.

I've never worked with honey before, and I'm wondering if there is any issue adding it to boiling water (or should I let the water cool a little first)? I'm also wondering if there will be any issues adding 3+ gallons of 35 degree "beer" to this sugar/honey/water mixture in the keg - mainly wondering if the honey will remain in suspension or if it tends to settle out?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Ksub123]

So you need to boil your water both for the sugar and sanitation purposes, but the honey should be added after the water has cooled a bit if you want to retain all the honey flavour.

I'm not sure if that will be enough water to dissolve all those sugars but if the honey dissolves it won't come out of solution once added to your root beer.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Yes, if you want a flavor contribution from the honey do not boil it. Many mead makers do not heat the honey more than just warming it to get it moving out of the container.

 

[J2W2]

So you need to boil your water both for the sugar and sanitation purposes, but the honey should be added after the water has cooled a bit if you want to retain all the honey flavour.

I'm not sure if that will be enough water to dissolve all those sugars but if the honey dissolves it won't come out of solution once added to your root beer.

I wondered about boiling impacting the honey flavor. I also wondered on the amount of water I'll need so it doesn't get over saturated. I think I'll start with boiling eight cups of water, then save off a couple cups before starting with the sugar. That way I'll have some additional hot/sanatized water to add back if the honey doesn't completely dissolve. I'm just trying to avoid using too much water.

Thanks for your help!

 

[J2W2]

Yes, if you want a flavor contribution from the honey do not boil it. Many mead makers do not heat the honey more than just warming it to get it moving out of the container.

Thanks - I figured the mead makers would have a pretty good idea on this!