Using honey to prime.

[SteveHeff]

I've calculated that I should need about 2.3-2.5 oz of honey in order to properly prime 3 gallons of an IPA I brewed a month ago. OG was 1.058 and FG is 1.014. Can anybody out there in brewland help confirm this for me? I just want to make sure I'm not undershooting the sugar.

 

[jrfehon]

http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/

I use it religiously and have to prime with honey.

 

[SteveHeff]

I will keep this as a shortcut on my desktop. Perfect. Thanks.

 

[SteveHeff]

I bottled today using 3.0 oz of honey. I bottled a total of 2.85 gallons, leaving around 14 oz between the secondary and the bottling bucket. Now it's time to play the waiting game...I'll report back in 4 weeks.

 

[tehnick]

Did you dilute any honey in water to test the ppg? Honey can vary in sugar content. The only time I had bottle bombs, it happened when I primed with honey. Used a calculator on one of the websites but later found on mead making forums it's best to dilute a small amount in water to find the ppg so you can use the correct amount of honey to hit a specific range for sweet or dry meads. 15lbs of clover honey may not have the same sugar content of 15lbs of blackberry honey. I cannot remember the exact equation but honey can be tricky. Since you already bottled you just have to wait and see if any booms occur. You can also try the calculator. I have mixed feelings with those due to prior experience.

Sent from my super rad tablet device thingy.

 

[SteveHeff]

I looked used the calculator listed above. I also compared the honey to corn sugar for sugar content. I came within 1 gram of sugar content from the honey vs. corn sugar. Since the math is right on, I feel pretty comfortable. But I'll be sure to check back in with results soon.

 

[Calichusetts]

Never had any issues with honey. Did it for nearly 100 batches. You'll be fine

 

[SteveHeff]

After carbing up for almost 1 month, I opened one up last night. It's just what I imagined it would be, but none of the honey flavor came through at all. I'm not concerned at all, though. I didn't really expect it to, given I only added 3 oz to the batch.