When to add honey for am ale?

[BamaMarine]

I'll be brewing my first honey ale in a few weeks and I wanted the forum's advice before I started. I'm working with the honey amber ale kit from Midwest. The recipe calls for adding the honey with 30 minutes left in the boil or in the last 10 minutes for more aromatic results. I've read a couple of places that if you add honey before fermentation the yeast will eat the honey and you won't taste the honey in the end product.

Should I add the honey during the boil or when I move to the secondary? If I add it during the boil should I remove the pot from the burner like when I'm adding the malt extract to keep it from scorching?

I took the advice of a couple of people who reviewed this kit and 2 lbs of citrus honey from a local supplier. What other advice does everyone have for brewing a good honey beer?

Mike

 

[Erroneous]

I haven't brewed a honey ale, but if it were me I'd probably add it to secondary. With simple sugars present yeast get lazy and don't ferment maltose as well. If you're only talking about a pound of honey it could be boiled fine though an amount that small would likely have little flavor.

As for sanitation, if you really want boil or pasteurize it, but in the presence of alcohol, hops, and low pH not much will survive.

 

[Quaker]

Do a search of the forum. Same question has been asked several times just in the past few months alone. You won't find consensus, but you'll find plenty of input to make your own decision.

 

[Golddiggie]

NO need to boil the honey at all. You won't get anything bad in the brew by not boiling/pasteurizing the honey. If you expect to get flavors from the honey you could be disappointed with the brew. Unless there was honey malt included in it.

I would simply warm it up IF needed to get it to flow (no more than 100-110F) and add it after fermentation has slowed. The yeast will eat all the sugars it can from the honey unless you stop them. Not something you'll want to do if you're bottle carbonating. Also, if the honey doesn't have a STRONG flavor to it, chances are you really won't taste it either.