Using Honey

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monty1
Posts: 80
Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:47 pm
Location: BS3

Using Honey

Post by monty1 »

Hi All,

Been a while since i brewed anything so have a steam beer attempt on the go and also want to try a "Scottish style ale". I want to use a heather honey like in Black Isle's heather honey beer which is awesome, if you haven't tried it - do! You can get the same beer as one of the M&S's own branded range.

So brewing with honey - i'm looking for something very subtle, how much should i use to be noticeable but not overpowering? Should i offset sweetness with more bittering hops? Initial thoughts were something like 1 gram per litre, but with all that extra sugar in there - what about priming? Should i adjust my priming sugar dosage?

Any opinions / experience much appreciated!

The beer currently roughly looks like this

pale ale malt
touch of crystal malt
possibly some malted oats
brewers gold & fuggles
touch of heather honey

Cheers!
Capn Ahab
Posts: 887
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:32 pm

Re: Using Honey

Post by Capn Ahab »

Some honey can be very attenuative, especially lighter ones. As an example the one mead I made (wildflower honey) fermented down to 1.000 or lower. What this means is that honey is unlikely to add sweetness, though it should add flavour, and will likely mean a lower finishing gravity than if you were using all malt.

To get a bit more sweetness add some more crystal type malts and mash a bit higher for residual body I reckon depending on how much honey you use.

Personally I'd use at least a 1lb jar. Also don't chuck it in until flame out or you will lose a load of aromatics.
Eat sh*t or die trying
monty1
Posts: 80
Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:47 pm
Location: BS3

Re: Using Honey

Post by monty1 »

Good advice, thanks. I would have probably put it in with the last hop addition but will leave it until flameout and then let it steep a while. How much higher should the mash temp go, would around 70 C be high enough?

Would dissolving the honey into hot water and then adding that to the wort be easier than pouring honey straight into the wort?
Capn Ahab
Posts: 887
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2011 7:32 pm

Re: Using Honey

Post by Capn Ahab »

monty1 wrote:Good advice, thanks. I would have probably put it in with the last hop addition but will leave it until flameout and then let it steep a while. How much higher should the mash temp go, would around 70 C be high enough?

Would dissolving the honey into hot water and then adding that to the wort be easier than pouring honey straight into the wort?
Well now. Your mash temp will depend on how much honey you use, how fermentable it is, how much crystal type malts you use, and what kind of overall balance you are looking for in the beer! Your decision, based on everything else you know about the brew/recipe I'm afraid. 70 c is pretty high though, so make sure you're doing it for a good reason not cos of vague advice from me!
Eat sh*t or die trying
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Glo-ro_Bob
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Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:15 pm

Re: Using Honey

Post by Glo-ro_Bob »

Dissolving the honey first is a good idea, but you can run off some hot wort from the kettle to dissolve it in then chuck the whole lot back in. Saves you diluting the wort with water.
Be interested to hear how you get on with this and how it turns out.
monty1
Posts: 80
Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:47 pm
Location: BS3

Re: Using Honey

Post by monty1 »

using the wort for dissolving the honey is a good idea, will post recipe and results soon. Will also hopefully have my new fangled refractometer for this brew so I can check the sugar content.
monty1
Posts: 80
Joined: Tue Sep 24, 2013 3:47 pm
Location: BS3

Re: Using Honey

Post by monty1 »

Well it's taken me a damn long time to get round to doing this, but it's in the fermenter and it's bubbling.
15 litres made, I used 170g of honey on this first batch dissolved in a few hundred ml of wort and reintroduced. I started low because it's quite a strong flavour.

Took a few days for visible signs of fermentation - not sure if that's because of honey or just that my brew area was a bit cold.

I'll post back with results and if it's good i'll post my recipe.

Cheers!
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