Does Honey Cause Bottle Bombs?

[Chuckie]

I'm about to brew a wheat beer with honey (ie quasi Beez Neez) and have read that using honey in the brew then bottling into stubbies with carb drops can cause bottle bombs.
Is this true ?
If so should I use only 1/2 a carb drop when bottling ?
Cheers,
Andrew

 

[bignath]

Nah mate, honey doesn't CAUSE bottle bombs. Incomplete fermentation causes bottle bombs.

Doesn't matter how many fermentables you use, provided it's finished fermenting, therefore finished producing CO2, then your bottles will be fine.

 

[Yob]

carb drops can cause bottle bombs.

carb drops allow for little control over carbing levels.

Have a look into bulk priming for ultimate control..

otherwise... wat Big Nath said.

 

[QldKev]

As above incomplete fermentation, otherwise if you add honey plus a sugar dose to bottles you end up over primed and yes bottle bombs.

Honey is just another sugar for the yeast to munch on, too much extra sugar to prime bottles and you get bombs. You could work out how much sugar is in honey (heaps) and use it to prime the bottles.

If you adding the honey early in the ferment then no problems, except I find most the good honey taste is lost.

QldKev

 

[Chuckie]

Great stuff. Thanks guys. I shall proceed as usual and see how in comes out.
It seems that to have any honey taste the key is to let it mature.
Fingers crossed...
Thanks,
Andrew

 

[MaltyHops]

It looks like it's ok unless ... you manage to use unpasteurised honey
without boiling the honey - see THIS.

 

[HBHB]

It seems that to have any honey taste the key is to let it mature.

Actually, the key is to use enough honey if you want the honey to "pop" in the flavour department.

A lot of the honey aromatics wil also be blown off with the CO2 out the airlock during primary fermentation.

Martin

 

[Brewman_]

It looks like it's ok unless ... you manage to use unpasteurised honey
without boiling the honey - see THIS.

I have never brewed with honey, but my neighbour is a bee keeper and we have discussed doing a brew, but I had not thought about some of the info in that post. Thanks for the tip.
Fear_n_loath

 

[hoppy2B]

It looks like it's ok unless ... you manage to use unpasteurised honey
without boiling the honey - see THIS.

I was under the impression from what I had read in beekeeping books that honey has antibacterial properties. I have used unpasteurized honey in a brew in the past with no problems. Heating honey affects its flavour. I put aside 6 kilos of unheated honey last week for mixing with my brews.
If there are bacteria in honey its likely hops would prevent them becoming an issue, and many of the yeast strains used in brewing actively inhibit wild strains from multiplying.
All things considered its worth doing a small trial run if you are concerned, in order to create something with the best possible flavour profile you are capable of.

 

[Helles]

FG is FG you wont get any lower than what you are going to get
Weather it be at Normal gravity or with honey as a fermentable you will get a lower gravity
Then you will get a lower FG + bottle fermentation
Treat it the Same
When you reach FG Bottle as normal
Prime with dextrose or honey to about the same degree
ie ( bulk priming )

 

[Helles]

I was under the impression from what I had read in beekeeping books that honey has antibacterial properties. I have used unpasteurized honey in a brew in the past with no problems. Heating honey affects its flavour. I put aside 6 kilos of unheated honey last week for mixing with my brews.
If there are bacteria in honey its likely hops would prevent them becoming an issue, and many of the yeast strains used in brewing actively inhibit wild strains from multiplying.
All things considered its worth doing a small trial run if you are concerned, in order to create something with the best possible flavour profile you are capable of.

Yer
you should be able to add honey to secondary or primary after a few days ( when there there is a bit of alcohol)
Without any problems without any boiling of honey
It is the best way but flavour will still shoot out the airlock
Regardless we all dry hop and brew with honey and spices
witch shoot straight out of the airlock

 

[MaltyHops]

I was under the impression from what I had read in beekeeping books that honey has antibacterial properties. ...

It's not bacteria that is the issue raised by the linked page but the
diastatic enzymes that unpasteurised honey has, which can break
down the sugars in wort/beer that is unfermentable by yeast (the
dextrins that contribute body and texture to beer) into simple sugars
that are then fermentable by yeast. This is discussed a couple of
paragraphs above where the link points to.

In effect, if this happened in bottled beer, it would be like overpriming
(danger!) and beer would be thin and watery (but higher in alcohol).

That's the theory anyway and anyhow, I think most retail honey
available are usually pasteurised but you never know.

 

[hoppy2B]

That's a good point MaltyHops.

 

[tricache]

My last batch I have just bottled I threw in honey in secondary and I just did my usual wait for FG and no problem , had a few days between checking and no change.

Also haven't had anything explode in the garage yet :lol:

 

[grantsglutenfreehomebrew]

I have found with honey that it is still fermenting albeit ever so slowly months after the FG has stopped. I made a still mead (unprimed) that had a constant hydrometer reading for a week. I bottled it in plastic bottles and decided to age it trying it about every month. It gradually carbonated itself until about 7 months when it seemed to have stopped getting fizzier. It was carbonated at a beer level. It was also about 9% and I used marijuana in the boil. Knocked ya sox off. Flavour was so so. I hope that helps.