Using honey

[Klosey]

I got called away quite suddenly to Brisbane and used the opportunity to visit some old friends. I was given about 700 grams of home grown honey. I am an extract and grain brewer and I was thinking I would like to use this honey in one of my brews. I would imagine the honey would be better off in a lager than an ale. Has anyone any experience of using honey in their brews. I normally brew double batches (46litres) and have no idea of the amount of honey to use? I am guessing the honey would be used in hot water and then added to the hops when steeping. But that poses another question which hops go with honey if at all? Any comments regarding using honey in extract kits would be appreciated.

 

[kadmium]

I got called away quite suddenly to Brisbane and used the opportunity to visit some old friends. I was given about 700 grams of home grown honey. I am an extract and grain brewer and I was thinking I would like to use this honey in one of my brews. I would imagine the honey would be better off in a lager than an ale. Has anyone any experience of using honey in their brews. I normally brew double batches (46litres) and have no idea of the amount of honey to use? I am guessing the honey would be used in hot water and then added to the hops when steeping. But that poses another question which hops go with honey if at all? Any comments regarding using honey in extract kits would be appreciated.

You could give mead making a go. Granted 700g would be enough for about 2 litres. 700g in 46L won't do much in my experience. It will be like adding sugar.

If its nice, local honey consider just having it on toast!!

 

[Vini2ton]

Save it for toast in the morning mate. It's individual flavour would probably get lost in the ferment in my opinion. It would be a different story if you had even 5kg or so, enough to waste, which I reckon chucking it in a ferment would be. Drizzle it over a good plain(unflavoured) yogurt mmm.

 

[Klosey]

You could give mead making a go. Granted 700g would be enough for about 2 litres. 700g in 46L won't do much in my experience. It will be like adding sugar.

If its nice, local honey consider just having it on toast!!

So many comments using honey in beer. Some say pasteurised others say raw. Some say use honey on the boil others say in the FV a few days after the yeast is fermentating. Amount to use about one cup per 23 litres and that information varies as well.Maybe honey on toast the way to go lol

 

[kadmium]

So many comments using honey in beer. Some say pasteurised others say raw. Some say use honey on the boil others say in the FV a few days after the yeast is fermentating. Amount to use about one cup per 23 litres and that information varies as well.Maybe honey on toast the way to go lol

I make a bit of mead. I used 1.5kg in 5L and fermented out very little remaining honey flavour, enough to notice it but not enough to cut through malt and hops in my opinion.

Thats my view on it, others may disagree.

 

[scomet]

Klosey you will need a bit more than a cup per 19L, say about 2kg. One i’m brewing this year, interestingly the recipe says long mash at 65c no mash out….. WA honey has a big taste I’m expecting big things!

 

[MHB]

Brewing mixed Ale and Honey has an ancient tradition, for a lot of history these beers were called Braggot
Here are a couple of links, should give you some basic information and even a couple of recipes.
Braggot: The Best of Mead and Beer
BYO: Brewing with Honey
Obama famously had some Honey Ale brewed in the White House, there are plenty of recipes around for that one.

You might have picked up that most of these are Ales rather than Lagers (nothing stopping you), a good base would be any low colour lightly hopped Pale Ale, Probably stay with the traditional UK hops (Fuggel & Golding), more early in the boil than late. Let the Honey shine through.

Honey is about 80% solids so 1kg of honey will have the same effect on OG and Alcohol as 800g of Sugar.
As mentioned above you probably don't have enough to make a normal 23L batch, nowhere near enough for 46L.
Nothing stopping you grabbing a kit adding the honey and maybe a bit more dex or sugar.
Something like Canadian Blond might be good, wouldn't hide the honey.
Have fun.
Mark

If you want to get way too technical found this a good resource on Honey
M

 

[Rohin Fretter]

Brewing mixed Ale and Honey has an ancient tradition, for a lot of history these beers were called Braggot
Here are a couple of links, should give you some basic information and even a couple of recipes.
Braggot: The Best of Mead and Beer
BYO: Brewing with Honey
Obama famously had some Honey Ale brewed in the White House, there are plenty of recipes around for that one.

You might have picked up that most of these are Ales rather than Lagers (nothing stopping you), a good base would be any low colour lightly hopped Pale Ale, Probably stay with the traditional UK hops (Fuggel & Golding), more early in the boil than late. Let the Honey shine through.

Honey is about 80% solids so 1kg of honey will have the same effect on OG and Alcohol as 800g of Sugar.
As mentioned above you probably don't have enough to make a normal 23L batch, nowhere near enough for 46L.
Nothing stopping you grabbing a kit adding the honey and maybe a bit more dex or sugar.
Something like Canadian Blond might be good, wouldn't hide the honey.
Have fun.
Mark

If you want to get way too technical found this a good resource on Honey
M

Ive done canadian blond with coopers be2 and 500g of bush honey. It turned out a great, simple and cheap beer. Mates from both the "craft" and "megaswill" persuasions enjoyed as well.

 

[Klosey]

Ive done canadian blond with coopers be2 and 500g of bush honey. It turned out a great, simple and cheap beer. Mates from both the "craft" and "megaswill" persuasions enjoyed as well.

23 litres? And when and how did you add the honey?

 

[Rohin Fretter]

Yep. 23l batch, though isnt too affected (for my tastes) by adding a couple extra litres if the abv is a little too high for your liking.

 

[Rohin Fretter]

H

Yep. 23l batch, though isnt too affected (for my tastes) by adding a couple extra litres if the abv is a little too high for your liking.

Honey added start of fermentation. I just used the kit yeast as well.

 

[Klosey]

[/QUOTE]

H

Honey added start of fermentation. I just used the kit yeast as well.

Thanks Rohin, That’s what I suspected through my research. Any earlier I believe the flavours I am trying to obtain maybe lost. I usually brew 46 litre lagers and 23 litre ales. As this is my first experiment with honey I will do a lager but only 23 litres just in case I balls it up lol