Using Honey

[davecambo]

hi again,

does anyone have any advice on using honey? i plan for my next brew to make a honey wheat beer.
i like the brewcraft bavarian wheat, but would like to add half a tin of coopers malt extract (wheat) instead of a full tin and then the rest honey to make up the difference.

so, is 500gms of honey = to 500gms of sugar or dextrose or half a tin of malt extract? or do i use slightly more/less.

has anyone used 500gms of honey and if so, what was it like. im not after something overpowering but just a nice refreshing honey hint in the beer. i want to be able to drink them all night without it getting to me if you understand what i mean.

thanks guys in advance.

 

[altone]

hi again,

does anyone have any advice on using honey? i plan for my next brew to make a honey wheat beer.
i like the brewcraft bavarian wheat, but would like to add half a tin of coopers malt extract (wheat) instead of a full tin and then the rest honey to make up the difference.

so, is 500gms of honey = to 500gms of sugar or dextrose or half a tin of malt extract? or do i use slightly more/less.

has anyone used 500gms of honey and if so, what was it like. im not after something overpowering but just a nice refreshing honey hint in the beer. i want to be able to drink them all night without it getting to me if you understand what i mean.

thanks guys in advance.

No expert on honey by any means, and as far as the result, it will depend greatly on the type of honey you are using.
I used some red clover honey in an amber ale some time ago.
I replaced 500g liquid malt with 600g of honey.
Result was nice, so use that as a starting point if you don't get any more experienced feedback.
But be careful using eucalypt based honeys as they can overpower the base malts you use quite easily.

 

[Tucker]

Hi,
Made a few brews with honey, I don't use too much as it can over power your beer. Maybe I'm a bit rough but I just add it like dextrose with out boiling first. Never had a problem touch wood. Different flavour honey's add different flavours. I like honey from the guy that gets it from the bee's (Can 't remember the correct name) natural honey doesn't have added sugar. Ejoy your drop.

 

[henderjo]

Have used it only once. 500gm or mills = roughly the same dex... it'll take a little longer to brew as the sugars in honey are little more complex than dex... you get it on the nose more than in the mouth - but then again smell accounts for something like 80% of taste :icon_cheers:
I went with 750 dex and 500 honey - still aging under the house for next winter - but it was nice when I tasted it.
John.

 

[mfdu]

i just did one.

1.7kg coopers lager
500g LDME
750g plain honey
fermentis t-58 belgian yeast (1/2 litre starter)

23 litres. 20 derees.

awsome straight out of the fermenter. i managed to stop myself and bottle most of it, though.

has a good honey flavour added to by the banana and clove tones of the yeast. looking forward to it in a month or so. i think it'll be a fav wwith most. and i normally do very hoppy ambers and pales!!!

 

[davecambo]

awesome thanks guys for the info will def try it.

 

[mash head]

I use honey quite a bit and the research that I have come up with when formulating a recipe is that for one killo of sugar add 1.25 kg of honey due to water content of upto 18% and only 95% of non water content being fermentable. Hope this helps
Greg

 

[Dave70]

From 'How to Brew' By John Palmer.


20.3 Using Honey
I have not mentioned honey until now because I don't use it often. Fermented honey is called mead, and a combination of fermented beer and honey is called braggot. Mead and braggot are an acquired taste, but many brewers like them as an alternative to beer. The water content varies in honey from batch to batch, so it is hard to know how much fermentability is represented by a given weight or volume. The only recourse is to dilute it with a known amount of water and measure it with a hydrometer. Also, honey does not contain any of the amino acids that yeast need for nutrition. Therefore when you are brewing with honey and especially when you are making mead, you need to add yeast nutrient to the batch. Honey can impart a strong aroma and sharp sweet flavor that can be overpowering if more than a couple pounds are used in the batch. Start out with 1 - 2 pounds and see how you like it. It can be added to any beer style, it's up to you. The bittering hops should be increased accordingly. But be forewarned, honey based alcohol also tends to give nasty hangovers...

 

[Spanky]

Bump.

I am thinking of trying a basic honey wheat beer. I am thinking of just the basic dex/wheat can combo and just adding honey to it. Am I on the right path?

I'm thinking that just adding 250ml of honey to the basic can recipe is probably too simple to be true so please stop me before I make a dick of myself.

 

[westozah]

Bump.

I am thinking of trying a basic honey wheat beer. I am thinking of just the basic dex/wheat can combo and just adding honey to it. Am I on the right path?

I'm thinking that just adding 250ml of honey to the basic can recipe is probably too simple to be true so please stop me before I make a dick of myself.

Just made this a couple of weeks ago and tasting good. Going to leave it for another 3-4 weeks should be sensational. Not sure how true it is but apparently using honey derived from eucalyptus imparts harsh flavours. I use the orange blossom honey because it is lighter in flavour and readily available from Coles.


Coopers Pale ale can
1kg Dry Wheat Malt
500gm Capilano orange blossom honey
15gm Cascade & 15gm Amarillo hop bags, steeped 10 mins, add bags to fermenter

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[Pickaxe]

From 'How to Brew' By John Palmer.


20.3 Using Honey
I have not mentioned honey until now because I don't use it often. Fermented honey is called mead, and a combination of fermented beer and honey is called braggot. Mead and braggot are an acquired taste, but many brewers like them as an alternative to beer. The water content varies in honey from batch to batch, so it is hard to know how much fermentability is represented by a given weight or volume. The only recourse is to dilute it with a known amount of water and measure it with a hydrometer. Also, honey does not contain any of the amino acids that yeast need for nutrition. Therefore when you are brewing with honey and especially when you are making mead, you need to add yeast nutrient to the batch. Honey can impart a strong aroma and sharp sweet flavor that can be overpowering if more than a couple pounds are used in the batch. Start out with 1 - 2 pounds and see how you like it. It can be added to any beer style, it's up to you. The bittering hops should be increased accordingly. But be forewarned, honey based alcohol also tends to give nasty hangovers...

Hangovers - Like you wouldn't bloody believe. After my missus threw a mini mash down the sink, I had to find something to up my gravity and not waste all my work for the day. Grabbed 1kg of honey.
Made a nice brew, hopped with Galaxy, could get the honey on the nose, but I dont honestly think it added that much. As for hangovers, it hits you in the head like you've been bricked. I've used it at 500gms in pale ales, and again, its a hint on the nose, not a great deal on flavour, but a good alc booster. It will not add to gravity as it brews out pretty dry. I used to use it a lot, but dont anymore. I personally dont see it a s worth it.

I mean it about the headaches too, bricked in the head. AS JP says, be warned.

 

[Pickaxe]

I also read some discussion about boiling. Boiling honey will kill the flavour and aroma, so don't. I also read not to use pasteurised honey (cant remember why), lookout for preservatives etc. Honey is a preservative anyway, so you should be right.

 

[Scottye]

Hangovers - Like you wouldn't bloody believe. After my missus threw a mini mash down the sink, I had to find something to up my gravity and not waste all my work for the day. Grabbed 1kg of honey.
Made a nice brew, hopped with Galaxy, could get the honey on the nose, but I dont honestly think it added that much. As for hangovers, it hits you in the head like you've been bricked. I've used it at 500gms in pale ales, and again, its a hint on the nose, not a great deal on flavour, but a good alc booster. It will not add to gravity as it brews out pretty dry. I used to use it a lot, but dont anymore. I personally dont see it a s worth it.

I mean it about the headaches too, bricked in the head. AS JP says, be warned.

That's not good news Pickaxe
I have a keg of Honey Blonde in my conditioning fridge. It's 5% with 500g of Clover Honey and I hate hangovers.
This brew better taste good or else.....

 

[barls]

hmm drinking an 11% braggot which is 30% honey. no hang overs at this end.

 

[Stuwort]

The recipe below is what I'm drinking at the moment (I call it a blonde honey ale-might be a bit dark though) and it's pretty good, even the missus likes it. I reckon that 500 grams is a good amount of honey and I'm going to do a 20L batch using DWE and hopped with Tettnang, Hallertau, 500g honey and WB06.

1 x Coopers Lager
500g Honey (Wescobee red check)
500g LDME
30g Cascade pellets
US 05 Yeast
18c for 3 weeks (I think) CC for 3 days, back to 18c for 5 days and then bottle. Started drinking at 5 weeks.

I have put 300g of LDME in 3L of water, brought to the boil and added 30g of Cascade for 7 min and then turned off, added the honey, stirred and let sit for 5 min. This was starined before being put in the fermenter and I added 5g of the strained cascade to the fermenter as an experiment.

Cheers

Stu