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Author Topic: When do you add honey?  (Read 2605 times)

Online BrewBama

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When do you add honey?
« on: October 09, 2016, 10:02:48 am »
I'm brewing a Gleneagles' Honey Brown Ale today and I am planning to add one lb of honey (5 gal batch). My question is when do you add honey?  I am planning to add it at flame out but am curious about what other's do. 


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Offline Frankenbrew

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2016, 12:38:52 pm »
 That works. You can also add it in secondary as honey is resistant to yeast and bacteria.
Frank C.

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Offline tesgüino

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2016, 01:12:00 pm »
Funny you should ask. I was researching this this morning for what I'm brewing now. The results are all over the place.

https://byo.com/mead/item/322-brewing-with-honey

Quote
Owing to its low water content, honey is very stable. Its microorganisms are dormant until they access an appropriate medium, such as your wort, where they have the potential to spoil your beer. Honey also contains various enyzmes that, if not denatured by heat, could go to work in your fermenting wort, resulting in a beer that’s drier than you might have intended.
« Last Edit: October 09, 2016, 01:18:07 pm by tesgüino »

Offline dls5492

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #3 on: October 09, 2016, 01:38:07 pm »
I add it to the primary when fermentation slows down.
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Offline tommymorris

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2016, 02:28:29 pm »
I have always added at flame out.

Offline jim atlas

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2016, 05:27:14 pm »
I guess it depends on what you're trying to achieve.  Honey is a subtle thing.  Added in the kettle, it will ferment and a lot of the "honey-Ness" may not come across.  Meaning, what folks think when they think of honey.  Added after crashing can work out assuming you force carb.

Offline brewinhard

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2016, 05:32:50 pm »
  Added after crashing can work out assuming you force carb.

Does it dissolve all the way if the beer is cold?

Offline jim atlas

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2016, 10:33:49 am »
You'll have to dissolve it in HL then let it cool.  Add it to the vessal, purge, then rack on top of it.  Obviously, there are all sorts of pitfalls doing this--just like adding anything after the heat x. 

Offline jim atlas

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2016, 12:21:46 pm »
You'll have to dissolve it in HL then let it cool.  Add it to the vessal, purge, then rack on top of it.  Obviously, there are all sorts of pitfalls doing this--just like adding anything after the heat x. 

Offline smkranz

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2016, 03:51:38 pm »
  Added after crashing can work out assuming you force carb.

Does it dissolve all the way if the beer is cold?

If you mean cold vs. room temp, yes honey will dissolve if the beer is cold.  Heat the honey jar in a warm water bath, which will make the honey soft and runny, and it'll dissolve into the beer/wort in a jiffy. 
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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2016, 07:01:58 pm »
I add it and most other sugars at high Krause or just past that.  I figure that the yeast are well on their way to metabolizing the main meal and give them some dessert.  Seriously, I think the complex sugars get a full working over, so by high krausen, I'm less likely to cause a stall in the fermentation rate if introduced earlier.  It could be overkill or unproven but FWIW it's what I do.
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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: When do you add honey?
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2016, 08:01:05 pm »
Thought I would look into it a bit and it turns out that there is some science supporting adding sugars at the cold side:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281405909_Carbohydrates_Addition_during_Brewing_-_Effects_on_Oxidative_Processes_and_Formation_of_Specific_Ageing_Compounds

Better shelf life with not heating the simple sugars, if you trust that study.
Hodge Garage Brewing: "Brew with a glad heart!"