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Author Topic: Question about honey  (Read 2546 times)

Offline MagicRat

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Question about honey
« on: November 01, 2020, 09:51:09 am »
I plan on using honey in a brew for the first time and have done some research on the various issues and methods.
I will be adding unpasteurized honey at high krauzen.
My question:  should I gently stir it in or just pour and let nature take its course?

Offline erockrph

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #1 on: November 01, 2020, 09:57:55 am »
If you just pour it in, it's just going to sink to the bottom and stay there without dissolving to any great extent. You're going to want to warm it up and mix it in gently, but thoroughly.

This is one of the main reasons why I stopped adding sugar during fermentation rather than during the boil. You just can't be sure how well it's going to get mixed in. I've never noticed a flavor or performance difference even in very high gravity beers by adding sugars during fermentation.
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Offline Oiscout

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #2 on: November 01, 2020, 10:01:53 am »
Anything post boil should really be sanitized. If your looking for a honey flavor may I suggest possibly, waiting till you keg it and dissolving it into some boiling water (to sterilize just in case) and add it to your keg? That is of course if your kegging

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Offline denny

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #3 on: November 01, 2020, 10:25:34 am »
Anything post boil should really be sanitized. If your looking for a honey flavor may I suggest possibly, waiting till you keg it and dissolving it into some boiling water (to sterilize just in case) and add it to your keg? That is of course if your kegging

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No experience, but I've always heard that honey doesn't require sanitizing.
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Offline Oiscout

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2020, 10:33:00 am »
I would imagine the honey itself no, but the opening of the container it comes in and every thing else it comes in contact with should be. Me personally I wouldn't risk a good brew to add honey that is basically just going to be fermenter out anyway. Plus if your cheap like me HONEY is pricey!

I would definitely dissolve it into some water regardless.

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Offline MagicRat

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #5 on: November 01, 2020, 10:35:27 am »
Anything post boil should really be sanitized. If your looking for a honey flavor may I suggest possibly, waiting till you keg it and dissolving it into some boiling water (to sterilize just in case) and add it to your keg? That is of course if your kegging

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No experience, but I've always heard that honey doesn't require sanitizing.

Yeah, I’m aware there are different perspectives on this but from everything I’ve been able to gather, the risk is minimal but unpasteurized will give the most flavor benefit.  This is kind of an out of the box experiment for me that I might never repeat, so I’m not going to lose any sleep one way or another.  Just want to try something different.

Offline Oiscout

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #6 on: November 01, 2020, 10:36:49 am »
I added it recently to an apple cider I brewed for the ol lady dissolving it in boiling water and adding it at kegging. It was a nice sweetness at the end.

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Offline purduekenn

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #7 on: November 01, 2020, 12:20:52 pm »
I have added honey at flameout and it works well. Another option from Gordon Strong "Modern Homebrew Recipes" warm up the honey and stir it with equal volume of fermenting beer, then add it to fermenting beer.

Offline Oiscout

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #8 on: November 01, 2020, 12:21:52 pm »
I have added honey at flameout and it works well. Another option from Gordon Strong "Modern Homebrew Recipes" warm up the honey and stir it with equal volume of fermenting beer, then add it to fermenting beer.
I like that idea!

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Offline Wilbur

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #9 on: November 01, 2020, 01:16:33 pm »
Honey that has a moisture content below 18% antibacterial due to high sugar content and for many, enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide. Bees only cap honey when it's mature/below this threshold, as long as your honey hadn't been adulterated with sugar solution it should be fine. If you don't sanitize your hops when you dry hop, I don't know why you would worry about the honey.

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Offline denny

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #10 on: November 01, 2020, 01:18:15 pm »
Honey that has a moisture content below 18% antibacterial due to high sugar content and for many, enzymatic production of hydrogen peroxide. Bees only cap honey when it's mature/below this threshold, as long as your honey hadn't been adulterated with sugar solution it should be fine. If you don't sanitize your hops when you dry hop, I don't know why you would worry about the honey.

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THIS^^^^
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Offline Oiscout

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #11 on: November 01, 2020, 02:40:52 pm »
Does the honey effectively mix with your wort at high krausen? We all know how honey pours even if you do warm it up in its container. That's another reason I mixed it with water, and boiled it. I don't know why you would risk a contamination instead of taking the few extra steps. And you also get a better way to mix it into your beer

The honey can't hold bacteria but the container and the water and all that can. From my understanding.

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Offline Bel Air Brewing

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #12 on: November 01, 2020, 03:14:01 pm »
Here is a short, concise answer regarding honey: Don't.

Offline dannyjed

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #13 on: November 01, 2020, 04:23:27 pm »
I make mead and I never boil the honey. In my experience I believe that by boiling honey it looses some of the aromatics and flavor. I also think that regardless of mixing it in or adding it as is the yeast will ferment it completely.


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Offline dmtaylor

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Re: Question about honey
« Reply #14 on: November 01, 2020, 04:45:56 pm »
No experience, but I've always heard that honey doesn't require sanitizing.

My experience: I personally do not enjoy the taste of vomit in my mead (or beer), which is what happened to one of my unheated meads.  So from that point on, while I don't usually boil my honey, I do heat it to 160 F for 10 minutes.

And like others have sort of suggested, it does need to be fully dissolved, lest it sink to the bottom and just sit there and ferment slowly for who knows how many weeks or months.

Oh and uh, I've never won a Best of Show in beer, but I have with mead.  So, take that for the zero cents it is probably worth to most people who make mead or use honey.  I am constantly ridiculed for my advocacy of heating.  But to me, experience is experience, results is results.  I like to think I make some pretty dang fantastic stuff with honey, and others who've tasted it have never really complained (not to my face anyway), for whatever that's worth (about zero cents, I know).
« Last Edit: November 01, 2020, 04:51:33 pm by dmtaylor »
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