Fairly new to the home brew scene but doing my second batch of NB american wheat. I bought the 3 lb jug of orange blossom honey as I want to add some flare to this batch. When and how much should I add to the wort? Was also thinking of adding a little orange juice, any suggestions?
Honey will almost completely ferment out and will dry out the beer, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I wouldn’t go over board. Maybe 1/2 to 1lb. I would add it during the last 15min of the boil and make sure to stir well while adding it so it doesn’t burn to the bottom. Or better yet, just turn the flame off while you add it. Just so you know, you will NOT get any honey flavor when adding it to a beer. As I said above it’s almost 100% fermentable and will leave little to no taste.
If you want an orange citrus flavor in the beer, try using fresh orange zest near the end of the boil. I use the zest from about 3 medium sized organic oranges when adding it to a beer. You can also add it to the secondary, but would want to soak the zest in vodka for a few days before hand to sanitize it.
Another option is coriander. 1/2 to 1oz in a wheat beer will add a nice citrus flavor. An American wheat can be more dry and crisp than a German Wheat beer, so I’d go lighter on the coriander (1/2oz) if you decide to add it.
When I’ve asked about honey flavor everyone recommended Honey Malt. So there’s that too.
I do 1lb at flame out. Make sure it stirs in completely. I forgot to stir well one time and had a clump of honey at the bottom of the kettle when I transferred to the fermentor.
