How should I add honey to my oncoming American Wheat NB extract kit? (Notice I didn’t say ‘when’ because i plan on adding after most of the primary fermentation takes place…)
So do I mix 2 pnds of local honey, real local… with a gallon of water? Is there a ratio to follow? The honey I assume is NOT pasteurized, because it’s bought from a local bee keeper. I just wonder if I make the kit as it’s supposed to be made, how much water should I warm my honey in before dumping it in the fermentor at the end of it’s natural primary fermentation?
Because of the high sugar content, nothing can live/survive in the honey. So, you can just dump it into the fermenter. Microwave it for a bit to loosen it up if you like. Or, pull a quart or so of beer out to heat the honey with. That way you don’t dilute the beer any.
I was thinking that, but if I add warm 2 pnds of honey to the right mixture of water, I wouldn’t be diluting anything, would I?
That would be the same (at least in my thinking) as adding another gallon of wort to the almost fermented beer… 5 gallons of water with a sugar content makes beer, so why shouldn’t any water and honey mixture be any different?
Again, just questions as I’m trying to figure out what to do.
Why not just add it at flameout and be done with it? If your fermentation stays cool in the low 60s, you’re not going to lose too much honey character. Now if you fermented in the 70s, I would have to wonder. But you’re using top-notch honey, and haven’t brewed yet, right? Add at flameout and shoot for 62 F fermentation temp, and you’re golden.
I haven’t had much luck retaining honey flavor when adding at flameout. That being said, I have only tried it a couple times, and only with store bought honey…so I am by no means the “honey autority”…just my thoughts…I would add to secondary.
There are a few things (spores in particular) that can remain dormant in honey, then begin to reproduce again once the osmotic pressure is low enough. I consider stirring the honey into some hot water for a few minutes to be cheap insurance, and it also makes it easier to work with.
You should be able to dissolve 2 lb of honey in about half a gallon of hot water without difficulty.
There are a few things (spores in particular) that can remain dormant in honey, then begin to reproduce again once the osmotic pressure is low enough. I consider stirring the honey into some hot water for a few minutes to be cheap insurance, and it also makes it easier to work with.
You should be able to dissolve 2 lb of honey in about half a gallon of hot water without difficulty.[/quote]
Can you quantify “hot” water?
I did state that heating the honey, either alone or with some water would make it more manageable. But to bring it to a boil or to a pasteurizing temperature is unnecessary and goes against the new age theory of mead making.
But to bring it to a boil or to a pasteurizing temperature is unnecessary and goes against the new age theory of mead making.[/quote]
I’d say >70°C would be sufficient, but I was concerned primarily with sanitation.
I know next to nothing about mead, but if you’re starting with packaged commercial honey, wouldn’t most of it already have been pasteurized? Or is that just the squeeze bear?
[quote=“a10t2”][quote=“Nighthawk”]Can you quantify “hot” water?
But to bring it to a boil or to a pasteurizing temperature is unnecessary and goes against the new age theory of mead making.[/quote]
I’d say >70°C would be sufficient, but I was concerned primarily with sanitation.
I know next to nothing about mead, but if you’re starting with packaged commercial honey, wouldn’t most of it already have been pasteurized? Or is that just the squeeze bear?[/quote]
I purchase my honey from a small roadside stand out in the country. It contains body parts and I’m relatively certain they don’t have a pasteurization/sterilization set up in the shed.
[quote]Ames Farm honey is raw honey - never heated or processed - and is gently extracted from combs with a centrifugal extractor that requires careful attention to detail by a master beekeeper. This means that all of the floral source’s volatile aroma and flavor compounds are intact when you receive the honey and prepare your must. Raw honey will crystallize - this is normal and will not affect the flavor or fermentability of your mead. Crystallized honey can be liquified by gently warming the container in a pot of hot water.
I will do so! There’s a chance I might brew this tomorrow(sunday) afternoon. I have to move my sister to Annapolis tomorrow, but if all goes well and I’m home with some daylight to spare, I just may try to brew this beer considering I harvested the yeast cake from the cream ale today. I’m totally new to most of this so I’ll let you know how it goes down…
I agree with Dave, do it at flameout. I have made several batches that way and I have always had great results. I use honey from my dad’s hives, so it is fresh. After dumping the honey in, I use a large spoon to ladle out some of the very hot wort to rinse the glass jar out, and then stir the honey in well. Then the hard part comes - waiting until it is bottle conditioned and ready to drink.
Can anyone tell me if this is true? We’re planning on using orange blossom honey in our next wheat beer. If this is true, is honey’s influence on OG linear/additive? That is, first, is 1lb of honey in 5 gallons 1.0065? And second, if our OG pre-honey is 1.043, will adding 2lbs of honey at flameout to our 5-gallon batch increase our OG to 1.056 (i.e., 1+.043+.013)?
Can anyone tell me if this is true? We’re planning on using orange blossom honey in our next wheat beer. If this is true, is honey’s influence on OG linear/additive? That is, first, is 1lb of honey in 5 gallons 1.0065? And second, if our OG pre-honey is 1.043, will adding 2lbs of honey at flameout to our 5-gallon batch increase our OG to 1.056 (i.e., 1+.043+.013)?
Can anyone tell me if this is true? We’re planning on using orange blossom honey in our next wheat beer. If this is true, is honey’s influence on OG linear/additive? That is, first, is 1lb of honey in 5 gallons 1.0065? And second, if our OG pre-honey is 1.043, will adding 2lbs of honey at flameout to our 5-gallon batch increase our OG to 1.056 (i.e., 1+.043+.013)?
We need to know so we pitch enough yeast.
Thanks!
Ryan[/quote]
I brewed a British barleywine last year with O G of 1.082. I wanted it up in the 90s so added honey. To use a bit less yeast I pitched a pack of S-04 at 1.082 and added the honey once fermentation was going good.
