Inspired by EB's honey beer I thought I would give a waggledanceish beer a try.
3.3 kgs MO
.25 kgs Medium crystal
.45 kg honey
30 g Challenger 8.0% AA 60 minutes
estimates of
OG of 1051
FG of 1013
IBU = 35 using beersmith/Tinseth
Mash temp at 67C
Yeast: Wyeast 1275 (starter just started)
Plan to add the honey, diluted to OG gravity, post-primary fermenation . The theory being that more of the aromatics and flavor of honey survives this way (pulled from Palmer's most recent edition).
The honey will be about 10% of fermentables - Any thoughts on if this will be too honey dominated?
Any thoughts on bitterness - my thought on not having any late hop additions was so the honey would come thru but maybe I am taking that too far?
Any concerns on body? I consider uping my mash temp a touch to provide a little more body?
Honey Ale
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J_P
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oblivious
flapjack ale . . . not exactly what I was hoping for 
O, I was planning on adding honey after the head collapsed. Maybe racking first would make more sense.
Forgot to warm my mush tun. Ended up with a mash temp of 152F.
Still haven't settled on whether or not to do a late hop addition.
28C at the moment in my garage. Am trying to tolerate the heat by skimming old posts on the forum but a warm laptop probably isn't the best way to keep cool. . . .
O, I was planning on adding honey after the head collapsed. Maybe racking first would make more sense.
Forgot to warm my mush tun. Ended up with a mash temp of 152F.
Still haven't settled on whether or not to do a late hop addition.
28C at the moment in my garage. Am trying to tolerate the heat by skimming old posts on the forum but a warm laptop probably isn't the best way to keep cool. . . .
Checked my crush more completely this time and the only time I noticed any uncrushed barley was when I initially poured grain into the hopper. It was just a few grains. The only issue with my crush was when I was trying to crush a rock that was in my MO. The crusher comes up short when crushing rock! Fortunately it did no damage to my crusher.
I bought some economy ph strips which were difficult to read but I believe my mash comes in at 5.2 - of course was using the buffering salts 5.2 so no real surprise there but just wanted to make sure I was accomplishing something with the treatment.
The whirlfloc worked a treat. I have never had clearer wort post chill. I should have snapped a pic.
The only real challenge this time was chilling. My IC only got me to 26.7 and took twice as long as usual but was a rather warm day. Had to use an ice water bath in a large cool box to get me to pitching temp. She is bubbling a long nicely.
My efficiency was a bit higher - 82% as opposed to my usual 75%.
EDIT: A pic of my crush below.
I bought some economy ph strips which were difficult to read but I believe my mash comes in at 5.2 - of course was using the buffering salts 5.2 so no real surprise there but just wanted to make sure I was accomplishing something with the treatment.
The whirlfloc worked a treat. I have never had clearer wort post chill. I should have snapped a pic.
The only real challenge this time was chilling. My IC only got me to 26.7 and took twice as long as usual but was a rather warm day. Had to use an ice water bath in a large cool box to get me to pitching temp. She is bubbling a long nicely.
My efficiency was a bit higher - 82% as opposed to my usual 75%.
EDIT: A pic of my crush below.
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mysterio
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Wez
Wez,
I was going to ask you for results on that brew but I seem to recall it wasn't going to be tapped till the birth of Wez Mk II.
As for the honey - was contemplating adding it either to the primary fermenter or racking to secondary and then adding. I plan on diluting to approximately my OG, pasteurizing the honey (80C for 30 minutes at 176degrees) then cool and add to the fermenter.
Mysterio,
I am inclined to add to primary (with a touch of yeast nutrient). I haven't decided on whether to prime with honey yet or not. I am inclined not to prime with honey on this batch. If it comes up short I will prime the next honey ale effort (probably this time next year).
I am hopeful that with approximately 10% of fermentable being honey and with the no boil approach that I will get the hint of honey that I am looking for.
Unless of course the forum steers me in a different direction!
I was going to ask you for results on that brew but I seem to recall it wasn't going to be tapped till the birth of Wez Mk II.
As for the honey - was contemplating adding it either to the primary fermenter or racking to secondary and then adding. I plan on diluting to approximately my OG, pasteurizing the honey (80C for 30 minutes at 176degrees) then cool and add to the fermenter.
Mysterio,
I am inclined to add to primary (with a touch of yeast nutrient). I haven't decided on whether to prime with honey yet or not. I am inclined not to prime with honey on this batch. If it comes up short I will prime the next honey ale effort (probably this time next year).
I am hopeful that with approximately 10% of fermentable being honey and with the no boil approach that I will get the hint of honey that I am looking for.
Unless of course the forum steers me in a different direction!
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delboy
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prodigal2
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delboy
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prodigal2
I assume any honey with one of the tamper proof lids(the centre bit that pops up when air gets in) has been pasterised, as it is the cooling of the contents that causes the vacuum that pulls the centre down.delboy wrote:So is jam (osmotically a very difficult environment for bugs with the exception of yeasts just like honey) but it gets a good old boil in the jar as far as i know.
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delboy
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bandit
I keep bees. Most honey producers just bottle their honey. You spin it out of the combs. You strain it through a stainless steel fine mesh. Leave it in a tank to settle and then bottle it. You then warm it in a warming cupboard to about 38 Deg C and this allow the bubbles to rise and the heat clears any pollen grains etc that may get into the strained honey.
Most shelf bought supermarket honey is mixed honey from various sources. Most european honey will have sucrose added to make it cheaper.
You should not heat normal honey above 63 Deg C as it ruins the natural antibiotics. Heating it above this temp creates noticeable taints that judges can detect in shows.
I myself will be trying my own honey in a brew in the Autumn. I have also read the American sites regarding honey beers and I can only deduce that they insist on pasturised honey because they are unsure of the fermentables in mixed honey and therefore want to create a more stable product to use in beer.
I myself know that one seasons honey varies from Spring to Autumn. In spring you get the oil seed rape which crystallises very easily. In summer I can get whatever flavour I want by moving my bees to different areas of specialised crops. My main crop of honey comes from the gardens of York as bees fly in a 5 mile radius. I tend to find it has a citrus edge to it. Therefore it will go well in a light pale ale next spring.
For best results buy a local source of honey from a beekeeper and taste it first to see if it has the flavour you want. DONT BUY CRAP SUPERMARKET MIXED SUGARED HONEY.
Most shelf bought supermarket honey is mixed honey from various sources. Most european honey will have sucrose added to make it cheaper.
You should not heat normal honey above 63 Deg C as it ruins the natural antibiotics. Heating it above this temp creates noticeable taints that judges can detect in shows.
I myself will be trying my own honey in a brew in the Autumn. I have also read the American sites regarding honey beers and I can only deduce that they insist on pasturised honey because they are unsure of the fermentables in mixed honey and therefore want to create a more stable product to use in beer.
I myself know that one seasons honey varies from Spring to Autumn. In spring you get the oil seed rape which crystallises very easily. In summer I can get whatever flavour I want by moving my bees to different areas of specialised crops. My main crop of honey comes from the gardens of York as bees fly in a 5 mile radius. I tend to find it has a citrus edge to it. Therefore it will go well in a light pale ale next spring.
For best results buy a local source of honey from a beekeeper and taste it first to see if it has the flavour you want. DONT BUY CRAP SUPERMARKET MIXED SUGARED HONEY.