#80 Spiced Belgian Honey Beer - Duvel Yeast

[Halyard]

All you need to know right here at the National Honey Board (USA), an excellent resource.

http://www.honey.com/nhb/technical/brewing-information/

Halyard

[greenxpaddy]

Note: They recommend pasteurising at 80C for 2 and a half hours

Not sure that is really required. By the time you are adding the honey to the beer after the boil as I do at 85C or to prime the finished product the wort is acidic. So you would need a bacteria that survives those temperatures, is happy to grow in a medium which is acidic and can cope with the competition of correct density of yeast, or at priming stage can cope with all the above and an alcoholic environment.

You calculate the risk and assess what you feel happy with I suppose.

[floydmeddler]

Note: They recommend pasteurising at 80C for 2 and a half hours

Not sure that is really required. By the time you are adding the honey to the beer after the boil as I do at 85C or to prime the finished product the wort is acidic. So you would need a bacteria that survives those temperatures, is happy to grow in a medium which is acidic and can cope with the competition of correct density of yeast, or at priming stage can cope with all the above and an alcoholic environment.

You calculate the risk and assess what you feel happy with I suppose.

I'll stick to my usual method of pasteurising for 15 mins at 80c then add to secondary thank you very much. 2.5 hours? That's ludicrous!

[floydmeddler]

Ok. Gravity is at 1004. Added honey and it's sitting at 1010 now.

Pasteurised the honey, added it to a secondary vessel and syphoned beer in on top. The cardamom is still way too strong. I'm not planning on drinking this to March so hopefully by then, it will have subsided!

[floydmeddler]

Little update. Pretty much took a month for the honey to ferment out. Cupboard was at approx 18c which prob didn't help. The real reason though is that the yeasties are knackered! I ended up putting in an aquarium heater and set it at 22c. That sped things up.

Sitting at 1005 now. Added gelatine and will allow to mature for a month then bottle with fresh yeast.

Tried some. Tasting superb already. Honey is a little overpowering at the minute but, like last time, this will subside I'm sure.

[jmc]

Hi Floyd

AG80 sounds lovely.
What's the cardomom flavour like? Has it subsided at all yet?

I love the Duvel yeast. Its a real worker and its yeast flavour works so well with honey

Last month I bottled AG #36 which is Belgian Golden Ale with honey based on your AG#60 - Belgian Honey Beer

I'm planning on doing a Tripel at the weekend and will add some orange-blossom honey to that at secondary too.
This time I'm trying yeast recovered from Tripel Karmeliet, which I'm building up in a bruin. If that recovered yeast can't cope Duvel yeast is my 'plan B'.
ATB John

[floydmeddler]

Hey John,

Thankfully, the cardamom has, indeed, subsided. Was pretty worried about it to be honest! Will give a proper update when this has aged a little. I'm hoping the cardamom still comes through in the glass!!