Pimping beer kit with honey

[bert7cosby]

Hi all, I have a wilkos newki brown kit that needs using so I thought I would try pimping it up into a Christmas style beer. Rather than using the usual kilo of brewing sugar I was thinking of using honey. How do I go about using the honey ? do I still need 1 kilo ? Does it need boiling first ?
Once it has gone passed the first 4 days of fermentation I will be dry hopping with target hops (how much ?) and adding cinnamon & grated ginger that have been steeped in 50ml of vodka as per Greg Hoghes winter warmer recipe.
What do you peeps think?
Thanks
Brett

[Exiled Bradfordian]

Hi Brett!

I've brewed with honey - though I think using honey as you're only fermentable might make it claggy.

My suggestion would be to use 1kg of either BKE or DME and add a jar of honey on top - trust me, you'll taste it.

If you're adamant you want to use 100% honey for your fermentables, you'll need to figure out the sugar content of the honey. You'll need over a kilo to get the same ABV as honey is not 100% sugars. Let's say honey is 80% sugar (that's a guess). To make the same ABV as 1kg sugar, you'd need (1000/0.=1,250g of honey.

I never boiled honey before. Can't see it would do any harm.

I'd suggest dry hopping a little later. Remember it needs 2 weeks in the FV at a minimum. Dry hopping after 4 days will mean the hops are in for 10 days.

In terms of how much to hop, I think 60-100g of hops overall is good for a 40pt brew. That is to be split between boiled/steeped/dry. IMO 100g of dry would be far too green for my liking, so maybe add 60g steeped at the beginning and 40g dry hopped on day 7.

Happy brewing

[bert7cosby]

How about if I use say 700g of brewing sugar and 400g of honey ? Do you think this would leave a slight hunny taste ?
Thanks for the reply by the way

[widdersbel]

Honey is 95% fermentable.

Using a kilo of honey will definitely give a honey flavour to your beer.

Personally, if I were using that much honey, I would boil it prior to adding it to the wort to kill off the natural bacteria it contains.

[Exiled Bradfordian]

Widders, I have a question, totally off topic, but you seem to know about honey.

We were at a vineyard in the summer and I tried some of their mead. Sweet as f**k. I did ask them out of genuine curiosity why it was so sweet and they said 'because it's made with honey'.

I started to ask where the residual sweetness came from because surely the sugars in the honey would ferment out completely (or almost completely), but was cut off by my mother in law making some disparaging comment to the person about me thinking I know everything about brewing since I've knocked up a few kits, so I never got the answer.

But it's been bugging me ever since. If honey is 95% fermentable, why is commercially produced mead so damned sweet? There's no sweetness in my honey lager(esque). Back sweetened? Fermentation prematurely halted?

Just wondered if you might know?

And, Brett, sorry to hijack the thread.

[widdersbel]

I don't know but I would guess that the remaining 5% largely comprises non-fermentable sugars.

Bear in mind also that mead doesn't have things like hops added to balance the sweetness (cf mild and bitter).

I believe Fuller's Honey Dew has honey added post-fermentation for flavour, so it may well be the same for some commercial meads.

[Geezah]

Honey used as a fermentable will give a good honey flavour while the beer is young but it soon loses that flavour.

To achieve the honey flavour you really need to source some Gambrinus Honey Malt and use it as a flavouring malt by steeping it only.

[WalesAles]

but was cut off by my mother in law making some disparaging comment to the person about me thinking I know everything about brewing

EB,
Are the Police now looking for this Mother-in-Law after you took care of the situation?

WA

[bert7cosby]

Hi Brett!

I've brewed with honey - though I think using honey as you're only fermentable might make it claggy.

My suggestion would be to use 1kg of either BKE or DME and add a jar of honey on top - trust me, you'll taste it.

If you're adamant you want to use 100% honey for your fermentables, you'll need to figure out the sugar content of the honey. You'll need over a kilo to get the same ABV as honey is not 100% sugars. Let's say honey is 80% sugar (that's a guess). To make the same ABV as 1kg sugar, you'd need (1000/0.=1,250g of honey.

I never boiled honey before. Can't see it would do any harm.

I'd suggest dry hopping a little later. Remember it needs 2 weeks in the FV at a minimum. Dry hopping after 4 days will mean the hops are in for 10 days.



In terms of how much to hop, I think 60-100g of hops overall is good for a 40pt brew. That is to be split between boiled/steeped/dry. IMO 100g of dry would be far too green for my liking, so maybe add 60g steeped at the beginning and 40g dry hopped on day 7.

Happy brewing

Sorry what do you mean by adding 60g steeped at the beginning ?

[Exiled Bradfordian]

WA: I am assured that there is no current search ongoing for the person in question

Britt: there are 3 ways of adding hops to my knowledge:

1. Boil - for bitterness

2. Steep - for flavour

3. Dry hop - for aroma

To steep, add your hops to a sanitised bag with a couple or three sanitised shot glasses in. Put this into a sanitised bowl and add some boiling water to cover the hops/bag. Leave for 10 mins and add the hop tea and hop bag to the wort as you add your tin of extract.

Cheers!
Rich

[widdersbel]

WA: I am assured that there is no current search ongoing for the person in question

Is that because no one wants to find her?

[Exiled Bradfordian]

I shouldn't like to speculate.

[bert7cosby]

Thanks for all the advice,
So heres how I hope to do it now following all your help
Newkie Xmas Warmer

Steep 60g of Target hops for 10 mins in boiling water
Put hops & tea in fv
Add can kit
Add 700g brewing sugar & 400g honey (boiled for 10mins)
Add treated water (brewing short to 20l)
Add Wyeast 1968
Leave to ferment at 20deg
After 4 days add 1tsp cinnamon & 1tsp grated ginger steeped in 50 ml of vodka
After 7 days dry hop with 40g of Target
Keg after 14 days in fv

What do you think ?

[Exiled Bradfordian]

Sounds good to me mate however you might want to add your steeped hops after adding the extract, sugar, water and honey, to avoid whacking them as you mix the solution together.