honey?

[brysie]

evening all

i was reading earlier and i think it was boingy who said you can get goo results using cheapo lager kits and golden syrup.

i was wondering what might happen if you used honey on the fv instead?

anyone tried it?

[brysie]

sorry.

im sure weve all had goo results but i actually meant good.

[brysie]

oh come on.

one of you has tried it. at least once

[Reg]

Golden syrup is essentially "invert" sugar. It will certainly make your lager stronger. Being an invert sugar it should avoid the risk of any off flavours owing to the use of sugar.

The continuing risk, however, is is that you will make an over-strong pint with little mouth feel or body.

Honey will give your brew a honey beer flavour. Having some non fermentable elements there will be a little more body potentially

You might be better off enhancing your kit by replacing any sugar they recommend you adding with a light malt extract. This should improve general quality of your brew without making it too much of a head-hurter.

Reg

[Andy Dean]

I'm sure i brewed a Tenents lager recipe years ago that called for a lb of honey in it, possibly from one of Dave Line's books. Seem to remember it tasted pretty good. I'll see if i can find the recipe.

[boingy]

It was DL's Tennant's recipe that used honey. Not tried it myself.
Honey is a complex ingredient and often contains wild yeasts and bacteria so there is a certain element of risk in using it.
Somewhere I have seen instructions for pasturising honey but I have no idea where.

BTW, I can recommend golden syrup place of the sugar in a cheap lager kit but only on a "one for one" substitution. Don't be tempted to increase the overall sugar levels - you'll just end up with rocket fuel.

[Reg]

It was DL's Tennant's recipe that used honey. Not tried it myself.
Honey is a complex ingredient and often contains wild yeasts and bacteria so there is a certain element of risk in using it.
Somewhere I have seen instructions for pasturising honey but I have no idea where.

BTW, I can recommend golden syrup place of the sugar in a cheap lager kit but only on a "one for one" substitution. Don't be tempted to increase the overall sugar levels - you'll just end up with rocket fuel.

The Tennent recipe from p 67 of 'Brewing Beers Like Those You Buy" calls for a pound of blended honey to be added to the boil along with Hallertau, Goldings and Irish moss following a stepped temperature mash.

[boingy]

... calls for a pound of blended honey to be added to the boil along with Hallertau...

Yeah, I was being a bit daft there but not as daft as you think (maybe). Modern thinking is that adding honey to the boil will lose many of the honey flavours and stuff. Palmer's How To Brew quotes the National Honey Board (I kid you not!) as recommending that honey is added to the wort after primary fermentation has started in order to maintain the complexity and flavour. He goes on to describe how you can pasturise it by heating to 80 degrees C for 30 minutes.

Here is the NHB's take on honey in brewing. Some of the detail is different but the ideas are the same.

http://www.honey.com/foodindustry/resou ... rewing.htm

I have to say, it all sounds far too much hassle for me...

[Black_Sheep]

I'm a total novice so I'm not sure if this helps but I added half a teaspoon per bottle to my first ever kit, Woodefordes Wherry instead of sugar for priming. It added a lot of body and sweetness.

[Reg]

... calls for a pound of blended honey to be added to the boil along with Hallertau...

Yeah, I was being a bit daft there but not as daft as you think (maybe). Modern thinking is that adding honey to the boil will lose many of the honey flavours and stuff. Palmer's How To Brew quotes the National Honey Board (I kid you not!) as recommending that honey is added to the wort after primary fermentation has started in order to maintain the complexity and flavour. He goes on to describe how you can pasturise it by heating to 80 degrees C for 30 minutes.

Here is the NHB's take on honey in brewing. Some of the detail is different but the ideas are the same.

http://www.honey.com/foodindustry/resou ... rewing.htm

I have to say, it all sounds far too much hassle for me...

Okay, I see where you are coming from. In that case honey (or any concentrated sugar) is a natural anti-microbial agent. (Hence you get mould on the top of jam but through cheese).

Rather than heating the honey in any way (and driving off volatiles / chemically altering non-volatile fats and oils), I'd probably try chilling a plastic tub of set honey, tapping it out and cutting off the top.

The only way microbes can grow on a sugar that concentrated is by the action of atmospheric moisture at the surface. (Just guessing here mind... never tried it!)

Reg

[brysie]

ok boys.

reading between the lines here, id say you were saying dont do it.

much obliged. a kilo of golden syrup it is then.
whats the consensus on priming with honey?

[Black_Sheep]

The honey was from a brand new pot of a clear organic stuff, I should imagine pretty sterile for a start? The result was very good, I couldn't session it as it was quite sweet, good though, I'd do it again.

[brysie]

cheers black sheep

i might do half a dozen as an experiment.