Next Brew to Please the Missus

Discuss making up beer kits - the simplest way to brew.
Chris The Fish

Post by Chris The Fish » Wed May 16, 2007 3:09 pm

cheers both, ive been reading about honey pasturisation and it looks like it is a very exhaustative process and sure to kill off some of the delicate flavours so ill go with daabs idea which seems like the best bet.

Cheers again

Chris The Fish

Post by Chris The Fish » Wed May 16, 2007 3:10 pm

cheers both, ive been reading about honey pasturisation and it looks like it is a very exhaustative process and sure to kill off some of the delicate flavours so ill go with daabs idea which seems like the best bet.

Cheers again

delboy

Post by delboy » Wed May 16, 2007 4:02 pm

Don't want to rain on any parades but IMO honey is a let down in beer it sounds great honey this and honey that, in reality i found it almost impossible to detect in small amounts and when i put in a qiute a bit it resulted in an unpleasant taste.

If you were doing it all grain i'd recommend a light brew with some wheat, low hops, plenty of crystal with a few exocitic womanly flavours cherry etc thrown in.

As its kits though i'd recommend throwing in some vanilla extract (has to be extract or pods, not essence) this will produce something that most of the long haired generals will love, in my experience anyway.

Edit: not sure how it would go with something as pale as a lager kit though, maybe a light bitter.

Chris The Fish

Post by Chris The Fish » Wed May 16, 2007 4:30 pm

this really will be a case of trial and error, if it goes 'boobies north' then at least ive some nice beer to fall back on and the missus will have to make do with shop brought wine.

Thanks anyhow, ill make the kit up tonight and see what it tastes like prior to pitching and report back.

Chris

delboy

Post by delboy » Wed May 16, 2007 4:44 pm

Hope it goes well for you chris, hope also your method wrings out the flavour of the honey (the commercials can manage it so it must be possible)

Chris The Fish

Post by Chris The Fish » Wed May 16, 2007 8:18 pm

Well, the deed is done! :D

I preheated the honey (450g jar) with about 2pints of water, and heated it until it dissolved then kept it very hot but not boiling for 10 mins, it still smelt heavily of honey - but then again, i expected it to at this stage.

The 50/50 mix of glucose and spray malt were added to 8 pints of water and the solution added to the 1.5k tin of pilsner.

In went the rest of the water (up to 20l), yeast nutrient and a good thrashing took place.

1044 on the old hydrometer and a definate hint of honey still there, along with a honey twang when i tasted it from the sample tube.

In went the Nottingham Yeast starter and all is done.

So here goes, if after fermentation there is little discernable background of honey left i shall prime with more honey and see where that leads. I wont dry hop as it may mask/clash and id like to see how this goes first.

fingers crossed!

Chris The Fish

Post by Chris The Fish » Mon May 21, 2007 9:13 pm

Just to keep you info'd on the way things are progressing with the honey beer.

Its dropped to 1008 and it looks to be bottoming out (1010 yesterday), ill leave it a few more days just to ensure all signs of primary fermentation have ceased.

I tried a little sampler (using my new turkey baster!) it tastes like unconditioned beer with slight honey notes, mainly in the aftertaste. Not really sure if im going to need to prime with honey also, however if i dont i bet sods law will say it wont taste anything like a conditioned version of what i have now! , and priming with honey sounds like a complete mare, esp. with a 40pt kit to go into bottles!

ill let you know how it tastes as my brew progresses, however im quite happy so far.

ctf

Chris The Fish

Post by Chris The Fish » Wed May 30, 2007 9:49 pm

Well what can i say!

Had a sampler today after about a week in the bottle, it tastes great!

so good infact that ive just opened another bottle! :beer:

If anyone tries this, they wont be dissapointed, all it took was 1 can of youngs harvest pilsner, 1 jar of honey, 500g of LSM, 500g of Dextrose and some ale yeast, then prime each bottle with a shot from a tube of squirty honey and hey presto! a bloody good honey ale even if i do say so myself \:D/

iowalad
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Post by iowalad » Wed May 30, 2007 10:25 pm

Nicely done,
My honey brew got put on hold indefinitely but will incorporate your results into my brew.

delboy

Post by delboy » Thu May 31, 2007 6:08 pm

Chris The Fish wrote:Well what can i say!

Had a sampler today after about a week in the bottle, it tastes great!

so good infact that ive just opened another bottle! :beer:

If anyone tries this, they wont be dissapointed, all it took was 1 can of youngs harvest pilsner, 1 jar of honey, 500g of LSM, 500g of Dextrose and some ale yeast, then prime each bottle with a shot from a tube of squirty honey and hey presto! a bloody good honey ale even if i do say so myself \:D/
Result :D

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