Newrebrewer
New Member
Forgot to add my honey during the boil, can I just add it to the fermentor a day later?
I actually posted about honey earlier today and have been reading up on it quite a bit lately.
From what I've read, you should pasteurize the honey if your adding it into the fermentor so that you don't get any bacteria or anything that can impart off flavors.
I used honey malt instead of using honey. It is much easier, gives a nice honey flavor and there is no risk of unwanted flavors
The thought that you should/need to heat ANY honey is seriously outdated methods. If you boil it you might as just dump in corn sugar and save your money.
Seriously, there is absolutely NO need to heat honey at all. IF you need some help in getting it to flow nicely, give it a warm water bath (tap water) to get it more fluid. I've added honey during the cool-down of a batch of beer (after getting below 110-100f) and had solid results and ZERO infections from it. I also make mead without heating above 100f (to get it to flow better) and have beyond excellent results. Plus no infections in the batch.
I would NOT buy ANY honey that has been pasteurized. Raw is the best way to go here (IMO/IME).
When you're paying good money for great honey why destroy it by heating it up and getting rid of so much of what makes it great?
So, the little plastic bear with the red colored cap is not adding value?
Thanks to everyone for the info. I took the middle ground and warmed my honey in the microwave and added to the fermentor. Any beer I've added honey to, no matter how I did it, seems to have a different flavor characteristic that I enjoy. So for me that is reason enough to add it to my brews.
Thanks again of all the good information.
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