Hankins2010
Active Member
After getting sloshed on a buddy of mines home brew ,which tasted very good .He informed me he added two 3 Lb cans of powdered honey into his wort . Weird but doesn't taste bad at all.Very high alcohol too
Awsome beer using a bastardized frowned upon ingreident.
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WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
Meh. If it tastes awesome, do what works.
OP
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Hankins2010
Active Member
Dehydrated Honey 100%
was it bee pollen? or powered honey, i have never heard of powered honey?
Cheers
Not sure where the OP's friend got it, but I found powdered/crystallized honey at a local Asian/Korean supermarket. This is not pollen, but dehydrated honey.
WileECoyote
Well-Known Member
Thanks, Ill have to look around for it.
Cheers
Cheers
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Hankins2010
Active Member
I didn't notice any distinct flavor of honey ,Just a lot of alcohol.
Honey is very fermentable and doesn't typically add anything other than alcohol.
While i agree that honey is very fermentable i disagree with the later part of your statement. If honey contributed no flavors then meads would be tasteless. I also am of the opinion that using honey as an adjunct in beer thins out the mouthfeel.
I think honey is a subtle and shortlived flavor in beer generally. It also depends how fresh and unprocessed it is.It does dry out and thin out beers and can add some complexity but making meads with the right yeast and right amount of honey and you get blasted with honey flavor/aromas. I think I would like honey more in strong braggots or barleywines but they do add a small note to a lightdry session beer. Yes it is fermentable so maybe using a less attenuating yeast would be more suitable in the right beer or mead but typically you just simply use more honey for more flavor so it finishes higher for the sweetness if you want that. Meads can be fairly tastless with a low OG or typical champagne yeast but they are far from tasteless in the right recipes. You just got to know how to use the honey right. I never experienced real honey before until I got some seasonably at a farmers market, there is nothing like it in the store. I was blown away and kinda pissed at the same time that I never experienced real honey before. Never tried the powdered stuff but I can see it only contributing to alcohol and not much else.
Yeah I wasn't trying to get into all the subtleties of using honey in beer. Any highly fermentable sugar in beer will (mainly) contribute alcohol, which has a drying and thinning effect. Mead uses a significant amount of honey while in beer you rarely use enough to get a perceivable honey flavor. If you want the taste of honey in beer, it's generally accepted practice to instead (or in addition) use up to a half pound per 5 gallons of honey malt.
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Hankins2010
Active Member
I use several honeys in mead . When alone it has a distinct flavor or with other fruits or spices .But in a honey beer or a Braggot the malts and hops overwhelm everything.
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Hankins2010
Active Member
Honey is a lot classier for kicking up the alcohol than rice syrup solids
I've seen it at the lhbs. Never used it though. I go for jars of thick golden goo.
sandyeggoxj
Well-Known Member
At the store I work at we sell spray dried honey. Has a consistency of DME.
HornedFrogBrewer
Member
Honey Malt is the way to go for honey flavor in the finished product, but tread lightly as it can get to be too much in a hurry.
aiptasia
Well-Known Member
I agree with the "no flavor" aspect of honey completely depending on the variety of honey that was used in the beer. Some varieties of honey are so gentle and subtle in flavor that you won't taste a thing in the finished beer. Specifically, tupelo, orange blossom and gallberry honey. These honeys impart absolutely no flavor in beer but they do have their uses in boosting alcohol level. Hops and malt flavor characteristics completely mask the subtle flavors from those varieties. In fact, the only honey variety i've used that did bring a hint of flavor to the finished beer is wildflower honey. I would like to try some mesquite honey or sage or some other variety that has a distinct flavor in it. I'm sure those would show up in my beers but living on the east coast means i'd have to get it shipped in.
If you really want that honey flavor in your beer, use honey malt. It's a type of crystal malt that's been kilned to the right temperature to bring about a very honey-esq flavor. This is what most pro brewers use for that honey flavor without wanting to thin out their base beer.
patthebrewer
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Who knows it might be a more "stable" addition than raw honey or liquid. Which, I agree with previous posters, has a relatively short taste profile , and tends to go different places (flavorwise) as time progresses. No doubt due to all the different raw pollens, bee legs, noses and eyebrows that are also found in liquid honey
pricelessbrewing
Brewer's Friend Software Manager
In addition to the longevity already mentioned, another common comment on using h honey is the unknown concentration of the sugars and the margin of error between two containers.
it would seem that dehydration would solve both of these issues..
it would seem that dehydration would solve both of these issues..
Fizzycist
Well-Known Member
I made a honey wheat ale using both orange blossom honey and honey malt; easily the best beer I've made. Super strong honey flavor in the begining. It was actually better after mellowing out for two months.
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