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honey, big difference

Posted: Saturday Nov 17, 2007 5:28 pm
by cc4848
had some supplies left over so thought i would make a basic brew.

1 can coopers real ale
1 coopers BE2
300g yellow box honey
kit yeast

Tried one today after being in the bottle for 13days.
Was the best beer i have made out of about 50 or so brews, had just a slight after honey taste.
Tried another batch i had made without the honey and didn't taste anywhere near as good.

Has anyone else found honey to make such a big difference?

Posted: Saturday Nov 17, 2007 5:30 pm
by Kevnlis
After honey taste, or honey after taste? The former would be a mead I reckon ;)

Re: honey, big difference

Posted: Saturday Nov 17, 2007 5:58 pm
by ryan
cc4848 wrote:had some supplies left over so thought i would make a basic brew.

1 can coopers real ale
1 coopers BE2
300g yellow box honey
kit yeast

Tried one today after being in the bottle for 13days.
Was the best beer i have made out of about 50 or so brews, had just a slight after honey taste.
Tried another batch i had made without the honey and didn't taste anywhere near as good.

Has anyone else found honey to make such a big difference?
We can get Macadamia honey here, I`ve used a kg. in a brew and I can tell you now, the taste was hardly noticeable to what it would be to dry malt. As to people who claim to get wondrous results from priming with honey.............yeah :roll:

Posted: Saturday Nov 17, 2007 6:33 pm
by Kevnlis
That is encouraging, I have for a long time been thinking of doing a Macadamia Honey Mead! There is a bloke at the markets that has buckets of bulk Macadamia Honey that he sells quite cheaply.

Posted: Saturday Nov 17, 2007 6:43 pm
by ryan
$6.99 kg. here. {when available}
But for mine, it`s in name only. I`m yet to discern any m-nut flavour in what I`ve tried :(

Posted: Saturday Nov 17, 2007 6:50 pm
by ryan
discern- that`s a big word for Sat night. I could have just as well put "see", seriously, I make some huge faux pas when I`m pissed, but few spelling or grammatical errors. Why is that, do you think? :shock:

Posted: Saturday Nov 17, 2007 7:34 pm
by Kevnlis
More calm carefree and selective. When I am sober I could really give two shits if grammar and spelling are correct. Maybe I should start drinking some HB, it is Sat night after all...

Posted: Thursday Dec 06, 2007 10:03 pm
by bellboys backyard brew
Am going to put the original recipe on tomorrow as cc4848 suggested:

1 can coopers real ale
1 coopers BE2
300g yellow box honey
kit yeast


Does anyone have any hops/other suggestions that would go nicely in it?

Bellboy.

Posted: Friday Dec 07, 2007 6:54 am
by timmy
bellboys backyard brew wrote:Am going to put the original recipe on tomorrow as cc4848 suggested:

1 can coopers real ale
1 coopers BE2
300g yellow box honey
kit yeast


Does anyone have any hops/other suggestions that would go nicely in it?

Bellboy.
I'd chuck in about 100g steeped cracked crystal and then also throw in about 20-25g Cascade for about 10-15min boil. Cascade goes really nicely with honey IMO.
Then you could further improve with some liquid yeast, or even perhaps some Safale S-05

Cheers,

Tim

Posted: Friday Dec 07, 2007 4:59 pm
by James L
whats the facsination with putting honey in beer? i have nothing against it, i just would like to know?

Posted: Friday Dec 07, 2007 5:26 pm
by KEG
cos in the right amounts, a lot of people reckon it tastes pretty good :D

Posted: Friday Dec 07, 2007 8:35 pm
by scanman
Myself and a guy from work made a James Boags Honey Porter ( as listed on an old thread ) and while the basic recipe was the same, he bulk primed with Yellowbox Honey and white sugar, while I primed with Leatherwood Honey ( as James Boags do ) and dextrose.
The difference was amazing to say the least. The leatherwood honey was certainly noticable as an after taste,but the dext effected the head on the beer. While my friend from works beer, had pretty much the same taste but almost no honey after taste and a creamier head.

So honey, and certain types can make a huge difference in my opinon. The leatherwood honey certainly added character to the beer in my opinion.

Posted: Monday Dec 10, 2007 12:20 pm
by Emo
I use honey in a few different brews. I brew a honey wheat beer for the hotter months and a honey porter for the cooler months.
I'm thinking about trying some honey in a lager or a draught and seeing how that goes.

Re: honey, big difference

Posted: Monday Dec 10, 2007 5:35 pm
by Longwood-65
cc4848 wrote:had some supplies left over so thought i would make a basic brew.

1 can coopers real ale
1 coopers BE2
300g yellow box honey
kit yeast

Tried one today after being in the bottle for 13days.
Was the best beer i have made out of about 50 or so brews, had just a slight after honey taste.
Tried another batch i had made without the honey and didn't taste anywhere near as good.

Has anyone else found honey to make such a big difference?
3rd Brew put down on Saturday
Been reading on these forums about Honey thought I'd give it a try
I used 1 can Farmland draught ( on special and cheap $6.95)
Coopers BE2 ($5.99)
about 200g Iron Bark honey
out of date yeast that came with can of draught ( use by 24/4/07)
Cooled to 22c before pitching yeast.
OG 1049
Tonight Checking the Fermenter found the air lock filled with beer instead of water. the lid of the fermenter is only slightly damp so not much has escaped from the airlock. ( not worried)

Noticed when making the brew a very strong honey odour but now smells like stale beer so all is good.

Will let you know when I try it out in about 5 weeks.

Cheers
Ron

Re:

Posted: Thursday Jan 17, 2008 6:16 pm
by bellboys backyard brew
timmy wrote:
bellboys backyard brew wrote:Am going to put the original recipe on tomorrow as cc4848 suggested:

1 can coopers real ale
1 coopers BE2
300g yellow box honey
kit yeast


Does anyone have any hops/other suggestions that would go nicely in it?

Bellboy.
I'd chuck in about 100g steeped cracked crystal and then also throw in about 20-25g Cascade for about 10-15min boil. Cascade goes really nicely with honey IMO.
Then you could further improve with some liquid yeast, or even perhaps some Safale S-05

Cheers,

Tim
I just tried this recipe, but with Tim's suggested addition of Cascade Hops in the boil. (no crystal) Tasted after 15 days in the bottle and it's an absolute winner. I expect and hope it will only get better. I very much agree with cc that it's one of the best beers I've ever made. :D :D :D :D :D