honey in beer

[simonb]

OK

So I did a brew on the weekend
Coopers Pale Ale Kit
Coopers Brew Enhancer #2
500g honey

And now I am paranoid about the type of Honey I used

So is it ok to use it straight from the jar that I bought from the supermarket? I just tipped it in when I was mixing up the wort with boiled water from the kettle.

Looking for some re-assurance that this will not go bad, because i read something in another post about honey been treated with antibiotics

[Hillbilly]

No fear Dogger will be here.

[Jay]

I think it's pretty rare for honey to be treated with antibiotics as there's not enough water in honey for bugs to grow anyway plus there are some natural mild antibiotic properties in honey.

Can't see the manufacturers (by this I mean the guys who put the honey in jars - not the bees) putting in antibiotics as this would be more expensive.

There was a problem with honey from China having traces of antibiotics in it but I'm pretty sure the sale of these has been stopped.

Check your jar of honey...it will probably mention something about being natural or with no preservatives, the manufacturers can't put any antibiotics in without telling you.

Maybe Dogger knows more though so wait until his reply

Cheers,
Jay.

[simonb]

thanks jay
the jar said all natural made in australia etc - so should be ok

the only other thing I'm worried about is that I used yellow box (eucalyptus) honey - which I have read probably should not be added to a brew

however, this honey does not taste or smell at all like eucalyptus oil
so hoping it is ok in that respect as well

[Dogger Dan]

All will be fine.

The honey will be pasturized when it was manufactured. There was a incident about a year ago where China had been treating their bees with antibiotics to prevent mites I do believe.

Just check and see where it was made. As it is an Australian it should be fine and I don't see much issue with it being Eucolyptus either, its not like you are eating the plant.

As an aside, I like to boil my honey, I don't have a really good reason for it just I always have and works out just fine.

Dogger

[simonb]

So Dogger
If you were making a Kit beer would you boil the sugar and stuff from the can as well, before putting into the fermenter?

What is the benefit of doing this?

I normally just mix everything together in a big pot with boiled water from a kettle

[Glen Michel]

I agree with Doggers comment about the flavour or aroma of different honies. It has to be said that some are daker than others and impart such to the beer. I've added ironbark honey to an amber ale - found the result very agreeable. Maybe worth a go in a stout!. Generally, the lighter clover and leatherwood types may be the go for lighter styles. GlenM.

[simonb]

ok
so after just over 1 week my first honey brew of

coopers pale ale
1kg of malt/dex
500ml yellow box honey
yeast as supplied

the initial gravity was 1050 and it has been at 1010 for the last few days
racked it into secondary last night and had a few good mouthfuls

it tastes fine (can really taste and smell the honey) and also it has a great colour as well

so my initial concerns about eucalyptus honey were probably nothing to worry about

[Daron]

Putting honey in a brew intrigues me. How powerful is the taste of honey in the brew? Would the Beez Neez (I think that's what it's called) drop on the shelves now be a starting point to find out if I like the taste?

Anyway, I'm keen to hear how your experiment went.

[Guest]

yeah - i think that the flavour mostly comes in the after taste
I have had some of that beez neez (it does have some honey flavour) but did not really like it that much

I think the one that I have made has a much stronger honey flavour

I'm definately going to experiment a bit more in the future with it

[Oliver]

I didn't like Beez Neez, either.

It's kinda like a VB with a bit of honey added.

I'm sure the homebrewer could do a lot better.

Oliver

[DoubleChevron]

I've made a Canadian Blond (coopers) in the past with honey. I wasn't hugely impressed with it as there was a honey aftertaste which I didn't like. The beer itself was fine though.

seeya,
Shane L.

[Lebowski]

Whenever I put honey in the beer I can never really taste the honey, but it does seem to make the beer taste better and give a better head?

Last beer I made seemed to actually taste a little bitter (good bitter, not infected bitter like some other brew I made) even though I didnt add any hops.