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Adding Honey per BBL

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  • Adding Honey per BBL

    So as a home brewer one of my recipes I am scaling up I used anywhere from 1-3 lbs per 5 gallon batch of honey, 1.5-2 was the sweet spot I found, but scaling that up would mean quite a bit of honey compared to all the posts I have seen on probrewer.

    If I went full boar out I would use 18 lbs per BBL.....I have seen others on here use as little as 2 lbs per BBL.

    Does honey not scale up like grain or sugar?

    I am going for a dry beer with a medium honey aroma and flavor. Basically I want you to know there is honey in it if you were not told.

    Thought?
    Jason Blair
    MadCow Brewing Company

  • #2
    We currently use 4 lbs / bbl in a strong ale. I think having honey notes come thru in the finish has a lot to do with what other flavors you are using int he beer as well. Fermented Honey is a delicate flavor, you can't have strong flavors from other sources and expect the Honey to come thru. Use how much you want, just be aware honey lacks a lot of nutrient that yeast need, the more you use the bigger the need for a nutrient addition.
    Joel Halbleib
    Partner / Zymurgist
    Hive and Barrel Meadery
    6302 Old La Grange Rd
    Crestwood, KY
    www.hiveandbarrel.com

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    • #3
      Honey is used as an adjunct in brewing. Too much and you can get some off flavors, unless you treat the beer like a mead. The other reason we don't use a ton of it is that is is very expensive.

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      • #4
        Thanks guys. So it is not linear when scaling up? I have a local source for the honey so cost is not an issue on our scale. Was just trying to find out if I scale it the same from our home brew or test batch. It sounds like no we don't but I am still unsure. Definitely want the consumer to be able to tell that there is honey there.
        Jason Blair
        MadCow Brewing Company

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        • #5
          When it comes to sugar, its just sugar. Its a linear scale if you are only looking at it that way. Most breweries are going to look at it from a cost perspective as well. How much do I need to get the flavor I want, no extra, no waste. So you will probably have to test it out from a flavor standpoint, start at a full linear scale, then take some lbs out each time you re-brew to figure out where that point is. If you look at your recipe and cost is not a problem, then do it the full strength way. Flavor is a tough one to do, it scales up differently for different things. Malt is usually straight, though you have to account for your mash efficiency. Hops are definitely not linear, and very kettle specific.

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          • #6
            We use a local, raw Orange blossom honey in one of our beers, we scaled it from 1Bbl to 5Bbl and needed to reduce the amount. To help the honey come through we added a small percentage of Honey malt, and moved the honey addition to the beginning of a 10 min. whirlpool before knockout., we use 4.75Lbs. per Bbl. Hope that helps
            - Scott

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            • #7
              Update

              So we went with 6 lbs in our 1 BBL batch. Added some Honey Malt to help it along. Turned out nice. Not a full honey aroma I was expecting, but has nice honey notes that are complimenting the Rye. And this is not carbonated yet, it hit the BBT yesterday.
              Jason Blair
              MadCow Brewing Company

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