Brewing With Honey –

Iron Brewers Secrets Revealed

By Mark Hogenmiller, Co-Minister of Culture

If you want to know the secrets of Iron Brewers, or are just interested in adding a new touch to your next batch of beer, this article is for you.

What type of honey works best in homebrewed beers? Any honey will work in your favorite recipe or style. In the United States, we have over 300 types of honey, with the colors ranging from water white to dark amber, and the tastes from delectably mild to distinctively bold. Each type of honey contributes something different in terms of end-product color, aroma, rounding effect and flavor. In lighter lagers beers, use mild or neutral honeys such as clover honey. For those fuller or spicier beers, experiment with other floral sources such as wild flower, buckwheat, sage or citrus flower honey for a bolder flavor.

How should honey be used in the brewing process? Brewers generally prefer to add honeys towards the end of the boil (last five minutes) to prevent the loss of honey aromatics, which contribute to the final flavor of the beer. Honey may also be added to the secondary fermenter, but you may risk some infection.

Will my Honey Beer be too sweet? Actually NO, as 95% of the honey is fermentable and tends to result in a lighter and crisper beer rather than sweeter. Unlike Corn Sugar or Dextrose, it is going to add more to the flavor and aroma profile based on the type of honey used.

Does honey beer taste like honey? Brewers often ask this question, and there is no single answer. The typical flavor of honey is a combination of sweetness, acidity and aromatics. Honey’s carbohydrates being fermentable, it is honey’s flavor compounds that remain in beer. In other words, honey beer as it is produced in the United States does not taste like a diluted, alcoholic solution of honey!

How does honey affect the flavor of homebrewed beers? Through several mechanisms: first, honey contributes its own flavor, second, honey has an impact on how the four basic tastes are perceived and third, honey has a “smoothing” or “rounding” effect on the overall flavor profile. Obviously, the extent to which honey affects the flavor of beers depends upon the type of honey selected (floral source), the amount of honey added, and the brewing technique used.

Source: Honey in Beer, National Honey Board Pamphlet available at www.nhb.org.