Citrus Honey

[Chewie]

Have heard citrus honey is pretty good in a brew. Just wondering if it is readily available? Looked in woolies and saw heaps of different honey: yellow box, red gum, blue gum, etc. Don't won't a Eucalyptus brew tho...
Any suggestions?

[Chris]

Yellow box is ok, but citrus is much better.

Alphalfa, citrus, clover honeys are all good. Leatherwood honey is pretty good too.

[Cat]

Markets are definitely the best place to find a variety of honey. It's where I picked up the ever ellusive clover honey. Not to mention there are other tasty things available (such as cheese!)

[Chris]

Clover honey is the Cat's meow.

(I'm going to get killed for this)

[Cat]

*stab*

well, it certainly made for a very tasty brew!

Chewie, with your honey, try a lighter honey like citrus, alfalfa or clover for a lighter brew (such as a blonde or a wheat) and a darker honey like a leatherwood or yellow box for a heavier brew with more body (such as a stout or a porter).

[Wassa]

Honey.....sure makes a good Porter.

Just don't use Red gum. had to tip out a wetpack porter.....nearly cried all ya could taste was eucalyptus.

[blandy]

Talking about not using eucalyptus honey, if you use a small enough amount can it have a desirable effect (as in if for some reason you wanted a hint of eucalyptus in your brew)? If so, how much euclaiptus honey would be needed?

[Chris]

blandy, how many gallons are in a minute?

Honey is a very random animal. I wouldn't like to even try and work out the minute amounts of certain chemicals in it, that can have such drastic effects on your brew.

And as Cat said- light = lighter coloured beer. Dark = dark beer. You're such a honey Cat.

[blandy]

OK OK, just curious is all

[Chris]

I think that you'd be better off controlling the amount of eucalyptus that you wanted in your beer by adding it separately. Interesting idea.

[bottle top]

Hmmm. Wish I'd found this thread a couple of weeks ago before I added 200g of leftover honey to my Canadian blonde...

Anyone know if the eucalyptus flavour will dissipate with time? How heart breaking. This was supposed to be the quaffer to tide me over while my more interesting brews had a chance to mature.

[drsmurto]

I used 500g of blue gum honey in a porter. That brew didnt last long, very tasty. Thats said, i added 500g of carafa II as well as 1kg DDME so the honey probably got a bit lost!

[bottle top]

Yeah, it sounds like you had a bit going on to cover up the tang, unlike my watery dextrose special. I guess I'll give it a couple of months and see how it goes...

[drsmurto]

A mate used bush mallee honey in a draught, simple K&K and i didnt find the honey overpowering.

[bottle top]

Well, happy news... I cracked another eucalyptus blonde tonight and this time it is drinkable. Not entirely pleasant, but drinkable all the same. If this keeps up it could be a tasty drop in a few weeks.

[andyzed]

so for a dumb ass newbie. When adding honey, is that the only sugar needed or do you still add other things as well. i've done a bit of a search and read some interesting things and it looks like it's each to their own a bit, like everything with HB. As in line with this thread, has anyone used CPA kit or something similar with honey to make a nice brew. I'm pretty keen to have a honey style beer of some description in my range so i'd love to hear any feedback. The one thing i've read that seems to be unanimous is not to use eucalyptus at all.

Cheers

[rwh]

OK, well if by honey style beer you mean beez neez or bee sting, then you're talking about a wheat beer with honey in it. Go for a light style of honey, like yellow box, clover or citrus. There is a beez neez clone recipe kicking around on here, the basics are: lightly hopped, 1/3 wheat malt, 1/3 barley malt, 1/3 honey.

Another brew that's worth considering is Wassa's Honey Porter, again the recipe is on here somewhere. There's also a honey maple recipe that uses honey and maple syrup.

You certainly don't use only honey as if you did that you'd be making mead, not beer.

[Kevnlis]

Not that there is anything wrong with brewing a mead. They can be quite nice!

Honey maple brews are quite nice but the maple syrup is heaps expensive and the fake stuff just doesn't cut it!