Brewing With Honey, Need help Bottling

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Kawarner, Feb 28, 2018.

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  1. Kawarner

    Kawarner Initiate (0) Feb 28, 2018 Pennsylvania

    I am a fairly new home brewer and decided to try my first partial mash recipe. So I brewed an IPA and decided to use Honey in it. I added 2 lbs of Raw unfiltered Honey after I chilled it and brought it down to room temp. Then I racked it, and pitched the yeast. My question is, since i used a lot of honey to the fermentation stage, what is the best way to bottle it? Should i use priming sugar to bottle, or should i use honey to bottle? Also, do i follow the priming calculators or should i just use a less amount of Priming Sugar/Honey since i already added 2 lbs of honey right before fermentation?
     
    #1 Kawarner, Feb 28, 2018
  2. Eggman20

    Eggman20 Crusader (433) Feb 14, 2017 Minnesota

    If you already have a lot of honey in the recipe I wouldn't mess around with it as your priming source. Just stick with normal sugar and it'll be a lot less hassle.

    Use the priming calculators like you normally would. If your fermentation is complete there will be no additional amounts of fermentables left from that initial dose of honey to add any carbonation to your beer.
     
    #2 Eggman20, Feb 28, 2018
    PapaGoose03 likes this.
  3. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Just use sucrose or dextrose when you bottle. The honey that you added before fermentation will have fermented out.
     
    #3 EvenMoreJesus, Feb 28, 2018
  4. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,057) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    As long as your fermentation is complete by reaching close to your target final gravity, you're okay to go ahead and bottle. I'd use whatever type of priming sugar you have on hand per the calculator. The honey doesn't affect anything other than adding some extra alcohol, assuming it fermented completely.
     
    #4 PapaGoose03, Feb 28, 2018
  5. Kawarner

    Kawarner Initiate (0) Feb 28, 2018 Pennsylvania

    Great! Thank you guys for all of your help. The last thing i need are exploding beer bottles:slight_smile:
     
    #5 Kawarner, Feb 28, 2018
  6. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Just know that sometimes honey takes a little longer to completely ferment. I usually give my honey beers 8 weeks before packaging, just in case, but you can get away with less. Just make sure you arrive at a stable terminal gravity before packaging.
     
    #6 EvenMoreJesus, Feb 28, 2018
    MrOH, billandsuz, PapaGoose03 and 1 other person like this.
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