Bell's Hopslam (2018)

You might not be able to taste the honey, but others can (like the following quote). So your list is not really comparable for those that can taste it.

 

So, that makes it one of a kind DIPA then, I guess. Because I don't know of any other that contains honey.

 

Just tastes sweet to me.

 

Yeah! Sweet and very hop forward. I don't think sweet flavors go well with bitter hops. Also, barrel-aging (D)IPAs is not very good either.

 

I100% agree with you here.

Cheers!

 

#fakenews.

Although, I guess it depends on your definition of similar.

 

It is a wildflower honey from a honey supplier in Schoolcraft MI.

I know they add it on the 50 bbl system. When they add it in the process I don’t know. It could be anytime in the boil, after flame out, or in the whirlpool. Maybe I will ask next time.

Wildflower honey is subject to variation, as to what the bees were pollinating can vary from location to location.

 

Jeff, you know for a fact they do not add the honey to the primary?

Cheers!

 

Not as a fact, but the reason that they brew on the 50 bbl system is that they can get the 600+ lb drums of honey close enough to add it easily. They can’t in the 200 bbl brewhouse. The honey is not near the fermentation room.

They could also add at the end of whirlpool through a valve on the way to the chiller, but I don’t know how they really do it.

 

Not surprised to learn it is Wildflower honey given how much they'd need to produce all the Hopslam they release in one year. Some of the honeys require restricting the bees forage to certain fields or orchards, thereby, a certain degree, limiting the amount of honey that can be collected.

 

Yeah, that would seem to indicate a hot-side addition of the honey. The honey aromatics will be mitigated with a hot-side addition.

I have heard John Mallet state that the reason for using honey is to lighten the body of Hopslam and thereby accentuate the hop flavors/aromas.

Cheers!

 

Fwiw, I've made mead a number of times and essentially added the honey at flameout. This drops the temp to the pasteurization range, and then I just held it there for 15-20 minutes before chilling it and transfering it to the fermenter. I even made a honey-ale (Dave Milller's recipe) that way. In any event, the loss of honey character is minimized with that method. I can see this as a practical method for a commercial brewhouse.

 

I’ve had a Bochet that had plenty of honey character. Bochet is made from caramelized - boiled- honey.

 

Michael, do you think you would perceive the honey aromatics in your beverages if you massively dry hopped them with Simcoe hops?

Cheers!

 

Was the Bochet massively dry hopped with Simcoe hops?

Cheers!

 

It would probably be at the level where some people detect it and some don't, depending on their sensitivity .

Actually, I think this situation probably has more to do with the quantity used than the method. Hopefully I can get more than a couple of cans this year and put it to the test myself.

 

Of course not, but it was boiled until it “burned”, and it still had honey aromas. Lighter aromas get flashed off, but others remain.

 

Great Lakes Chillwave is a fantastic beer made with honey malt, if you are looking for one to try. The honey flavor comes through nicely. Should be coming out in the next month or so.

 

Stone Citracado was brewed avacado flower honey and I thought it was awesome! I keep wanting them to bring it back.

 

I agree with you here.