Honey in beer

I enjoy fresh hop slam due to the honey used. And yeah, adjunct is the correct term.

 

I used to care about the Reinheitsgebot when I was younger. But certain things that make a beer better are ok in my book now.

 

I had uber fresh Hopslam from Bell’s last night, a howitzer of a DIPA brewed with honey. It was truly magnificent, as always .....

 

I believe some commercial "honey" beers are back-sweetened, post-fermentation - that is, flash-pasteurized (or the yeast killed by some other process) and then the honey added. In which case, since it does not add to the "fermentables", the honey is not an adjunct, based the traditional (and correct) definition.

 

Ty at our local brewery, Skull Tree, is a fan of using local honey in some of his beers. I've had no complaints so far.

 

I'm hoping to see this in Casper for the first time. I already made the strong suggestion.

 

You seem to imply hopslam is one of those beers. Is this an accurate assessment?

Edit, with an OG of 1.087 and ABV at %10 I am doubting it is back sweetened. It would take some post brew day honey additions to get an ABV that high.
Double edit or an FG below 1.011

 

Unlikely, but I guess it's dependent on the brewery. You asked, ".. how do the few breweries produce beer with honey?" and that's one way.

Nope. Sorry, don't know how you read that beer into my comment. Something like Genesee's Honey Brown is (probably) an example.

Honey added post-fermentation and after pasteurization would have no affect on alcohol content.

 

And I see Genesee Honey Brown on at least one shelf in Casper again. I don't get why it's there after so many years. I really can't imagine a demand for it.

 

Lamplighter out of Boston, MA area makes an amazing IPA w/ honey called Lawyers, Guns, & Honey. Definitely the best normal IPA I've had with honey as an ingredient... HopSlam is fantastic as well.

 

It comes down to complex sugars and simple sugars. Lactose is a complex sugar and is not fermentable by standard brewers' yeast. Honey is a simple sugar that is fully fermentable leaving nothing but alcohol behind (and a slight bit of the honey's flavor).

Suggestions above about how to keep the honey flavor in the finished beer are plausible, but no one has mentioned artificial honey flavoring yet. Yeah, it's possible.

 

Did that beer taste sweet? If so, natural honey is probably in the beer along with all its sugar.

Killing the yeast and then adding honey received a cursory mention above, and that can be done with the addition of a chemical to handle that job. (I forget it's name, but I'm certain that it is also commonly used by winemakers so you are probably already familiar with it.)

 

Next I'm in MA I will definitely seek this one out based on the Warren Zevon reference alone.

 

So you are saying hopslam is backsweetened? Sugar additions added after fermentation would lower the FG and increase abv UNLESS the beer has been pasteurized, however my response regarding a change in abv in regards to a post fermentation addition does imply that the yeast are still active. I simply read that you felt hopslam was backsweetened due to the fact that it was one of two beers listed before your comment. I still dont know if the honey is added after pasteurization in the case of hopslam. They, Bells, seem to get an extreme amount of honey flavor to express itself through a significant amount of hop flavors and alcohol. I would be surprised if they managed that through a honey addition during the boil.

 

That Velcorin sounds like a trade name and doesn't sound familiar. Here's a link to a Q&A on this topic. I think the potassium sorbate was what I was trying to think of. https://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/a3qtmu/how_to_kill_yeast_for_a_fruit_beer/

 

Camden tablets added post fermentation will kill any active yeast.