11 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

I just used some to test my mill. I popped a few kernels in my mouth and the flavor is actually pretty nice. It's sort of raisin-like. I used it in the test because I haven't used it in years. Who uses it, how much in 5 gallons and in what styles?

[EnkAMania]

I use 12 oz in my Strawberry Cream Ale

[HVB]

About 4oz in some of my NE IPAs.

[Big Nake]

I feel like the flavor of it was lost when I used to use it. I don't want to bang the brewtan drum too hard but I feel like I'm getting much more character out of my malts with brewtan so the honey malt may actually come through now and I could see any number of options... honey pale ale, honey wheat, honey amber ale, honey lager and any number of other things. Thanks gang.

[neddles]

Ken, I have used it 3 times. All within the last year. The first time was in a 1.069 IPA where I used 8 ozs. or 3.5% of the grist. I thought it worked fantastic in that beer. But I remade the exact same beer several months later only changing the hop varieties and I thought it was too much. Not sure why the difference but it was just too sweet on the finish. I think honey malt has a very nice flavor of its own that plays really really well with fruity hops but there is an unmistakeable sweetness that comes with it and it seems easy to overdo. The third time I used it was just a few weeks ago in a Pale Ale and a group of us drained that keg quickly over the weekend. In this I thought the 4 ozs. of honey malt was perfect as a very nice accent that played extremely well with the hops. Probably didn't hurt that it dried out so well. I'll just throw the recipe out here because it turned out so damn good. 

 

1.055--->1.005

SRM 4

IBU 32

 

91% Rahr 2-row

7% Flaked Wheat

2% Honey Malt (in this case it was 4 ozs.)

Mash at 149F/50min and 160F/15min.

 

30 min boil

 

30g Simcoe @30min.

 

55g Mosaic in 160F whirlpool steep

25g Amarillo in 160F whirlpool steep

 

45g Mosaic dry hop

20g Amarillo dry hop

 

WY1450

 

100ppm each of Ca, Cl, and SO4.

Edited by neddles, 30 August 2016 - 05:31 PM.

[Big Nake]

Ken, I have used it 3 times. All within the last year. The first time was in a 1.069 IPA where I used 8 ozs. or 3.5% of the grist. I thought it worked fantastic in that beer. But I remade the exact same beer several months later only changing the hop varieties and I thought it was too much. Not sure why the difference but it was just too sweet on the finish. I think honey malt has a very nice flavor of its own that plays really really well with fruity hops but there is an unmistakeable sweetness that comes with it and it seems easy to overdo. The third time I used it was just a few weeks ago in a Pale Ale and a group of us drained that keg quickly over the weekend. In this I thought the 4 ozs. of honey malt was perfect as a very nice accent that played extremely well with the hops. Probably didn't hurt that it dried out so well. I'll just throw the recipe out here because it turned out so damn good. 
 
1.055--->1.005
SRM 4
IBU 32
 
91% Rahr 2-row
7% Flaked Wheat
2% Honey Malt (in this case it was 4 ozs.)
Mash at 149F/50min and 160F/15min.
 
30 min boil
 
30g Simcoe @30min.
 
55g Mosaic in 160F whirlpool steep
25g Amarillo in 160F whirlpool steep
 
45g Mosaic dry hop
20g Amarillo dry hop
 
WY1450
 
100ppm each of Ca, Cl, and SO4.

Yeah, that's good stuff. If I remember anything about honey malt it's that you don't want to overdo it. I remember thinking that 4 ounces in 5 gallons was the limit. I might try it in something soon just to see how it comes out.

[porter]

I used to use it in a softly hopped honey pale ale I used to make. IIRC, I'd just use 1 lb honey in this beer (per 5 gallons), then offset the lost residual sweetness with a half pound of honey malt. 20-30 IBU and I think some Cascade late. I think that's right, I last made it 10 or so years ago, so...

[SchwanzBrewer]

I haven't used it. All the homebrew beers from my friends that have had it in the beer have been blech. It's deterred me from using it.

[Big Nake]

I haven't used it. All the homebrew beers from my friends that have had it in the beer have been blech. It's deterred me from using it.

I think it's easy to overdo and I also think it depends on your tastebuds. I don't think it would work well for me in a hoppy style because I wouldn't want hoppy character with the sweet, honey-like character. It sounds nice in the beer that porter mentioned and sounds like it would work better in a style like that. I would not bother with the honey itself but that's primarily because I whiffed on A LOT of honey beers years ago. Something amber-to-brown in color with 25-30 IBUs (coming mostly from bittering) sounds like it could be nice. 4 ounces in 5-gallons and a relatively low mash temp so you still get a dry finish... could be coming in the near future since I already have some.

[MyaCullen]

I haven't used it. All the homebrew beers from my friends that have had it in the beer have been blech. It's deterred me from using it.

they used to much

 

it's nice as a sub for 30L Crystal, about 4-6 oz per 5 gallons in a pale colored APA is a nice touch

[SchwanzBrewer]

they used to much

 

it's nice as a sub for 30L Crystal, about 4-6 oz per 5 gallons in a pale colored APA is a nice touch

 

I know, it's just an ingredient. If I made something that might call for it I would certainly be judicious with it. All the stuff I tried weren't great beers to begin with so it's not a fair assessment. 

[MyaCullen]

I know, it's just an ingredient. If I made something that might call for it I would certainly be judicious with it. All the stuff I tried weren't great beers to begin with so it's not a fair assessment. 

it also has the advantage of higher fermentabilty than crystal so it leaves lower residual extract lbs for lbs