Also,
see a PDF file of Five Homebrew Formulas
Honey. For tens of thousands of years "the universal sweetener" was
almost the only available source of sugar in the countries where it was used.
Ancient civilizations looked on the making of honey as a miracle, and even
today, after much scientific research, honey remains something of a mystery.
Honey is made by honey bees from the nectar that they collect from flowers. The nectar itself is a sweet liquid produced by flowering plants to attract insects helpful in pollination. Honey contains much less moisture than the original nectar. About 80 percent of honey is sugars, mostly fructose and glucose. Maltose, sucrose and other complex carbohydrates are present in varying amounts, as are proteins, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Although relatively low in nutrients, honey contains more nutrients than refined sugars. As a rule, darker honeys contain higher amounts of minerals than lighter honeys.
The earliest alcoholic beverages were probably made from diluted fermented honey. The beer that the early Anglo-Saxons drank was a brew of water and honeycomb made in a clay pot, to which herbs may have been added for flavoring.
Around the world, present-day brewers continue to experiment with beer additives. In Germany, where beer drinking is serious business, the use of wheat as an adjunct has gradually grown in popularity, while in England, oatmeal or lactose is generally used to impart body. In Belgium, brewers have long been known for their use of sugars and spices in brewing ales.
Many modern brewers have come to value the use of all-natural ingredients in their beers. One such ingredient is honey, which is used in a variety of beers from herb and specialty beers to traditional and flavored mead. The use of honey in beers has become popular with the rise of micro- and homebrews. In addition, homebrewing has become increasingly popular with nearly one million Americans making their own beer according to the American Homebrewers Association.
A honey beer research project, conducted on behalf of the National Honey Board, determined the potential, usage level and benefits of using honey in beer produced by microbrewers.
The flavors of honey suggest a natural marriage with the sweet flavors of malted barley; the floral, spicy tones of late addition hops; and the perfume of yeast fermentation esters. The National Honey Board's study showed that honey is an excellent beer ingredient when used at recommended levels and, added at the appropriate stage, the flavor and aroma imparted by honey is exceptional.
Honey can be used in virtually any type of beer. It is generally used in herb beers, specialty beers, traditional mead and flavored meads. For mead production, since the honey is diluted, most experts recommend using a strong-tasting type of honey, such as buckwheat. Some mead producers claim that fresh, unprocessed honey is the best choice.
In honey, wild yeasts and bacteria are ubiquitous, yet they are kept in stasis due to honey's low water content (average 17 percent). As soon as honey is diluted in water or wort (the liquid extraction of the malt), these microbes are free to grow and proliferate. Many homebrewers have reported a high incidence of bacterial and wild yeast contamination when introducing honey to their beers.
The possible incorporation of honey's diastatic enzymes (alpha-amylase and beta-amylase) to beer could pose further complications for brewing with honey. These enzymes are present in malted barley and are activated and manipulated by the brewer with specific temperature regimes during the mashing process. Diastatic enzymes are responsible for the conversion of the complex carbohydrates of the malt starch into a balance of fermentable sugars and unfermentable dextrins. The dextrin complement (average 25-35 percent) consists of partially degraded complex carbohydrates that contribute importantly to the final extract, body and texture of a beer. It is essential that the brewer prevent further degradation of these dextrins into simple fermentable sugars by diastatic enzymes.
Boiling the wort effectively destroys these enzymes along with any yeasts or bacteria that may have survived to this stage. If honey were added to the boiling wort, there is little doubt that it would be rendered sterile and enzymatically deactivated. Unfortunately, it would also likely be rendered without much positive contribution of flavor to the beer
Sterilization is needed to control honey's diastatic enzymes as well as its yeast and bacterial count. Honey should be added in such a way so that its diastatic enzymes (alpha-amylase and beta-amylase) do not degrade the dextrins (non-fermentable carbohydrates) in beer into simple sugars, thereby destroying the texture and body of the end product. The yeast and bacteria in honey, which are generally in stasis due to honey's low water activity, can grow and proliferate when diluted during beer making. This will adversely affect the microbiological profile of the end product
The carbohydrates in honey must be considered to comprise approximately 95 percent fermentable sugars (fructose, glucose, maltose and sucrose), whereas the carbohydrates in premium beers may comprise 65-75 percent fermentable sugars. The 25-35 percent of the carbohydrates remaining unfermented are dextrins (beta glucans) which provide body and richness to the finished beer. Honey added to fermenting beer wort not only decreases the dextrin content of the beer proportionately by dilution, but it also increases the potential alcohol content of the finished beer by increasing the proportion of fermentable sugars in the wort. The saccharization which occurs during mashing converts the starches in grain to fermentable sugars. The brewer should consider using higher saccharization temperatures to promote dextrin formation and retention. The brewer should also consider starting with a lower gravity in the wort to reduce overall potential alcohol when brewing with honey.
The following method is recommended for pasteurizing honey for homebrewing:
Honey should be added to the beer at high kraeusen (peak of fermentation
activity), diluted
(with hot pasteurized water) to the original specific gravity of
beer and cooled to the temperature of the fermenting beer. There
should
be an increase in mash temperature if more honey is being used to compensate
for the dilution factor. Brewers should aim for mash temperatures between
155-162°F to promote more dextrins.
Homebrewers may want to purchase honey from a local beekeeper or honey packer, or from a warehouse store, as typical supermarkets sell honey in relatively small containers. To receive a list of honey suppliers please contact the National Honey Board at 303-776-2337 or download a suppliers guide at www.nhb.org.
When choosing the type of honey to use, there are three factors to
consider: aroma, flavor, color and body. Aroma and flavor are influenced
by the flowers from which the nectar is gathered. Color can also be
attributed to the flower, and varies from nearly clear to very dark.
Body depends on 1) floral source and 2) how the honey is extracted
from the comb and blended.
Apart from the considerations of dilution of dextrins, free-amino
nitrogen and other nutrients, ideal honey usage levels can be quite
variable.
Honey's primary contribution to beer is its characteristic aroma and
flavor. Most brewers will want to keep that flavor in the background
as an aromatic nuance complementing the other flavors in their beers.
The following percentages of honey (as percent weight of total grain
bill) are suggested based on the
National Honey Board's beer research:
Flavor preference is a highly subjective consideration. The permutations
of brewing technique, various yeast strains, diverse malts, adjuncts,
hops, herbs and spices along with the many variations of honey types,
seasons and sources will keep the innovative honey homebrewer creating
new recipes for a very long time!
©2007 National Honey Board
www.honey.com | www.honeylocator.com
