tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post6994225089862588139..comments2024-02-23T15:34:32.816-05:00Comments on The Mad Fermentationist - Homebrewing Blog: Nelson Thyme Honey SaisonThe Mad Fermentationist (Mike)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-34292611214816570112018-06-24T08:59:43.021-04:002018-06-24T08:59:43.021-04:00I assume it was raw given that it was from the far...I assume it was raw given that it was from the farmer's market. Adding the honey after the majority of the fermentation is complete is pretty safe. At that point the alcohol and pH will prevent most wild yeast from gaining a foothold. The active yeast in the beer will also quickly ferment the sugar from the honey removing that sugar source. I've never had an issue.<br /><br />You could dilute the honey and heat it to ~160F for a few minutes to pasteurize, you might drive off some of the aromatics though. Most meadmakers use unpasteurized honey without issue.<br /><br />Best of luck!The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-19388151307998318482018-06-23T16:18:10.033-04:002018-06-23T16:18:10.033-04:00hey Mike! I was wondering if you use raw honey or ...hey Mike! I was wondering if you use raw honey or pasteurized? In your experience is that a warranted concern? I'm hoping to add honey to a blonde in secondary and don't really want any wild deviations in the flavor profileKimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-19089716478460287452018-05-20T07:40:46.813-04:002018-05-20T07:40:46.813-04:00Thanks for the update! Honey is especially difficu...Thanks for the update! Honey is especially difficult to judge because the intensity can change from hive to hive and harvest to harvest. Nice that you have enough to try again with the same jar. Keep me in the loop with how the next iteration turns out!The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-7089647920661878452018-05-19T22:27:44.533-04:002018-05-19T22:27:44.533-04:00OK, so after skipping the dry hop step, and adding...OK, so after skipping the dry hop step, and adding hops/honey straight to the keg.... The results were pretty good. I ended up using 260g honey, which was a touch too much, and resulted in a way overcarbed keg. I bumped the dry hops down to 110g Nelson, and placed them in a 400micron filter canister in the keg. For the next batch, I'm going to reduce both. The honey-Thyme and Nelson flavors were intense! I think I'll go for the rest of the honey jar next time (I'll probably be able to get 200g out of it), and bump the Nelson down to 75g. I'm also planning to mash a bit lower (150F), and add some orange zest at whirlpool. All in all, very nice beer, but I wanted it drier and with more citrus character. This keg got drunk FAST, so I need to make it again soon.BTHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-78918665538050276022018-04-03T23:50:38.000-04:002018-04-03T23:50:38.000-04:00I'll purge the headspace with CO2 after tossin...I'll purge the headspace with CO2 after tossing in the dry hops (I'm super-excited Nelson Sauvin finally came back on the market in OZ, it's been almost impossible to get for the past year). I was going to put in 8oz of honey, per your tasting notes, which should be about perfect for priming to 3.0 vol., and report back in 3-4 weeks. BTHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-76913607305566139372018-04-03T08:09:13.986-04:002018-04-03T08:09:13.986-04:00You certainly could prime with the honey, although...You certainly could prime with the honey, although 12 oz would likely be excessive. I'd add about half of the honey to the fermentor, and save the rest for kegging. A few days of cold crashing shouldn't be enough to remove all of the yeast, but a small fresh pitch can't hurt. I've been dosing my hoppy beers with CBC-1 at kegging recently. Either way the yeast will drop out after chilling and get sucked out in the first pint. <br /><br />Dry hop timing is up to you. My usual preference is add them while there is still a little yeast activity to ensure any oxygen introduced is used by the yeast.<br /><br />Let me know how it turns out!The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-57172000639600710762018-04-03T02:06:43.491-04:002018-04-03T02:06:43.491-04:00Question- I'm duplicating this recipe. I'v...Question- I'm duplicating this recipe. I've gotten fresh Thyme honey from NZ and the Mad Ferm blend from Bootleg Bio. The beer has fermented down to 1.005, but it'll probably be 2-3 weeks before I'll have space in my kegerator for this beer. Would it make sense to wait until 5 days before kegging to use the first round of dry hops, cold crash- transfer beer to keg, then add honey to the keg to carbonate naturally? I was thinking that this would retain the honey aromas in the keg better than fermenting in the fermenter, but it would add a bit of yeast to the bottom of the keg. Any suggestions?BTHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-74655950225048521402017-11-04T08:38:15.417-04:002017-11-04T08:38:15.417-04:00Exactly, both the heat during the whirlpool and th...Exactly, both the heat during the whirlpool and the CO2 production during primary fermentation will scrub a considerable amount of the aromatics. It certainly will retain some honey flavor if you use a characterful variety.The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-52711829568125915332017-11-04T06:50:43.105-04:002017-11-04T06:50:43.105-04:00Nice write up. I’ve been thinking of swapping suga...Nice write up. I’ve been thinking of swapping sugar for honey in my Saison. Do you see any issues with adding it at whirlpool instead of later during fermentation? If I did it at whirlpool do you think I will get less flavor or honey character. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-13379592081463085602017-10-27T17:12:27.639-04:002017-10-27T17:12:27.639-04:00I usually harvest the blend from primary into a gr...I usually harvest the blend from primary into a growler and just leave it in the fridge until I need it again. No problems thus far!The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-69943142052192113842017-10-27T16:39:09.173-04:002017-10-27T16:39:09.173-04:00Hey Mike,
I just ordered some of your house yeast...Hey Mike,<br /><br />I just ordered some of your house yeast, thanks for that. How do you harvest/handle the yeast between batches? Do you just capture some slurry after each use? I typically overbuild a starter and harvest off the top of that.<br /><br />ThanksAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01814745768384026928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-66904220636920483332017-10-26T18:24:52.339-04:002017-10-26T18:24:52.339-04:00I've been harvesting, storing, and repitching ...I've been harvesting, storing, and repitching this culture for more than three years now without issue. Like any blend I'm sure it'll change with time depending on your harvesting process, but it seems stable for me. Drift is a bigger issue when it is simply a blend of strains, this is a balanced culture that has lived together!<br /><br />It should have been two ounces of each hop... I cut the amounts in half because this was half of the batch, but I removed the other half before the hops went in. Fixed now. I'm sure 30 IBUs is still high as the hops went in at 185F and I just let BeerSmith do its standard whirlpool estimate (35% correction factor in my profile).The Mad Fermentationist (Mike)https://www.blogger.com/profile/07379932734747507258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-46890507022818451422017-10-26T13:55:12.397-04:002017-10-26T13:55:12.397-04:00nice write-up, mike! can you discuss how you got ...nice write-up, mike! can you discuss how you got the figure of 30 IBUs from 2 oz whirlpool hops, only? which calculation did you use? how long did they steep for? 30 seems high to me... but what do i know!Andreihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11784096309873252503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066877917844499643.post-10775404637276122802017-10-26T11:58:46.664-04:002017-10-26T11:58:46.664-04:00Any idea on how the microbe blend changes from bat...Any idea on how the microbe blend changes from batch to batch with this 'yeast'? I tend over-build starters and save some for use on future batches. I'm wondering if the blend would get out of whack after a few generations.kyle smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13159273812107827503noreply@blogger.com