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Adding Honey to secondary

jlestos

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Fargo, ND
I'm thinking about adding honey to my secondary fermentation of the current brew I'm on, and could not find a way to add it as a secondary option, only after boil. Would that amount to the same thing? I used the search function on the help menu but to no avail.

Thanks
J
 
Adding honey to the boil early is just like adding sugar. Very little flavor and lots of alcohol. Adding honey to the boil late is adding lots of flavor and some alcohol. Adding honey to the secondary is totally new to me. Never heard of it! The sugar should ferment? I don't think honey has to be heated? I may be wrong. Someone fill me in?

Honey is devoid of nutrients and the fermentation should have used most of the soluble oxygen. I would guess the honey would ferment poorly if at all or it may produce bottle bombs from a slow ferment! Good luck!
 
Bob raises some good questions, and especially if you mean after a physical transfer and 95% less yeast cells, I'd recommend against adding it to secondary. 
 
Yeast goes through a three step cycle. Respiration, fermentation and sedimentation.
By the time you rack it it is in step three.

If you want to add something to the secondary, add some of your favorite aroma hops.

Or if you insist on adding late honey perhaps use it as your priming sugar when bottling.

Personally if I'm using honey I add it at flameout.

I'm with BB and ML. You're asking for trouble adding fermentables to the secondary.
 
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