Won 12 lbs. of mango honey at a local homebrew comp. raffle. Thanks? Not a mead person so I was looking for ideas on how to use it. I guess an IPA would be good, but I’m not sure how much of the flavor would actually come through and that it might just increase the ABV.
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an IPA.... Not just no,**** no!
The aroma characteristics and flavor contribution from honey is very subtle, but is there
if you use it correctly. If you use it ham fistedly, then yes, it’s just a “simple sugar”. My beekeeper friends would cringe at this.
First, we need to understand what you have. If it’s a common, pasteurized honey, you won’t get much from it. See @Craigerrr’s thoughts above. If it’s unfiltered, unpasteurized honey, then you have something worth brewing with. There are a few options for the ‘wildflower’, unprocessed honey. I checked online and that is indeed raw, unprocessed honey- $99 / gallon !!! good score.
Second, what does it smell and taste like? There’s a wide variety of characteristics from soft, buttery sweet to peppery and spicy. It all depends on where the bees got their pollen. For Mango, I’d expect some sweet floral and tropical fruit type aromas, but not really sure what the flavor would be like. Just like pairing hops, you need to pair the honey with what you’re brewing.
Third, what do you want from the honey? if you want flavor and aroma, you’ll need 1-2# on a 4-5 - 5% abv beer. You’ll want yeast that is either clean or something that will complement a floral hop. If you just want alcohol, then please use something else!
Some things that come to mind:
- witbier, farmhouse / saison, brown ale, pale lager, braggot (of course). All would make a good canvas to showcase what you have there.
- mango finished mead - you definitely have enough
I would be hesitant to use it in something that is really distinctive on its own; stout, porter, IPA, or heavily hopped beer as the honey will be overwhelmed unless you go BIG on the honey. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
IBUs need to be restrained, if you overly bitter the beer with hops, again, you’ll drown out the honey. 20-30 IBUs-ish depending on how much honey you use. I’m typically pitching 1-2# for a beer at 6.5% ABV or less. Mostly 1 - 1.5# If you have a good malt/hop/yeast base for adding the honey, something you’re familiar with the flavor profile, that may be a good place to start. My last farmhouse ale was 10# of malt, 1# of honey and about 5.75%ABV. I’m repeating that recipe but increasing the honey to 2# next time out. Most people who drink it know there’s something different about it, beer nerds can sometimes guess it.
Heat kills the aroma and flavor contributions from raw honey. The way it tastes right now is as good as it will get. Keep the heat below 90F, that is straight from my beekeeper friends. I keep mine under 85 on all my measuring equipment just to be safe. This means pitching the honey into the wort that is already chilled or right into the fermenter.
Your honey will crystallize over time, that doesn’t mean it’s bad or spoiled. just warm it up before use.
