Honey brandy

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Ben Stillin
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Honey brandy

Post by Ben Stillin »

So I'm a bee keeper and I had 6 gallons of honey that I didn't bottle fast enough and it started to sugar making bottling difficult. Rather than feeding it back to the bees (I'm selfish) I did this

~25 gallon batch
6 gallons of honey (60ish lbs)
22 gallons of limestone well water
ph using citric acid to ~4.5 (3 tablespoons for this batch)
4 packets of Lalvin K1V-1116 Montpellier that was pre bloomed in a lighter honey mixture (~1 gallon water to 1 cup honey)

ferment for 5 days (it ripped through it quite quickly)

We ran it through the still at a moderate pace and picked up about 2.5 gallons of decent 160

The flavor that came off was every bit honey. The wash didn't taste especially like honey, more like a really really dry sherry with a very slight indistinguishable fruit flavor. Now the stuff is still rough, Ive only run it once and not aged it yet but every bit of it screams honey. The honey I used was a dark and molassesy wildflower honey taken in a drought, its prone to sugaring and I only like it as a ham glaze but the distillate flavor was light and fresh like early spring honey.

Here is spring and fall honey for my area side by side

Also frequently local beekeepers have several buckets of sugared honey they are likely to part with cheap, so check around if you are interested.
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spring and summer honey.jpg
2" Boka on a sanke and a 4" 6 plate flute (learning setups)

Current setup
Wall mounted steam stripper
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Halfbaked
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by Halfbaked »

I would most def do that. I have had some commercial honey likker. I didn't like it. I bet yours is good. We have a couple of bee keepers on the forum. Air it out, maybe try an oak domino is a couple of quarts andlet it age 6 months and you will have fine drop.
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thatguy1313
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by thatguy1313 »

Always had a hard time getting honey to ferment. Nice flavor when you get it right, though. Congrats!
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Ben Stillin
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by Ben Stillin »

I had always heard it wouldn't ferment easy. That's why I hit the yeast with a bloom 24 hrs in advance and probably used twice the dry yeast needed.


no dap used at all
2" Boka on a sanke and a 4" 6 plate flute (learning setups)

Current setup
Wall mounted steam stripper
Wall mounted 6 plate "flute"
50 gallon immersion heated mash kettle
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MoonBreath
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by MoonBreath »

Maybe I'm missing something here ..Howz that brandy? ..Wouldn't that be considered honey shine?
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thatguy1313
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by thatguy1313 »

Meh, technically its not a brandy but I don't like to split hairs. Long as it tastes good.
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Ben Stillin
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by Ben Stillin »

meh, its called both all over the net. I cant tell you if a brandy requires fruit or not by definition.

Just as wrong to call it a rum though I think and while honey is mostly sugar it is sugar collected by bees from a botanical sources and contains significant pollen. Calling it shine to me just sounds too generic and not a name (wrongly of course) typical implying a fine distillate.


We will see what happens after I redistill and pay closer attention to the cuts and some aging, I will post an update
2" Boka on a sanke and a 4" 6 plate flute (learning setups)

Current setup
Wall mounted steam stripper
Wall mounted 6 plate "flute"
50 gallon immersion heated mash kettle
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thatguy1313
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by thatguy1313 »

Cuts were difficult with my honey shine. Lots of good flavor in late heads but some intense burn too. Probably be good if I could make myself leave it alone for a year or so. Might try it through a detuned reflux still and see how it is. Need to make friends with a beekeeper though. Damned expensive otherwise.
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MoonBreath
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by MoonBreath »

$45-$65 a gallon around here ..Found some state fair winning honey but it sells so fast, I couldn't get it this year.
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midwest shinner
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by midwest shinner »

My first ever batch of likker was a simar recipe scaled down and with some corn added. Called it honey corn likker(not the most creative name) but damn did it turn out good. Still got a few shots left in a jar to sip on and remember almost 3 years later.eventually I'll remake the recipe
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Dogger Pond
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by Dogger Pond »

Wow, your Fall honey is dark. I'm a beekeeper as well.
I use my Fall honey as cold medicine. It's mostly Goldenrod honey. Excellent antibiotic properties.
I also make mead with Fall honey. I do 1/3 honey, 2/3 well water. It ferments for several months and then I age it in oak.
A few years back, I had a batch that was left in oak too long. So I distilled it. It made a fabulous 'grappa' like distillate.
I still have some that i keep in the freezer. Very honey flavored. Delicious.

All best!
goose eye
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by goose eye »

Looks like buckwheat

So I'm tole
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thecroweater
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by thecroweater »

Aguardente de mel is what the Portuguese call it, not sure if there is an English equivalent
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rager
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by rager »

ive been doing

7# corn
3# malted wheat
2# of honey malt

it may not be "honey shine" but im thinking doing my spirit run through the thumper charges with lots of honey/water mixture.

"shootin it" after the heads have cleared

at that point I think I could call it "HS"
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thecroweater
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by thecroweater »

rager wrote:ive been doing
7# corn
3# malted wheat
2# of honey malt
it may not be "honey shine" but im thinking doing my spirit run through the thumper charges with lots of honey/water mixture.
"shootin it" after the heads have cleared
at that point I think I could call it "HS"
Ah well that is a form of Braggot you are brewing and distilled Braggot is Braggot whisky. it maybe the oldest recorded form of whisky that was first called whisky or in fact chwisgi in Wales where it was reportedly distilled in the year 365 AD from Braggot made by the Monks at the Bardsey Island monastery. A basic description of Braggot
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firewater69
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by firewater69 »

Cool info, thanks crow! It sounds really good, i may have to give it a go.
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rager
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by rager »

thanks crow for the info. I had no idea that I recreated something close to an extremely old brew. the learning on this site is never ending. I think im going to go for shooting the thumper with the honey. honey is just to expensive to do large ferments of.

welp I guess I should go check that sg . it should be close to done. ill update when I do the run
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HDNB
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by HDNB »

if you do a honey fermeent and distillation, keep the backset for souring a corn mash or corn/sugarhead. truely an awesome faux bourbon. after a bit of time on oak rivals or surpasses the best commercial i've tried.
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icrazy
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by icrazy »

I've got 5 hives and am spliting to 10 hives this season so will have a bit of extra honey at end of the season and was thinking of trying a ujssm using half cracked corn and half cracked barley but with honey instead of sugar has anyone tried such a thing thaught it might give a nice flavour
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bilgriss
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Re: Honey brandy

Post by bilgriss »

I have not. But I would love it if you give it a try and then report back the results.
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