Honey Beer

Greetings, I hope all of you had a happy holiday season. Mine was enjoyable but busy, thus the tardiness of my posting.

Beer experimentation continues. I had never heard of dark honey. While at the hardware and garden store, I saw jars of raw dark honey for sale. Immediately, I thought "This can be used in beer!" I purchased a five pound jar and hurried home. Checking my references, I ascetained that, due to its strong flavor, dark honey is not recommended for use in beer. Just the inspiration I needed!

As I was pressed for time I could not make this an all grain brew. However, I had some cans of light malt extract that had been given to me, along with some crystal malt. I created the wort with 4.5 pounds of extract and half a pound of the crystal malt. I added 2 ounces of Kent hops. Fifteen minutes before the end of the boil I added 3 pounds of the honey. I then added Nottingham dry yeast.

The yeast has been working steadily but not as vigorously as dry yeast often does. My house is a bit cold this time of year so the temperature of the fermenter has been hovering around 53 degrees F. The fermentation has been going for about 8 days.

What will be come of this brew: A cold fermented honey ale? I am already dreaming.....