Orange blossom honey is not readily available in my area. I’m brewing a Belgian Honey Ale and thinking of substituting with local honey made from who knows what. The recipe has orange peel and coriander in it. While the finished beer may differ in taste than the original recipe, would adding more orange peel counterbalance the different honey? What kind of taste difference should I expect from the honey substitute?
Orange blossom honey has no orange flavors. It does have the faint aroma of orange blossom that might carry over to your beer, but its not likely. I would not worry about the type of honey used in beer since its typically boiled and any aromatics are likely lost.
Fresher is always better, IMHO. I’d go with the local honey with as many bee legs and armpits as possible. 8)
and add it in the last 5min to carry over as much honey flavor as possible.
Citrus blossom honey is light in color and mild in flavor. Look for a simularly colored and flavored honey as a substitute. The floral source is not overly important, as long as the honey tastes like what you want to add to your beer. A dark strong flavored honey will not add the honey characteristics you desire for your beer.
Since you’re putting orange in it anyway, and loving local honey, I’d go with your local source, sans legs and armpits though ;) and some fresh orange peel for the most aromatics.
it’s all about the legs and armpits! that’s how you know the honey is good! plus it adds nutrients that the yeast really like. (seriously it adds nutrients and unless they apists are very patient they would have to heat the honey to get the legs and armpits out so your unfiltered honey is more flavourful)
I am a beekeeper and a meadmaker. I don’t heat my honey. My honey occasionally has small bits of beeswax in it, but no bee legs or armpits. I am very careful when I work my hives. Killing my girls through clumsiness or neglegence is not acceptable. It makes me sad when they sting, because they die when they sting. I don’t get stung very often. I often work around the hives with no special gear on.
Most of my honey is made into mead. That’s the original reason I started beekeeping. Now I do it because I enjoy it so much. My girls keep me in tune with the rhythm of the seasons.
Bee pollen makes good yeast nutient for mead.
Nice!
What kind of honey do they make?
Their honey is from whichever plants are in bloom at the time. My home is near several thousands of acres of macadamia trees. So that is one type. The two other big nectar flows are lehua (the flower of an endemic Hawaiian tree, the ohia), and the albizia tree, a nasty invasive species that makes very nice honey. I tried moving my hives to the other side of the island for the kiawe bloom (Hawaiian mesquite), but it was more trouble than it was worth, so the girls stay close to home now.
The rest of the time is pretty much tropical wildflowers. I usually leave that honey in the hive for the girls to eat. It never gets cooler than the mid 50s here at my elevation, so there is no over-wintering to contend with.