I am wanting to make the Rocky Racoon Honey Lager found in the recent edition of Zymurgy. The extract version says to add the honey at the beginning of the boil. The all-grain recipe states in bold type “DO NOT BOIL HONEY” and the honey is added at the end of the boil. Why the difference? I am looking to do the extract recipe, but I am confused after reading not to boil the honey. Thoughts???
Hi there, I posed your question to Charlie, and here’s what he told me:
I was trying to stay true to the original recipe [in the extract version], which was very successful for many homebrewers. No honey aromas or flavors to speak of: a dry, well-attenuated beer that offered a great crisp beer with balance generally absent of honey aromas.
The all-grain is a modern version, which preserves some of the honey character—the end beer would have some honey aromas and flavors.
Why not try brewing it both ways and see which one you like better? Maybe start with the original extract recipe as it’s written, with the honey added at the beginning of the boil. Then brew it again with the late honey addition. Or, if you have two brew pots, you could always split the batch and brew them at the same time.
Happy brewing!
Thanks for the info, Dave, and clearing up the confusion. We’ll try it extract but without boiling the honey as we want some honey flavor. 