2nd fermentation using honey

tomstocker

I'm nearly ready to transfer 40 pints of Woodfordes Sundew into a 5 gallon pressure barrel. I'm thinking of using honey for the 2nd fermentation and would like a few guidelines, mainly how much to use.  I've already added dried elderflowers into the initial process as I tried a Festival kit which had been added to and really liked the peachy undertones, (my opinion ).  Thanks HBO for any suggestions.

HBO_Staff

You can add honey to it, any sugars in the honey will ferment and produce some carbonation, and the honey itself will add flavour. Sometimes people add honey at the initial fermentation stage, but it is trial and error to see how much to add for flavour. You may need to add some additional sugar to ensure it secondary ferments and produces pressure within the barrel. You would usually prime the barrel with say 80 to 100g of sugar, so if using honey it is guesswork, perhaps use 100g of honey and 50g of priming sugar, or something similar. Adding flavour to your brew with elderflowers is a nice touch, it's great to adapt them to your personal preference and experiment!

tomstocker

Thanks for your advice. I agree with you, it's great to personalise the brew and experiment with it. That's what I love about HBO and home brewing, sharing ideas and getting excited about planning the next brew. I'll let you know how it turns out. Cheers

HBO_Staff

We'd love to hear how it turns out, please let us know!