23 December 2007

Dunkel Weizen, step 2

Today for the first time I have departed from a set brew recipe in a significant sort of way.

I transferred the weizen wort into a secondary fermenter (carboy), but before so doing I added 11 oz of liquefied Smoky Mountain sourwood honey into the pot. I've read and forum'ed (I know that's not a word, but hey....) about the honey thing quite a bit and decided to take the plunge to see what happens -- it's all a big experiment, right? My goal is that the honey will give the dormant yeast something more to work on, upping the ABV percentage (had I bottled today, it would have ended up somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.6%). Just how much higher, we'll have to wait and see. The honey should also add some interesting notes to the final bouquet and taste -- it won't make it sweeter, or taste like mead, but it should give the beer a drier palate and add some floral notes. We shall see....

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