If you have brewed a few batches already and want to try Honey Ale, this is a straightforward, all-grain route to it. The backbone is Pale malt, with Challenger 7% doing most of the work in the boil.
Recipe at a Glance
Recipe at a Glance
| Style | Honey Ale |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.044-1.058 |
| Final Gravity | 1.008-1.014 |
| ABV | 4.5-6.0% |
| IBU | 10-25 |
| SRM | 4-12 (varies with the fruit/spice) |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
Brew Day, Step by Step
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1
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Mash · ~60 min Mash the grain bill, led by Pale malt, at a steady temperature to build the fermentable sugars this style needs. Sparge slowly so you do not lose efficiency. |
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2
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Boil · ~60-90 min Bring the wort to a boil and work through the hop schedule, starting with Challenger 7%. This is also where you will add any fining agent for a clearer finished beer. |
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3
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Ferment · 18C (64F) Pitch Danstar Nottingham Dry Ale once the wort has cooled to fermentation temperature and hold it steady. Primary fermentation is the most active week, do not rush it. |
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4
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Condition · 4 weeks at 12C (54F) Rack to secondary (or leave in primary if your recipe calls for it) and let the beer round out at a cool, steady temperature. This step does more for the final flavor than people expect. |
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5
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Package · 1 day, then wait Bottle or keg once gravity has held steady for a few days in a row. Give it time to carbonate and, for bigger styles, additional time to mellow before your first taste. |
That’s the shape of brew day and the weeks after it. For the exact grain bill, hop schedule, and full step-by-step instructions with amounts, use the recipe card below.
What You Will Need
Sourcing your own ingredients locally is always fine, but if you want to skip a homebrew store trip, here is what’s in stock in our shop right now:
- Base and specialty grain: Grains & Adjuncts (e.g. Briess BJ-5U8M-8RRM Chocolate Malt 1 lb., Brown)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Magnum Hop Pellets 1 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. Safbrew T-58 (3 Count 11.5 g Packs))
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. FASTFERMENT Floor Stand for FastFerment 7.9 Gallon Conical Fermenter)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Mr Beer Homebrewing Carbonation Drops)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Monster Brew Home Brewing Supplies Home Brew Ohio Complete Beer Equi)
- Pour it right when it’s ready: a tulip glass shows off the color and holds the aroma better than a straight pint glass
Serve It Right
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A Honey Ale is best served in a tulip or pint, it fits the body and carbonation of this style better than a straight pint glass. Here is one from our shop: |
Ingredients & Gear for This Batch
Grain / Adjuncts |
Hops |
Yeast |
Fermenter |
Priming Sugar |
Equipment |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Honey Ale
Equipment
- 1 Large pot or kettle
- 1 Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Fermentation vessel (e.g. carboy or bucket)
- 1 Airlock and stopper for the fermentation vessel
- 1 Hydrometer (for measuring specific gravity)
- 1 Bottles or kegs for carbonating and storing the beer
- 1 Auto-siphon or tubing for transferring the beer between vessels
- 1 Bottle capper or kegging equipment (depending on how you plan to package the beer)
- 1 Sanitizer (e.g. Star San) for sanitizing all equipment and surfaces during the brewing process.
Ingredients
For the Mash – Liquor 12.5 Litres (22 Pints) – Mash Time 1 hr – Temperature 65°C (149°F)
- 10 lb Pale malt Quantity 4.5 kg
- 12 oz Biscuit malt Quantity 350 g
- 9 oz Medium crystal malt Quantity 250 g
For the Boil – 24 Litres (47 1/2 Pints) – Boil Time 1 hr – 15 mins
- 1/2 oz (Hops) Challenger 7% When to add – At start of boil (IBU 9.6)
- 1/4 oz (Hops) Target 10.5% When to add – For last 1 min of boil (IBU 0.4)
- 1 tsp Protofloc Other -When to add -For last 15 min of boil
- 500 g Honey Other – When to add – For last 5 min of boil
To Ferment -18°C (64°F) – Conditioning 4 weeks at 12°C (54°F)
- 1 Danstar Nottingham Dry Ale Yeast
Instructions
- In a large pot or kettle, bring 12.5 liters (22 pints) of water to a temperature of 65°C (149°F). Add 10 lbs of Pale malt, 12 oz of Biscuit malt, and 9 oz of Medium crystal malt to the pot and stir well.
- Maintain the mash temperature at 65°C (149°F) for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- After 1 hour, remove the pot from heat and strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a separate container. This liquid is called the wort.
- In a large pot or kettle, bring 24 liters (47.5 pints) of water to a boil. Add 1/2 oz of Challenger 7% hops to the pot and let it boil for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour of boiling, add 1/4 oz of Target 10.5% hops and 1 tsp of Protofloc to the pot and let it boil for an additional 15 minutes.
- Add 500g of honey to the pot and let it boil for the last 5 minutes.
- After the boil is complete, remove the pot from heat and let the wort cool to 18°C (64°F).
- Transfer the cooled wort to a clean, sanitized fermentation vessel and add 1 packet of Danstar Nottingham Dry Ale Yeast.
- Seal the vessel with an airlock and let the beer ferment for approximately 2 weeks at a temperature of 18°C (64°F).
- After fermentation is complete, transfer the beer to a clean, sanitized secondary fermentation vessel and let it condition for 4 weeks at a temperature of 12°C (54°F).
- After conditioning is complete, transfer the beer to clean, sanitized bottles or kegs and carbonate as desired.
- The beer is now ready to drink! Enjoy your delicious Honey Ale.
Get the fermentation temperature right on Honey Ale and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Honey Ale the Style It Is
Honey Ale sits in a well-established style family, and the version most homebrewers land on today reflects decades of small adjustments by brewers chasing balance rather than novelty.
Expect a beer that leans on pale malt and challenger 7% once it is finished conditioning. Danstar Nottingham Dry Ale is the yeast strain behind that profile, so keep an eye on your fermentation temperature.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 4.5-6.0%
- Bitterness: 10-25 IBU
- Color: 4-12 (varies with the fruit/spice)
- Serving temp: 45-50F (7-10C)
- Glassware: a tulip or pint
- Food pairings: light desserts, soft cheese, fruit salads
Common Questions
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, the grain bill and hop schedule scale linearly with batch size. Just make sure your equipment, mash tun and boil kettle both, can actually handle the volume you are scaling to.
What is the biggest mistake homebrewers make with this style?
Rushing the schedule. Pulling a beer off yeast too early or skipping conditioning time is the most common way to shortchange a recipe like this one.
Can I substitute a different yeast strain?
You can, but expect the flavor profile to shift. Stick close to the same yeast family (English ale, American ale, Belgian, lager, etc.) if you want a result close to what this recipe is aiming for.
Keep Exploring
Once you have this one down, here are a few more homebrew recipes worth trying next:
Browse the full homebrew recipe collection for more styles, or if you are just getting into the hobby, start with one of our homebrewing starter kits for new brewers.
This recipe is for adults of legal drinking age. Please brew and drink responsibly, and always sanitize your equipment thoroughly to avoid infection.
