Mixing honey and water

[CosmicCharlie]

I don’t like to boil honey, so I usually add honey to lukewarm water and stir (keep in mind I make 1 gal. batches). But there may be an issue with the honey dissolving. So, last time I heated the water, let it cool a little (I don’t know temps at this point), then added honey and mixed. When its in my glass primary, I can read the temp, so when its cool enough I pitch the yeast. But, I had to let it sit for quite a while before it was cool enough.

Does anyone have a better method of mixing honey and water?

 

[Aggie4You]

Have you ever considered something like the Wine CO2 remover that can be seen here http://www.leeners.com/equipment.html?

Add your water and honey to the carboy and got to town with a drill... The honey gets dissolved and the must gets aerated all in one nice little step. I haven't actually ordered one (yet) so I can't say it would be appropriate for the task, but I don't see why it wouldn't.

 

[CosmicCharlie]

I wasn't familiar with such a product - looks interesting. BTW, what kind of Aggie are you?

 

[Aggie4You]

I wasn't familiar with such a product - looks interesting. BTW, what kind of Aggie are you?

"Fightin' Texas Aggie class of Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Nine" Whoop!

 

[Jmattioli]

Hey Charlie,
Your method works great for me. No need to get too fancy. Honey dissolves great in warm water and... Whose in a hurry anyway?
Joe

 

[Talon]

That wine CO2 remover is exactly the kind I have which I use to aerate my 3, 5 and 6 gallon musts after they're mixed.

I absolutley love it! And my wife gets a good kick out of watching me use it as I grunt like Tim Allen.

Talon.

 

[ScottS]

I have heard of people (Schramm?) attaching a paint stirrer to an electric drill and using that to stir. Low effort, for sure. And a heck of a lot faster than I can do by hand.

I just use a 18" stainless steel spoon and stir the heck out of it. Sure, it takes a bit of effort, but I can dissolve a gallon of honey in cool tap water in about 3-5 minutes. Not a big deal.

 

[CosmicCharlie]

I would also shake up the honey water to work some O2 back into it, after it cooled.

Aggie, we may have crossed paths on Northgate. Gig 'em!

 

[Aggie4You]

Gig 'em right back atcha...

I actually managed to make it down last weekend for the football game against Tech... awesome game... horrendous officiating... we still managed to win.

Oh, and Freebirds and the Somerville steakhouse are just as good as ever.

What class are you?

 

[CosmicCharlie]

I miss Freebirds - and Laynes...and Dudley's. I was a grad student there; finished in 2003, but it took me 7 years to complete my PhD.

 

[Dan McFeeley]

I wouldn't use a paint stirrer for the drill -- better to cut off the smaller end of a long plastic stirrer used in winemaking, and then put that into the drill chuck.

Honey is supposed to become liquidey at a temperature of 110 degrees F, but I've been able to mix honey and water and much lower temperatures, even luke warm water, poured right out of the bottle. I'll simply put the honey in the stock pot, add a gallon or so of water and stir away by hand. It's not too difficult and doesn't take long. Once the honey water is mixed, I add it to a 6 gallon plastic bucket and mix up the final batch of honey must.