Planning a Bourbon Barrel Braggot

KrisPaulk77 · 08-01-2011, 07:08 AM

Hello all. As the title suggests, I'm in the planning phase of a pretty big braggot that I plan on aging in my 2nd use bourbon barrel. The barrel currently has a collaborative, blended Imperial Stout sitting in it. (The stout is tasting dee-lish by the way). I was hoping to get a little feedback, thoughts, yea's, nays, etc from the good folk on these forums.

The barrel is just over 10 gallons. I don't have the capacity to brew 10 gallon batches, so I'm planning 2 5+ gallon identical batches and blending them back in the barrel for secondary. I've brewed 4 or 5 braggots before, and they've all turned out pretty good, so I'm fairly content with my recipe. I do have a couple of sticking points though.
A.) Which yeast to use - Either D47 or Nottingham
B.) Maple Syrup - I had considered adding a portion of maple syrup back to the fermented beer just to add some depth.

Here's the recipe. Feel free to offer suggestions, etc...
8lbs Two Row
1lb Munich
1lb CaraPils
.5lbs Crystal 40L
.5lbs Dark Crystal
7 - 8lbs honey
1oz Warrior @ 60 (16.5% AA)
1oz Cascade @ 20 (6.6% AA)

I'm shooting for a big, decadent sipper. On par with a nice barleywine and capable of being aged for a while. How does the recipe look? Thoughts?

Cheers and Thanks in advance for the responses.

KrisPaulk77 · 08-02-2011, 06:28 AM

*bump*
Anybody?

commonsenseman · 08-02-2011, 02:12 PM

Disclaimer: I'm by no means a Braggot expert, but I do love Braggot!

The IBU's are a little low for an English Style Barleywine, my calculations put them at under 50. No problem if that's how you like it, but I'm guessing they'll be hardly noticeable after some aging.

Otherwise, it looks like something I'd really enjoy. (12% ABV, holy crap!)

I would go with the Notty myself, as it should make it a little more "beer-like" & hopefully attenuate a little less. What yeast have you used in the past?

My main concern with adding the Maple Syrup post-fermentation is that if the yeast has already reached it's tolerance, you may have some trouble getting it to bottle carbonate. Perhaps subbing some Maple Syrup for honey would give you what you want?

All that being said, it sounds like you've had this recipe & already know you like it. Maybe you know best what to do?

roadymi · 08-03-2011, 12:12 AM

is that grain bill for a five gallon batch or ten gallon?

KrisPaulk77 · 08-03-2011, 12:34 AM

@ commonsenseman - I'm not a braggot expert either. I love drinking them though...

As for the recipe, yeah, I'm shooting big. I've worked several different brews up to comparable alcohol levels and they've all turned out pretty good. This braggot would be the most volume of high ABV stuff I've yet to make though. Thanks for your suggestion on the yeast. I was strongly considering the Notty. Ken Schram stated D47 for his Hefty Braggot, which is why I considered it. I've used both yeasts in the past on different braggots and have had success with both. The recipe is untested, just something I worked out.The Maple is the dark horse in this race. I've never used it in brewing before, but from a lot of reading, it takes a ton to be noticible. I considered using it post fermentation to retain as much of the maple flavor as possible.

@roadymi - The recipe listed is for 5 gallons. I'll have to do 2 seperate batches to get my 10+ gallons.

commonsenseman · 08-03-2011, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KrisPaulk77

@ commonsenseman - I'm not a braggot expert either. I love drinking them though...

As for the recipe, yeah, I'm shooting big. I've worked several different brews up to comparable alcohol levels and they've all turned out pretty good. This braggot would be the most volume of high ABV stuff I've yet to make though. Thanks for your suggestion on the yeast. I was strongly considering the Notty. Ken Schram stated D47 for his Hefty Braggot, which is why I considered it. I've used both yeasts in the past on different braggots and have had success with both. The recipe is untested, just something I worked out.The Maple is the dark horse in this race. I've never used it in brewing before, but from a lot of reading, it takes a ton to be noticible. I considered using it post fermentation to retain as much of the maple flavor as possible.

Well, if you've had luck with both of those yeast strains at these alcohol levels, who am I to tell you it won't work?

The main concern I would have if changing something that major (maple syrup) on such a large recipe, but hey you never know until you try it. If you're force carbing I'd say definitely go for it, if bottle carbing I'd say it's a little bit of a risk. If you do end up killing the yeast off in that high-alcohol environment, you'll have one heck of a time getting them to carb it. Notty does have a reputation for being a "go-getter", perhaps they'll do better than I expect. I suppose worst case scenario, you'll have to pitch a new, highly alcohol tolerant strain of yeast a bottling time.

KrisPaulk77 · 08-03-2011, 07:56 PM

Right. I reckon I'm just having second thoughts on the D47 due to a recent stopped ferment on a sasafrass mead I just did. It was a dead stop. Vigorous initial fermentation, then blam. Nada. I tried several techniques and nothing. Just left it as it and racked to secondary. It should be fine though, sweet and rich, so it's all good.
I repitched some champagne yeast to bottle carb a cherry braggot earlier this year. It was almost 14%abv, but pretty darn cloying, so I blended it with some dry mead and bottled it. It's got some age on it as well. The last test bottle I tried was almost where it needed to be carbonation-wise.
So, in regards to our ongoing thread chatter, in a round about way, I think I'm gonna go with Notty. All my reading on it indicates what you said. It's a "go-getter". I've had good experiences with it, and it should leave some residual sweetness.
I'm still on the fence about the maple syrup though. I'm just going to have to do some more reading on the forums and look at other's experiences using maple syrup.