Carbonating my Braggot

I made the Crandaddy Braggot recipe out of the Extreme Brewing book. It had a starting SG of 1.104 and a finishing of 1.034. I used Lalvin D47 yeast. The SG has not changed in 2 weeks 1.034. It seems to be done and tastes good. When I bottle it and add priming sugar will the yeast kick back in and carbonate it or do I have to add more fresh yeast?

Recipie?

How long has it been fermenting, total ?

7 Lbs Light Malt Extract
1 oz Hallertau pellet hops
2 lbs Crasins (dried cranberries)
1 tsp Irish Moss
6 lbs Orange Blossom Honey
1 Tsp Pectic Enzyme
5 Tsp Yeast Nutrient (2 Fermed K & 3 DAP)
2 Pks (10 g) Lalvin D47 rehydrated with 12.5 g Go-Ferm in 3/4 cup of water


pitched on 3/13/10 - 6 weeks ago.
racked to secondary on 4/12/10 SP @ 1.034
rack 3rd time today - SG didn't change in the last 2 weeks still 1.034

Technically not a braggot.

However, to answer the question as best as I know how. I would say that since you racked it multiple times the yeast might be done. Then again maybe not it's hard to tell. I would prime it and see.

only 2 weeks between the last two rackings? i would wait longer, you only pitched 6 weeks ago, with all that honey and that yeast strain, it should finish drier than 1.034. (9.n% based on your readings). i don't use software, but i'm sure someone here can tell you what your target should be based on those fermentables.

6 weeks to the bottle is a fairly short turnaround even for a low gravity beer. (unless you follow directions, which i don't).

my opinion is let it sit for about 6 more months or more, rack once or twice in between if you want, but otherwise just forget about it and move on to something else.

the reason i say this is that i hurried a mead into the bottle and got some residual yeast activity and ugly-looking snot-like sediment in an otherwise beautiful, clear mead in transparent bottle (i had been topping up rackings with diluted honey/water mixture along the way, 1.5 years or more bulk conditioning) - i had to 'un-bottle', re-condition, etc.

it was actually cool since it was semi-sparkling when i drank a bottle, but i didn't trust letting them sit around.

I agree it should defiantly be dryer. The last braggot I did started at about 1.098 and finished at about 1.010 using D-47. 18lbs of honey and 10 gal of beer starting at 1.038. If there wasn't enough O2 your yeast can stall out, on the other hand if you have no plans to carbonate, you can leave it as is and bulk age. One thing that can give you an indication is if you transfer to a secondary and fermentation restarts.

Will

1Brotherbill said:

Technically not a braggot.

Click to expand...

What is a braggot, technically?

For it to be a braggot, 1/2 of the fermentables need to come from honey, according to this site. I would say that you are plenty close though. And, to offer another opinion of what to do, I would pitch some fresh yeast for packaging and make sure your gravity is low enough before you bottle. You don't want bombs.

avidhomebrewer said:

For it to be a braggot, 1/2 of the fermentables need to come from honey, according to this site.

Click to expand...

I don't know who appointed the developer of that site as the arbiter of braggots, but I disagree. There is no rule that says 50% of the fermentables must come from honey in order to be a braggot. According to the BJCP style guidelines:

The fermentable sugars come from a balance of malt or malt extract and honey, although the specific balance is open to creative interpretation by brewers.

Click to expand...

A braggot may be hard to define, but I know it when I taste it. I'll be happy to render a verdict on this one - just send over a couple of bottles and I will happily give you my judgment.

Pretty much all that I've read does say that 50% of the gravity should come from honey, even if BJCP style doesn't dictate it.

BJCP doesn't stand for Mead Judge Certification Program after all

Anyhow, that final gravity seems wickedly high and under attenuated. That braggot should be too sweet to drink really...a pound of honey in a gallon of water will give you 1.034 gravity...

I think you might need to get a starter going with some stronger yeast, and re-pitch it to finish this primary off.

OK, I suppose I should disclose my aversion to applying absolute mathematical precision to an artistic endeavor such as this.

Having said that, assuming honey and LME add the same gravity per pound per gallon, this fermented beverage derives 46% (6/13 = 46%) of its gravity from honey. I assume we are not rounding this up to 50%. Still, honey is pretty nearly 100% fermentable. LME is more like, what, 80%? So, only 80% of the 7# of LME, or 5.6#, will ferment out.

If our mathematical definition is "50% of gravity from honey", this is probably not a braggot.

If our definition is "50% of fermentable sugars from honey", this is a braggot.

If our definition is more fluid (heh), well, then, maybe it's a stout. Maybe not.

Anyway, that's all I have, constructive though it may not be.