Commercially Available Braggot??

I like beer, I like mead but to me they are different playing fields.... soooo Braggot sounds interesting as hell yet I'd hate to waste 50$ and a few months brewing up a batch only to find I hate it.

Any recommendations for a commercially sold example so I can give it a test run? Can't say I've ever seen it. Online sales are ok or Denver area, if that helps.

Thanks!

Ha! Therein lies the rub.....

So braggot ? One made like a wine so like a mead that has some malt in it ? Or one made in a more beer-like way, as long as more than 50% of the fermentables are from honey, rather than just a honey beer ?

I know that's splitting hairs, but the most likely reason why its rarely found commercially.

Not forgetting, I'm not sure if its a state level or federal thing about the licensing and having malt in a winery or wine ingredients in a brewery.....something like that anyway.

I understand some places have got round it but dont recall how (lower alcohol or some such method ?)......

I'm thinking more like beer with 50% ferms honey....

Following

A friend of mine's family owns Atlantic Brewing Co. in Bar Harbor Maine. They make a brew called Brother Adam's Bragget Honey Ale that they describe as a barley wine style brewed with Maine honey. This is the only one I know of and not sure it would be considered a true braggot. While I've had a few of their beers I haven't been able to finagle a bottle o bragget yet!

Man, some brewer at Milwaukee Brewfest last year had a commercially available braggot, but by the time I found it, I was a little hammered and I have no idea what it was.

Crabtree Brewing in Greely has offered a Braggot

http://www.crabtreebrewing.com/pages/beers/braggot.html

Take a look on Rate Beer there are a number of commercial braggots reviewed there.

One problem in nailing down an example is that the style definition is VERY broad. Best to try a few diff ones. Generally a balance of malt and honey flavor components is the ideal.

A good braggot is deliciously complex.

Wayne1 said:

Crabtree Brewing in Greely has offered a Braggot

http://www.crabtreebrewing.com/pages/beers/braggot.html

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perfect... road trip!

You guys are right that the broad style category can be a little bit overwhelming to pin down flavors..... but I mainly am concerned with tasty brew

Not a commercial example but I plan on making this one https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f80/autumn-spiced-braggot-82552/

Magic hat made an awesome braggot in a black 750 at one point - very good but not sure if its still available

And if you plan to brew a braggot, there are two basic methods: brewed and blended. I like the blended approach because you get more interesting brews (beer, mead, and braggot) and you can blend to taste.

Anyone try some of the braggot recipies given in The Compleat Meadmaker?

All of his advice was pretty sound, wonder bout the recipes....

Curtis2010 said:

And if you plan to brew a braggot, there are two basic methods: brewed and blended. I like the blended approach because you get more interesting brews (beer, mead, and braggot) and you can blend to taste.

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And FWIW, I made an all Pilsner saison with WLP565 and did a little one-glass mix with a simple wildflower mead I had around. The blend was absolutely perfect. I gotta do that for real alone of these days.

JonM said:

And FWIW, I made an all Pilsner saison with WLP565 and did a little one-glass mix with a simple wildflower mead I had around. The blend was absolutely perfect. I gotta do that for real alone of these days.

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Ratio?

For the blenders out there....

How did you come about your choice of inital brew(s) to use? Proportions? Mead type (dry, semi, sack)?

I'm assuming blend, keg then force carb? Wouldn't bottling be a disaster with the new introduction of that mead sugar..... unless you added super dry of course.

I think it was a 50/50 ratio.

butterpants said:

Ratio?

For the blenders out there....

How did you come about your choice of inital brew(s) to use? Proportions? Mead type (dry, semi, sack)?

I'm assuming blend, keg then force carb? Wouldn't bottling be a disaster with the new introduction of that mead sugar..... unless you added super dry of course.

Click to expand...

Roughly 50/50 adjusted to taste.

In my case, my first braggot was not planned. I had an IPA that I was not happy with and I had some traditional mead (it was a very basic varietal honey mead...handy to have around for blending of melomels too). I had read about braggots and blended up 1 liter just for grins. The result was awesome. Braggots became a favorite of mine and my GF.

The IPA was already force carbed in a keg so no need to carb the blended braggot. I just used my bottle filler to add IPA to a half full liter flip-top bottle of mead...no need to wait...instant gratification. Ferm was complete in both so no issue w a secondary ferm...plus the liter was typically consumed w in the hour anyway.

I have a fully brewed braggot conditioning while we are off travelling. It is under low CO2 pressure in a keg. We've been gone since March....hoping we have something tasty to try when we return.

excellent, thanks for the info

butterpants said:

perfect... road trip!

You guys are right that the broad style category can be a little bit overwhelming to pin down flavors..... but I mainly am concerned with tasty brew

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I've had that one from Crabtree, and it was pretty good. If you see a bottle of their Menage A Trois anywhere, grab it, that stuff was great.

I don't know if you will be able to find it but Weyerbacher 16 is a braggot and a damned good one to boot. It is what inspired me to brew one. I brew up an ESB and a mead (buckwheat honey). Then blend 2 parts beer to 1 part mead. I add the spices to the ESB at the end of the boil so they are not overpowering. Next year I plan on NOT using any priming sugar at bottling. Even the 2 oz I used this year is too much for 8 gallons. I have to open them in the sink and have a glass ready. Way over carbed. My $.02.
Cheers
Kev

TANSTAAFB said:

A friend of mine's family owns Atlantic Brewing Co. in Bar Harbor Maine. They make a brew called Brother Adam's Bragget Honey Ale that they describe as a barley wine style brewed with Maine honey. This is the only one I know of and not sure it would be considered a true braggot. While I've had a few of their beers I haven't been able to finagle a bottle o bragget yet!

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Can you please have them deliver some Coal Porter to blanchards on harvard st Allston MA! (great beer there)

Heres the big issue as to why there is a major limit on commercial braggots. You need to have a beer licen$$$e to have any grain on your wine property. You can however use hops without additional licenses. You will see a lot more hopped meads than meads with malt because of the licensing costs for one single type of mead.

Dogfish Head makes Beewolf Braggot
Their Chateau Jiahu is arguably a braggot.

Glad i found this thread! A buddy of mine called his recent brew a braggot and his explanation made sense but, after reading this thread, it makes even MORE sense!!

If anyone ever comes to Austin, i may have a sample of our own braggot!

base beer he used was a vanilla smoked porter(his own, which i loved) and added a ****e ton of ingredients*(honey included) to make it a braggot.

havent had it yet but hes sitting on a case of 22oz bottles for me.

now im super excited to try it!

and sorry in advance for "necro" ing the thread.