First Braggot- recipe help needed

In April I'l be brewing my first braggot. I've brewed a few beers, but only one mead so far, so I've got a few questions. Here's my recipe plan so far.

4 pounds honey (what kind depends on what the Farmer's Market has)
3.3 pounds pale LME
1/2 pound Honey Malt
1/4 pound Crystal 40L
1/4 pound Biscuit malt

1 oz Amarillo hops, 60 minutes
1/2 oz Willamette hops, 15 minutes
1/2 oz Willamette hops, 1 minute

How does this sound so far?
What yeast would you recommend using?
How long do you think this will need to ferment?

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For it to be a braggot, 51% of the fermentable sugar has to come from honey. 4lbs of honey vs 3.3lbs of DME plus grains...I think you might be tipping the scales towards 'honey fortified beer' right now.

but the concept is sound...figure out a beer style, and throw honey at it until it qualifies as a braggot. Hops are optional...depends on if you want it hopped and/or if you think it'll need hops to balance residual sweetness. If you ferment dry, the hops can be really dominating.

The more I think about this, the more I think I want to make a heavy braggot. What about 6 pounds lme, same amount of specialty grains as above, and 9 pounds honey (this is based in part on the braggot recipe in Compleat Meadmaker)?

I like the hops that I've got picked out right now, I think. I was thinking an American Ale yeast, and throw some yeast nutrient and energizer in to get it up around 11& abv.

Thoughts?

With your updates, it's more in the style...

For the braggot style, usually up to 2/3 of the fermentables comes from honey. You usually won't see anything less than ~50% recognized as a braggot. You're on the leaner side for honey, but far enough in (~56%) to not need to worry too much.

I would focus more on the flavors you're going after on this one.. Keep in mind, as the recipe stands your OG should be about 1.106, with a FG around 1.027. In the mid 10% ABV range, so make sure you pick a yeast that can handle at least 10-12% ABV. Wyeast #1728 Scottish ale fits the bill there, as one option...

I would use some nutrient in the boil, and maybe even include some DAP (often used in making mead) to help the yeast along. I would plan to make a really good sized starter for this one. You'll want 372 billion yeast cells for that brew... Mr. Malty puts that at a 5qt starter if you use intermittent shaking/swirling. If you have a stir plate, you can get away with a 3.33qt starter... For something THAT big, I'd do it... Or reserve enough of a yeast cake to get the cell count you want/need.

I plugged this into Brewtarget and the pitch rate for an OG of 1.106 is 3.6 vials/smack packs! I think a big starter will save you from buying multiple vials (and at $6-8 each that could get expensive!) I love mead and beer and am looking forward to making my first braggot. Good luck!

This is getting interesting, I love Braggot!

This is an interesting recipe too. A FG of 1.027 is pretty darn sweet, I think the hops will really help a lot to keep it from being too sweet, but if my calculations are correct it'll only put you at about 10 IBU's. Is that normal?

I would not use any liquid mead yeasts on this. I would still probably go with a wine yeast like d-47 or 71-b or whatever schramm's yeast guide in the book said it good for braggots.

if you do use an ale yeast just make sure it can attenuate, and I'd make a big starter in any event for the high gravity brew.

commonsenseman said:

This is getting interesting, I love Braggot!

This is an interesting recipe too. A FG of 1.027 is pretty darn sweet, I think the hops will really help a lot to keep it from being too sweet, but if my calculations are correct it'll only put you at about 10 IBU's. Is that normal?

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I have no idea what "normal" is. I've actually never had a braggot, and am just making this up as I go because it sounds good.

Are you doing these calculations on your own, or do you have a program/website that you use?

RedGuitar said:

I have no idea what "normal" is. I've actually never had a braggot, and am just making this up as I go because it sounds good.

Are you doing these calculations on your own, or do you have a program/website that you use?

Click to expand...

Yeah, I suppose "normal" is relative, how about "traditional"?

Here's the site I used to calculate it.

I don't see 1.027 as being 'pretty darn sweet' depending on what it's in. If you balance the brew side of the braggot properly, it will be fine.

For reference, I have an old ale that finished at 1.028. With what's in the brew, it balanced out pretty well. I had under 40 IBU in the brew too, so there wasn't a lot of bitterness to it (couldn't detect any bitter flavor)... Of course, at over 8% ABV, things get different.

For the braggot, I think if you make sure to properly balance both sides of the brew, you'll get something great.

Just be sure to pick a strong yeast for the beer aspect, then a solid wine yeast to finish it if needed.

Personally, I'd probably make my first one that has a target ABV that's within the range for a strong ale yeast (like 1728). After making your first, and seeing how it actually comes out, you can adjust the recipe for the next one. I'll be doing something similar for my first barleywine... First one will be in the 10% ABV area. The one after that will probably be a higher ABV neighborhood...

With half of this recipe being honey, I don't think it will be too sweet. My understanding is that honey ferments fairly dry. Still, I think I might add a little bit more hops.

Any suggestions for the size yeast starter I should go with?