Adding Honey and Brown sugar to graff!

I'm going to make some graff, but I don't want to make it the same as I did last time. What do yall think about adding 1.5lbs of piloncillo http://www.saucenspice.com/product_images/k/363/Goya-Piloncillo__27815_zoom.jpg and 1 lb of white honey?

Thoughts?

The honey will help dry it out, you won't taste much honey in there. If you want honey flavor then mash in a bit of gambrinus (1-2 oz. per gallon is a good ratio), or you can use some 10L crystal. The honey flavor is faint, but it is there.

That brown sugar cane ought to add some crazy flavors, but it should be nice.

Also, every fermentation I ever added honey to went slooooooow. Just FYI.

Honey is nutrient deficient, which is why it ferments so slowly.

I think using that recipe you will get a very thin, dried out graff because the sugar will dry out, the honey will dry out and the cider will dry out. I suppose you could stop fermentation to keep some body and sweetness though...

If you're looking for something different, try mixing up the specialty malts. I made one with (among other things) aromatic, special B and biscuit malt. It is amazing.

Thanks for the replies guys. Yes, I know that the sugars will dry it out, but I'm planning on back-sweetening with a couple of frozen apple concentrates when I throw it in the keg. I think I will skip the honey and use only the piloncillo.

I think the piloncillo will have some nice flavors left over. Maybe a maple flavor, or some caramel.

Back-sweetening will add sugars, sure, but will you be happy with the body? That's one of the differences between cider and graff. The malt technique will leave more unfermentables, so it should give a bit more -- I call it "roundness", I don't know what the official word for it is -- to the palate.

Seriously, though, that is a sweet ingredient. You get kudo's just for using it, and it sounds really cool just saying it. "Here, try some of my piloncillo graff." Nice.