Leap Year 2012?

I've been reading the leap year thread that started 2008, and am a bit envious of everyone who will be enjoying the reward of 4 years of patience and very much want to do this myself.

I didn't see any threads started about this leap year, and I am sorry if this is a re-post.

Last Leap year's mead was a Vanilla Metheglin... that sounds really tasty, but I already have one going for next New Year's Eve and I'd like to do something else. Not quite sure what, something relatively simple but still interesting..

Does anyone have any ideas, or want to join me?

I'm always trying to find a good excuse to use some cardamom in my meads...

I would be down for a leap year mead but keep the cardamom the hell away!

Yeah, not sure I am feeling the cardamom myself. Citrus could be nice. Sort of at a loss, I have 4 gallons of different types going right now and another 2 planned, wanting to do something different but just not sure.

I suppose, we could do different meads, but the idea of everyone making the same recipe is pretty neat as well.

I might be interested, if it was unique enough to warrant special treatment. As for what to use -- I've only done 2 batches so far, so most everything is going to be new to me.

I like the idea and if the recipe sounds good if might join in, but I doubt if would leave it the full 4 years... Maybe just a bottle or two...

I'm game. I suggest either a strong traditional or a metheglin. Something that needs at least a couple years to mature well. I'd suggest avoiding fruit since many would be past prime in 4 years.

I'd like to do a lavender mead since Schram speaks highly of it, but would understand if people don't like that one.

We could each add in other spices to compliment at will (not dominate).

I'd start mine on leap day as a traditional, then add fresh lavender in the summer.

lawpaw said:

I'm game. I suggest either a strong traditional or a metheglin. Something that needs at least a couple years to mature well. I'd suggest avoiding fruit since many would be past prime in 4 years.

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I agree, especially about a metheglin. Most fruit meads would be past their prime in 4 years.

I'm already planning on making several long-aged brews on Leap Day, and would be interested in adding another mead...

+1 on the metheglin. I'll have to wait until I get home, and ask the SO how he feels about lavender, but it could be interesting. I know he'd like the idea of a dry hopped mead or braggot as well. I've been looking around for recipes, but I'll keep looking. :fro:


Edit- I was browsing recipes on gotmead.com, and found this ginger lemon metheglin recipe that sounds quite tasty- http://www.gotmead.com/index.php?option=com_rapidrecipe&page=viewrecipe&recipe_id=193&Itemid=459

Sorry to keep bumping this, I work realllyyyy long days in front of a computer and end up with a lot of free time, haha.

Found some other ideas that sound tasty.... Acerglyn, Tej, Ginger Lemon, Black Mead, or Braggot. Maybe the Lavender, still not 100% sold on it but the long aging might make it quite nice. Some of the Tej recipes I've seen on this site sound pretty interesting, though some of the ingredients would probably need to be ordered.

turtlescales said:

Got Mead - Mead (honeywine) making, mead drinking, mead recipes - Lemon-Ginger Metheglin - J.M.[/url]

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Looks like a good beginning point... My opinions are:

Someone will have to convince me to put bread into a mead in place of nutrient... I often put in raisins and tea... but bread?? If this were a sour, I could understand...

1.088 is pretty low for a mead that's designed to age 4 years. I make meads with an og of 1.140 that taste awesome after 1-2 years (ec-1118). I'm flexible, but I'd prefer something in the 1.12+ range... remember, 4 years is a long time.

The amount of spices seems low to me (I’m familiar with lemon and ginger, not with mace or rosemary). I'd expect the linked brew to be tasty in 6 months (it seems to have won awards less than a year after brewing). For a 4-year brew, I'd want quite a bit “more” (spices and og).

Remember – my opinion is worth 20% less than you paid for it.

You are right as to the starting point bit, I don't understand the bread thing myself. Aside from maybe, bored mazer wondering "will this work?" The other ideas are worth exploring as well, and the Tej is really intriguing. Acerglyn sounds great too, then again maple syrup isn't exactly cheap.

How about a bochet? That should improve with time.

I think that's a great idea - but I'm afraid several people would burn their house down....

+1 on the Bochet, I need to do that anyway. A chocolate bochet would take years to mature. Could also do a Bochet metheglin, but I'm not sure what kind of spices would compliment carmelized honey.

I would be interested in Acerglyn.

I also like the idea of people doing different meads so that we have a broader idea of how meads age over 4 years.

Also makes it more interesting to compare if any of us want to swap meads.

braggot!!!

lawpaw said:

+1 on the Bochet, I need to do that anyway. A chocolate bochet would take years to mature. Could also do a Bochet metheglin, but I'm not sure what kind of spices would compliment carmelized honey.

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chocolate bochet? how will you do that pray tell? will you add it while the honey is boiling or will you add it in the fermenter? what kind of chocolate? powder, bean or bar? milk or dark? eating or baking? what brand of chocolate?

Subscribed: I'd be interested in this project.

lawpaw, I think that is a great idea. Comparing notes and exchanging bottles sounds awesome. Of course, that would mean I'd have to put together more than just the single gallon I had planned on....

I've got a gallon of bochet going already, stuff is going to be great I am sure. I cooked mine up inside, and did it the same way I make caramels but with a much larger pot. I have an electric range, I cooked mine at medium heat and pulled up a barstool next to the oven and hung out for a couple hours stirring. Just have to watch it is all, I didn't have any problems.

Hmmm, was concidering a Bochet anyway...

Bowow0708 said:

chocolate bochet? how will you do that pray tell? will you add it while the honey is boiling or will you add it in the fermenter? what kind of chocolate? powder, bean or bar? milk or dark? eating or baking? what brand of chocolate?

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No, I would add it in the secondary (after racking off gross lees).

I plan on using powder, many use beans or the wafers.

My plan is to Carmelize meadowfoam honey for 1 hour (not completely carmelize), ferment till the yeast poops out, cold crash to compact lees, rack onto chocolate powder, age for 6 months on chocolate and fine lees (swirling every week).

Age, age, age.

I think the marshmallowy flavor of the meadowfoam and chocolate will go well. Considering steeping .5 lbs of biscuit and .3 lbs Special B in the water used (prior to adding to honey), to make it a smoreish bochet. Age on some heavy toast oak?

Ghirardelli dark chocolate powder. I guess I didn't answer what kind.

That Bochet recipe sounds amazing. I actually ended up borrowing a pot from a friend, I don't think she'll lend it to me again for more burned honey anytime soon. Cleaning it was a beast, and it took tiny bits of the finish off the bottom to get all the char off. Gonna be buying her lunch at work for awhile to assuage the guilt.

Found a bottle of Pear and Lavender Mead made by Rohan Meadery, will give that a go and see if I like the lavender. Otherwise, I think I am leaning more towards an acerglyn or a braggot for my own batch. To the people who chimed in on those options, any ideas for recipes?

I'm liking the idea of that bochet, sounds very interesting. how crucial would the meadow foam be? I've got a lot of Michigan wildflower on hand.

Not crucial for a bochet at all. I only chose meadowfoam because it is very marshmallowy when heated, so I thought it would go well with some chocolate.

Considering throwing in some buckwheat instead of steeped grains for a "malty" flavor. My buckwheat isn't very grainy tasting, but it is rich like molasses and that could be as good.

lawpaw said:

Considering throwing in some buckwheat instead of steeped grains for a "malty" flavor. My buckwheat isn't very grainy tasting, but it is rich like molasses and that could be as good.

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I am going to have to come up with something good, so I can convince you to do a trade with me 4 years from now... (wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

I cracked my bottle of Pear Lavender Mead, and this stuff is excellent. The lavender flavor is very subtle and rolls of your tongue and the pear adds light fruitiness, but doesn't overpower the honey. Of the meads I have tried, though as of yet all commercial, I think I like this one best. If I don't end up making Lavender Metheglin for Leap Day, it is definitely on the list. I wonder if a lavender braggot would be good, but I haven't tried braggot so am uncertain.

lawpaw said:

Not crucial for a bochet at all. I only chose meadowfoam because it is very marshmallowy when heated, so I thought it would go well with some chocolate.

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Meadowfoam is one of my favorite honeys. I've used it with cocoa nibs and really liked the combination, but I'm not sure about using it in a Bochet. I haven't made one yet, but I wonder if you'd lose those wonderfully unique flavors after a couple hours of boiling.

turtlescales said:

I just made my first bochet about a week ago, the honey changed dramatically over the course of cooking. I cooked it for just over 2 hours on medium heat on my stove (3.5 pounds of clover honey) and the end result tasted nothing like the beginning.

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BTW - I like the idea of a leap year bochet.

lawpaw said:

A chocolate bochet would take years to mature.

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This sounds very, very good...a regular cocoa mead will take at least 2 years to come into it's own (if not just to clarify and be ready for bottling...) and does usually require some residual sweetness to really get the cocoa to pop...and a bochet usually has some built-in residual sweetness which could render backsweetening unnecessary... I've been thinking about making another chocolate mead, and another bochet anyway...why not combine the ideas?!

lawpaw said:

No, I would add it in the secondary (after racking off gross lees).

I plan on using powder, many use beans or the wafers.

My plan is to Carmelize meadowfoam honey for 1 hour (not completely carmelize), ferment till the yeast poops out, cold crash to compact lees, rack onto chocolate powder, age for 6 months on chocolate and fine lees (swirling every week).

Age, age, age.

I think the marshmallowy flavor of the meadowfoam and chocolate will go well. Considering steeping .5 lbs of biscuit and .3 lbs Special B in the water used (prior to adding to honey), to make it a smoreish bochet. Age on some heavy toast oak?

Click to expand...

All respect to lawpaw...good luck getting cocoa powder to dissolve in room temp mead...better be prepared to stir for a while, and hopefully even have a drill-powered mixer/degassing wand. If that's the way you want to go, you're probably better off using cocoa nibs for that technique. When I've done cocoa mead in the past, I dissolve the powder in a warmed honey/water mix then add more water to bring up to volume.

Also, I think just about any honey is good for a bochet...I made mine using cheap clover honey from Sam's Club, and it came out awesome. I suppose if I had ready, inexpensive access to a varietal honey like meadowfoam, I'd try it, but if I'm getting enough meadowfoam honey to make a mead, I'm making a straight varietal mead!

GinKings said:

Meadowfoam is one of my favorite honeys. I've used it with cocoa nibs and really liked the combination, but I'm not sure about using it in a Bochet. I haven't made one yet, but I wonder if you'd lose those wonderfully unique flavors after a couple hours of boiling.

BTW - I like the idea of a leap year bochet.

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Meadowfoam is suppose to be one of the best honeys for baking because heating the honey accentuates the flavors.

I haven't made mead with it yet, but have baked with it. Personally I don't taste the real marshmellowy flavors until it is cooked, raw it is all vanilla to me (but good).

I imagine making it into a bochet will reduce the aroma.

Do you suggest nibs over powder? I'm considering aging on D47 lees.

I'd be willing to try an acerglyn or a lavender metheglin. Need to test out those 6 gallon carboys I've got.

Looks like lots of people are interested in the whole Chocolate Bochet idea, certainly sounds like a cheaper experiment than trying to find enough maple syrup so I've ordered me some Cocoa nibs .
Does anyone have a good recipe?

Okay so I am in for whatever project. I really like the idea of a choco bochet.

Anyone here with Bochet experience who wants to put forward a recipe?

Should we as a board agree on something?
Bochet?
Choco?
High SG?
Xtreme Deliciousness?!

I want to try this, but I don't think I've got the skill to make a bochet. Afraid I'll burn the honey.

But I'm willing to give it a shot, because it sounds delicious.

Quick question about the nibs - roasted or raw? Also, how many / much per gallon?

Edit: I'd recommend nibs over powder. You'd need to add the powder to the water while you're heating the honey, and I've read that boiling can separate it out / mess it up somehow.

I'm probably just going to make the bochet, rack it onto the nibs for secondary, and let it sit there for a year or two to break down the oils.

I personally would prefer to avoid crossing the streams as I have neither done a bochet or a chocolate mead so I'd be up for a simple pure version of either, but if everyone is down for chocolate bochet I could always set aside a gallon of a bochet batch with some cocoa nibs for some leap year love.

I would think the recipe would look something like this:

Honey (whatever you got, the heat will likely kill a lot of the varietal flavor) 3 lbs/gallon
water to final volume
Yeast (D47 has worked well for me in the past, anybody got better ideas?)
Yeast nutrient/ energizer

1. Heat honey slowly on stove for several hours until very dark and marshmallowy smell coming with perhaps small puff of smoke coming from the bubbles.

2. Making sure you use a pot with at least 3x the volume of your honey add water very slowly being careful of boil overs.

3. Rehydrate yeast and add to mixture once it has reached a safe pitching temp.

4. Primary ferment with SNA.

IF DOING CHOCOLATE
Rack to secondary over cocoa product (I would use nibs although I never have, does anybody have a suggestion for how much (I was thinking 4oz/gallon)? or for a good source?)
Rack off cocoa nibs after 1 month,

6. Bulk age racking as necessary, bottle when clear

Missed the previous post, would you really leave it on the nibs for a year? That seems like a long time to me but as I said I've never used the nibs before.

in

I like the idea of a chocolate bochet. I think this would be challenging enough to be worthy of a 4-year effort.

I suspect that there will be significant variation to how everyone is able to caramelize the honey. I've never done this, and it looks challenging.

Just an idea – but rather than have everyone agree to use the exact same recipe, what about simply agreeing on a theme (such as “bochet” or “choco-bochet”, and have each of us post our specific recipes and try things as we see fit?

I've made a couple chocolate meads in the past – I usually add raisins and tea for nutrient and tannin in the primary (in addition to SNA), and usually some lemon juice as well. I also use ec-1118 and start with an OG of ~ 1.140.

I've always used cocoa powder, but agree that it does make a mess and is difficult to mix. I have heard that nibs do a good job of imparting chocolate aroma, but aren't nearly as good at imparting flavor as powder. I've never used nibs before, but I have a couple pounds on hand.

Also, most things with chocolate also include some vanilla, as the flavors work very well together...

… just thinking out loud.

Well all is well with everyones plans to make chocolate bochet meads but sadly i cant make one this year unless you count my Dwójniak which was made in december last year with an OG of 1.175-1.180 but i doubt that it would be a true leap year mead since it is 3 months early. and also since i am just a beginner i only have 2 carboys which i got from my kit and one 1 gal from some apple juice from a organic food store. and i need both for my sweet mead for the rackings between them for aging and clearing.

Also maybe going along the lines of bochet, is anyone apart from me thinking of a bochet braggot stout/porter? the marshmallow and the roastyness of the burnt honey would accentuate the chocolatyness and malts in the braggot also lending a darker color for the braggot. if anyone wants to make a recipe for this let me know! this may be a breakthrough of a Braggot Bochet combination!