Braggot

I started my fifth braggot today. I designed this one to be a little more malty than my previous four attempts. The first was an American pale ale style that turned out quite nice. It wasn't too hoppy and it fermented very dry and had a nice light clear appearance but it was just 3.3 pounds of LME and 4 pounds of honey with a couple of hop additions - very basic. After that I brewed a stout-style braggot that was more complex. The next two braggots were spiced ginger beer-style and they, too turned out well and were more complex. I used 3.3 pounds of malt extract and 3-4 pounds of honey in each as well as a little crystal malt and some spices.

Today's braggot had 3.3 pounds of LME, Vienna, honey, aromatic, and crystal malts along with 5 pounds of honey. I know this too will ferment dry but I'm hoping the specialty grains will leave a full malty flavor and the perception of a little residual sweetness. What do you think?

Northumbria Brown Braggot

1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L
1.00 lb Vienna Malt
0.50 lb Honey Malt
0.50 lb Aromatic Malt
3.00 lb LME
5.00 lb Northern Utah mountain wildflower honey

1.15 oz Fuggle leaf hops (60 mins)

Steep specialty grains for 30 minutes @ 155F. Strain and boil for 60 minutes. Add LME at 45 mins. Add Whirlfloc at 45 mins.Add honey at flameout

WLP002 English Ale Yeast

OG: 1.064

I like the idea of the Aromatic Malt and the crystal.
I would have tried some caraphils instead of the vienna, I would think that it would give it a little more mouthfeel and help counter out the lightness of the honey.
I usually use 3-4 lbs of honey, once I go over that it seems a little too thin tasting, so I am interested in malts that would allow me to make a high ABV braggot and still have some malt flavor to it.
In any case, please let us know how it comes out.

Kauai_Kahuna said:

I usually use 3-4 lbs of honey, once I go over that it seems a little too thin tasting, so I am interested in malts that would allow me to make a high ABV braggot and still have some malt flavor to it.

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My intent is to find a "Little Braggot" that tastes about right, then triple or more the ingredients for the same size batch. I'll use BeerSmith to ensure Hop usage, but keep the proportion of malts and honey the same.

If this is anything like your last one it'll be tasty!

Loweface said:

If this is anything like your last one it'll be tasty!

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I'm glad you liked the Paleface Honey Ale, Lowe. I was kinda embarrassed to post the recipe since it was so basic and obviously designed by a rank brewing n00b but it exceeded all my expectations.

Hey I'm still new to this. I can read alot faster than I can brew and drink so at the current rate I'll be a n00b for a long time...

I tried to make a braggot using dark and medium DME and my usual honey. Used Wyeast - Sweet mead yeast and it turned out awfull! I ended up watering it out with some elderberry wine I had made earlier but it still tasted quite bad. I hope to create some other, hopefully more successful braggot in the future!

How long did you age your braggot though Thurz?

my first braggot attempt tasted funny going to bottle but felt like there was potential there.

I haven't had the guts to pour it down the drain yet, so It's been standing in my parents' basement back home for.... about six months+/- I believe. Turned a tiny bit more drinkable after blending in the elderberry wine. I also did a lot of spice infusions; rosemary, vanilla etc. I'm going to have new taste of it the next time I'm back in my hometown.

i like the choice of the vienna malt , what kind of color did you end up with? im a vienna fan mainly for the color it produces.

Why do you steep the vienna, aromatic and honey malt? Don't these need to be mashed or is that not the case when making a braggot?

Poobah58 - Thanks for the bump on this, I'm still very curious as to how it turned out. Usually when I make a braggot it is from secondary runnings from a large brew, and then I just add enough honey to get to where I like it.

Steeping speciality grains mostly adds freshness and flavor, it will add a little fermentables to the drink, but I think his goal was for adding the enriched taste, he used LME for the actual fermentable material.
Sol - So how did it turn out? Or have you been letting it condition?

Kauai_Kahuna said:

Steeping speciality grains mostly adds freshness and flavor, it will add a little fermentables to the drink, but I think his goal was for adding the enriched taste, he used LME for the actual fermentable material.
Sol - So how did it turn out? Or have you been letting it condition?

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Yes, KK explained everything perfectly. The braggot turned out fine. It wasn't quite as malty as I'd hoped and it was dry, as you might expect with that much honey. It ended up a deep copper color but more brown than red. I've only had six or so and I expect the taste to improve as it conditions.

My favorite braggot to date was the ginger spiced braggot that I made two different batches of. The spices differed a little but the ginger was the same in both and I really like it. The taste on this one was really enhanced after 3-4 months in the bottle. I've had some very positive comments about it.