1st braggot with NICE head right out of the secondary? Also...how long to age?

[Fanoffermentation]

I just bottled my first gallon of my first braggot (have one other gallon still in secondary). This thing had a nice fine carbonation and crazy nice head already. For the record there has been no bubbling for a week and it is 2.5 weeks old. I was thinking of bottle carbonating the other gallon but was surprised how much gas this already had. Is this possibly due to the torrified wheat I added?

Also, how long do you guys usually hold a braggot in a secondary before bottling? Is one is running about 10-11% alcohol.

 

[commonsenseman]

I would love to see your recipe!

I betcha it will continue to improve for at least a few months, a year won't hurt it at all. That is, if you don't mind the hops mellowing.

 

[Fanoffermentation]

I would love to see your recipe!

I betcha it will continue to improve for at least a few months, a year won't hurt it at all. That is, if you don't mind the hops mellowing.

Here was what I did on a 2 lb batch:
2.6 lb DME 50/50 light and amber
.4 lb Crystal 60L
1.2 lb clover honey
0.4 oz hallertau hops
**torrified wheat-I screwed up and did not note what I added. I think it was a scaled down amount bases on what you would normally add to 5 gal.
Red Star Champagne yeast

Crystal L @ 155 for 30 minutes, add malt and boil for 45min with 1/3 of the hops, added remaining 2/3 of hops for last 15min. Added honey for last 2 min of boil.

Interesting thing that happened was I started with an engligh ale yeast that completely failed in 24 hours. I mean nothing happened. I then dumped in half a pack of champagne and it took off like a rocket. I have never had a relatively fresh yeast fail like that.

It was my first run at this, I'm more a wine/mead guy than beer maker. However, I'm trying to broaden my skill set. The above mix should give an alcohol of about 8.0% based on my beer calculator.. It lost significant volume in the boil (maybe .3 gal or more)and I'll say that this stuff tastes more like 9-10%. It left me with a half full gallon secondary that I racked to bottle still and it kept well (thank you honey). Im excited to see how this ages as it was very smooth for being so young. The excessive CO2 and robust head when I bottled took me by surprise.

This was a nice way to use leftovers to make something good. I think that This kind of brew could be fun to explore, but there is not a ton out there on it. Hopefully as a semi mead, so ton say, it will mature faster. I'm torn over what adjunct flavors to add....citrus/other fruit/ginger/?.

 

[commonsenseman]

I got the same stats, assuming 4oz of Torrified Wheat & 75% attenuation (you'll probably get a lot better, because of the honey):

OG 1.083
FG 1.021
IBU 7
ABV 8 %
SRM 13

As long as you're ok with very little hoppiness, you should be just fine. As a primarily wine/mead guy, you're probably better off erring on the low side anyway. I do believe though, that for it to be classified as a Braggot, at least 51% of the fermentables need to be from honey. Just a technicality, if you enjoy it, who cares what it's called?

Weird that your yeast failed. What type did you use? Did you rehydrate it or make a starter?

Personally, I like my Braggots straight up. But I'm primarily a beer guy. That's why the Braggot I just made (Black Bracket) has 75 IBU's.

 

[Fanoffermentation]

I got the same stats, assuming 4oz of Torrified Wheat & 75% attenuation (you'll probably get a lot better, because of the honey):

OG 1.083
FG 1.021
IBU 7
ABV 8 %
SRM 13

As long as you're ok with very little hoppiness, you should be just fine. As a primarily wine/mead guy, you're probably better off erring on the low side anyway. I do believe though, that for it to be classified as a Braggot, at least 51% of the fermentables need to be from honey. Just a technicality, if you enjoy it, who cares what it's called?

Weird that your yeast failed. What type did you use? Did you rehydrate it or make a starter?

Personally, I like my Braggots straight up. But I'm primarily a beer guy. That's why the Braggot I just made (Black Bracket) has 75 IBU's.[/

I read that 51% thing too....rules are rules, I agree.

I had given the yeast a few hours in a starter of booked water with honey, yeast nutrient, and yeast energizer. Damn, 75 IBU's? Did you take a bucket of hops and just dump it in? I'm more a wine guy and am having a hard time developing a taste for bitterness. I'm more a fan of a nice crisp acidic bite. However, I'm working to expand my palate.

Any idea of a recommended CO2 priming target? 2.5? 3.5?

Thanks!

 

[commonsenseman]

I read that 51% thing too....rules are rules, I agree.

I had given the yeast a few hours in a starter of booked water with honey, yeast nutrient, and yeast energizer. Damn, 75 IBU's? Did you take a bucket of hops and just dump it in? I'm more a wine guy and am having a hard time developing a taste for bitterness. I'm more a fan of a nice crisp acidic bite. However, I'm working to expand my palate.

Any idea of a recommended CO2 priming target? 2.5? 3.5?

Thanks!

Huh, yeast can be strange creatures.

I kept the IBU's up there in Barleywine territory, hoping to have some young while the hops are still up front, then aged when they mellow & blend better. I'm just trying to get an idea of how this will turn out so I can make my next one better. I would say 1.5-2.5 is a pretty good range for something this strong, unless you like it to be really carbonated.

Can't wait to hear how yours is once it's carbed up & chilled.

 

[commonsenseman]

Tried this yet?