Bochet: A question about temperature not time.

[CKuhns]

I use Bakers honey for Bochets works remarkably well.

 

[JimRausch]

Have to ask since I've never heard of it- "What makes it Baker's Honey"?

 

[CKuhns]

The way I understand it is that Bakers honey is typically the honey that is left over in the equipment after the heating, centrifuging and removal of wax etc. Its typically a much darker honey than more "traditional" honeys and is usually a blend of whatever is being run. Often has a slightly higher moisture content. The reason its labeled Baker Honey is it was / is often sold to Bakers for use in their recipes.

I treat it as another variety depending on what flavor profile i am looking. I like it for bochets with chiles or more traditional melomels paired with dark strong fruits like Boysenberries, currents or plums. I have done a few traditional meads that turned out very well but again the honey has its own unique flavor and often is not real consistent from batch to batch. Its relatively inexpensive, can be found in 5 gallon pails for about $100.

 

[JimRausch]

Thanks CKuhns. Interesting.

 

[JP Smajda]

Hey Jim, I second everything CKuhns said. One thing that is consistent is that the honey itself tastes a lot more like the really cheap stuff you get in packets at a gas station or in a hotel. It does have a very strong "molasses" like flavor that comes through. It is best as a background flavor.

 

[TonyBrewing]

Have some data from my weekend bochet experiment. Wish I had seen this thread before hand but I was thinking the same thing — that temperature should be what we measure.

I did a stovetop bochet process in a large, heavy bottom stockpot. I based this process on watching quite a few bochet videos and I feel like it went pretty well.

2.8 pounds of cheaper wildflower honey straight into the pot (cold). Put over medium-high heat at first until honey started simmering, then lowered to medium-low and continued to slowly lower the dial until the end (adjusting to keep the honey boiling at a rate that wouldn’t boil over). I stirred frequently and almost constantly once things starting getting darker.

There was considerable foaming, as expected. Stirring often created MORE foam up to a point, then would go back down. If foam hit the halfway mark I would remove from stove briefly and lower the heat.

Starting from first simmering bubbles giving elapsed time in minutes and temperature:

00 165°F
07 230°
19 240°
33 260°
47 275°

That was starting to get pretty dark and I liked what I was smelling so at that point so I turned off the heat. Once it seemed to have passed peak heat I started Very Slowly adding water and continued to stir. I started with a mere capful of water which was instantly vaporized and caused the honey foam to rise up a little bit (but not much). If you dump a lot of water in it will explode in a volcano-like manner so be extremely cautious.

I kept adding water little by little and increasing the amount until it had cooled enough to add in half my water taking it down to about 100°F, then I added 1/2 pound of buckwheat honey and 1/2 pound of Yaupon Holly honey and a bit more water (taking it down to 90° or so). I added water to about 1.2 gallons as I’m fermenting in a 2 gallon bucket and I aerated be

I then pitched a full packet of 5g ec-1118 rehydrated with GoFerm.

Gravity was 1.122 (hydrometer) / Brix (refractometer) ~27.

I will degas every day for a few days and try to add oxygen. Will be fermenting at 72°F but I might chill periodically if primary starts running too hard. I will also “step feed” more honey to try to push the fermentation to a higher ABV (18ish %) and I would like to finish on the sweeter side, but 1.122 is a pretty high gravity already. Expecting this to take 3 months before bottling and then 1-2 years (ugh).

 

[Dan O]

Certainly darkened the honey but I don't think that there is any strong presence of caramelization by nose or taste. Which is not to say that this batch tastes bad. Just not as caramelized as I had wanted. But not to be outdown I made a batch of (soft) caramel in my microwave last night (very simple recipe, very quick process; very easy to make - takes all of about 5 minutes prep time and about 7 minutes cooking time) and my plan is to dissolve this with a bar of dark chocolate in some boiling water, allow to cool and then add some raspberry honey and ferment this (and add some vanilla to the secondary) - to make a chocolate caramel mead.

@bernardsmith, how did this mead turn out?
Also, could you, please, detail your process of how you make the soft caramel in the microwave? Thinking it might make a fun addition to a mead later down the line. Thank you, in advance, if you do. I appreciate