Bochet Braggot Cyser What?

[TedLarsen]

I'm planning on trying my own version of a bochet this weekend (3 gallons). Here's my recipe and plan:

Ingredients:
10 pounds of honey (cheap: Walmart or Sams Club)
2 gallons apple juice
1.5 pounds of light golden DME
1 oz chinook hops (leaf)
1.5 oz cascade hops (pellet)
Premier cuvee yeast
Normal energizer and nutrient for SNA

I'm not going to detail all the steps -- they will follow the normal bochet and/or mead process

1) Caramelize 7.5 pounds of honey (to very dark (almost black)) -- probably 2 hours.
2) Add chinook hops with about 60 minutes to go in the boil.
3) Add 1 pound DME with 45 minutes to go in the boil.
4) After (a lot) of cooling, gradually stir in .5 gallons water until honey is completely dissolved.
5) Stir in .5 pounds DME.
6) Add 1 gallon apple juice (and a pinch of nutrient) and 1.5 - 2 pounds of honey.
7) Move to fermenter and add apple juice (and water, if necessary) to raise level to 3.5 gallons.
8) Prepare energized yeast; pitch when must is at room temperature.
9) Manage staggered nutrient addition and aeration in the usual way.
10) Rack to secondary when appropriate. Add oak as desired; and 1.5 ounces of cascade hops as a dry hop.
11) After 4 -6 weeks, rack off oak and hops.
12) Rack every 60 days until crystal clear; then bulk age, stabilize, backsweeten to taste, and bottle!

I know there's a lot going on here, but I am hoping to make a complex mead. Thoughts?

 

[snuesen]

If you back sweeten with honey, think about using a higher quality choice. You generally don't need much, and it will have much more substance than the ultra filtered honey that is barely honey anymore.

 

[TedLarsen]

If you back sweeten with honey, think about using a higher quality choice. You generally don't need much, and it will have much more substance than the ultra filtered honey that is barely honey anymore.

Right! I forgot to mention that.

I have nice honey from a friend's apiary that I will use to backsweeten. I also suspect it may not need much sweetening (if any), between the caramelized honey and the DME.

 

[TedLarsen]

So, I started this last night. Boiled it down to a beautiful, almost black color.

No, the process wasn't fun, and it did need to be stirred constantly, but it also smelled great -- and was fascinating to watch the honey transform.

And I was prepared for the cleanup to be a mess, but it really cleaned up easily.

We'll see how it turns out, but I tasted one or two of the little nuggets that splashed out and hardened -- filled with malt, hops, and caramelized honey -- and they were flat -out delicious. So. We'll see!

Looking forward to tasting it in 2015.