Braggot Advice

[BRGriffith]

Hello everyone!

A couple weeks ago I put together my very first braggot. Keep in mind that I'm VERY new to brewing, so the recipe was simple:

1 Gallon:
-1 Pound Amber Dried Malt Extract
-1 Pound Wildflower Honey
~1/8 Cup Golding Hops
-Water To 1.5 Gallons
-Nutrient/Energizer
-Nottingham Ale Yeast
-SG: 1.050
-FG: 1.008
-ABV: 5.5%

So I boiled the DME and Hops for 1 Hour, added the honey, cooled to pitch temp, and pitched the yeast. The thing that I'm having problems with is that it tastes like it's missing something. It's just not what I expected.

So, I'd like to put together another batch based on this one, but perhaps stepped up a notch. Can anyone make some recommendations on things that might be good additions to this recipe? Maybe specialty grains?

New Recipe:
-1 Pound Dark Dried Malt Extract
-1 Pound Wildflower Honey
~1/8 Cup Golding Hops
-Water To 1.5 Gallons
-Nutrient/Energizer
-Nottingham Ale Yeast (Maybe US-04)
-???

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[Fathand]

I've made a few braggots and find, like mead, they need time to age for the flavor to really blossom.

However I will say that my favorite braggot was in essence a Hefeweizen wort that I added honey to and then dry hopped. It was a 1 gallon batch and I used 1 oz of Saaz hops in the dry hop.

Another idea would be to caramelize some of the honey. I did a barleywine-style braggot where I did this and the finished product had a nice raisin flavor to it. Look up Bochet recipes if you are unfamiliar.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

So, I'd like to put together another batch based on this one, but perhaps stepped up a notch. Can anyone make some recommendations on things that might be good additions to this recipe? Maybe specialty grains?

New Recipe:
-1 Pound Dark Dried Malt Extract
-1 Pound Wildflower Honey
~1/8 Cup Golding Hops
-Water To 1.5 Gallons
-Nutrient/Energizer
-Nottingham Ale Yeast (Maybe US-04)
-???

Any advice is appreciated!

IMHO, this recipe could use some crystal malt, 60 would be good, or maybe honey malt for a little added honey flavor. Cara Munich would work well to, as would a bit of brown. It really depends on what flavors you want to add, how sweet to want it to be & how much body you want it to have.

I've always measured hops by weight, so I'm not sure how much 1/8 cup of hops is. I can tell you from experience that Goldings hops flavor will fade with time. If you plan on aging this braggot for more than a year, you might consider more hops or dry hopping. I've aged graff for over a year & ended up with zero hop flavor; the balance of bittering was still there, but zero hop flavor or aroma from those lovely Goldings hops.
Hope that helps. Regards, GF.

 

[BRGriffith]

IMHO, this recipe could use some crystal malt, 60 would be good, or maybe honey malt for a little added honey flavor. Cara Munich would work well to, as would a bit of brown. It really depends on what flavors you want to add, how sweet to want it to be & how much body you want it to have.

The malt suggestions definitely sound interesting... Let me ask you this: What do these things bring to the table in terms of flavor, fermentables, body, etc? If these are well known things, please forgive me, I'm a newbie
Also, since I don't have a scale, I just looked up a conversion from ounces to cups. Apparently, 1/4 Cup pellet hops is about 1 Oz. So I used about 1/2 Oz. Thanks for the advice!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

The malt suggestions definitely sound interesting... Let me ask you this: What do these things bring to the table in terms of flavor, fermentables, body, etc? If these are well known things, please forgive me, I'm a newbie
Also, since I don't have a scale, I just looked up a conversion from ounces to cups. Apparently, 1/4 Cup pellet hops is about 1 Oz. So I used about 1/2 Oz. Thanks for the advice!

Just reread my last post & realized I didn't make the distinction between crystal malts & brown, brown malt isn't a crystal malt. "Cara" malts are crystal malts. Crystal malts only need to be steeped, non-crystal malts need to be mashed.

Here's a couple lists of various malts/grains & what they bring to the brewing table:
http://www.winning-homebrew.com/malts.html

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Malts_Chart

http://www.onebeer.net/grainchart.html

Adding malt(s)/grain(s) to your braggot will certainly add flavor, but you don't want to overpower the honey flavor. You can get a better idea as to exactly what a particular malt/grain tastes like by chewing on a couple pieces of them. most home brew shops (HBS) will let you smell and taste.
Regards, GF.

 

[BRGriffith]

Great read! Thanks for pointing those articles out for me. I think I'm beginning to understand how malt works. Thinking of using a combination of Crystal 120L and Chocolate malt... I'll post up my recipe once I've formulated it.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I've used crystal 120 in a dark Belgian style graff with good results. It gives a nice raisiny flavor & aroma, you'll be able to smell it in the mash. It also gives a sort of (for lack of better terms) toffee-ish flavor. It's not sweet, but it is sort of toffee-like. I thought it paired well with the apple, 2 row & Munich malt flavors.

I've never really played with chocolate malt, so I can't give you any advice on it other than to say have a look at how it is used in other recipes. Look at recipes like porters & stouts & maybe even braggots; see how much malt adds how much flavor. You'll likely find a recipe that sounds good to you & you can use the amounts of chocolate (and other grains) as a sort of loose guideline & go from there. Ain't this an awesome hobby?
Regards, GF.

 

[beerenstein]

Keep in mind "chocolate" in terms of malt doesn't lend any "chocolate" taste. It refers to the darkness of the roast, and definitely has a roasted taste. A little goes a loooong way. I found out the hard way.

 

[BRGriffith]

So, this second attempt at a braggot is quickly becoming my first real beer attempt. I posted some questions on malt in the beginner beer section, and got some more great advice. Then I ordered a bunch of ingredients, so here's a look at a rough plan for everything:

6 Pound Amber DME
8 Ounce Chocolate Malt
4-8 Ounce Carabrown Malt
8 Ounce Caramel 60L
2 Ounce Styrian Golding
Water To 5.5 Gallon

I'll post up the finalized version as well as progress pictures as I go! Thanks again!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

So, this second attempt at a braggot is quickly becoming my first real beer attempt. I posted some questions on malt in the beginner beer section, and got some more great advice. Then I ordered a bunch of ingredients, so here's a look at a rough plan for everything:

6 Pound Amber DME
8 Ounce Chocolate Malt
4-8 Ounce Carabrown Malt
8 Ounce Caramel 60L
2 Ounce Styrian Golding
Water To 5.5 Gallon

I'll post up the finalized version as well as progress pictures as I go! Thanks again!

Sounds like the start of a pretty solid recipe so far, how much honey & what type?
Regards, GF.