Do i toss this batch?

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HillbillyDeluxe

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Hey all, i think i really screwed up. I made a batch with my own recipe that was originally planned for ten gallon but i forgot to cut two of the ingredints in half. I was shooting for about a 1.060 OG and (please no hydrometer chastizing) i did not take a reading. It is still bubbling away after 10 days. My first thought was bug, but i thought i'd take a test sip. Turns out it's more like mead than beer, no cider or vinegar taste though. It hit me that i may have an ingredient foul up so i ran the ingredients through my program again and i think my OG was more like 1.095. Ist fermenting on day 10 now so to late to cut. Can i salvage this? Here is the recipe.


1lb of bavarian pilsen steeped 30 min @ 160
3.3lb of hopped light malt extract
3lb of amber DME
4lb of honey
1oz liberty's boiled 30 min
irish moss 15 min
Notingham dry hydrated 2 hours then pitched

I make the OG should have been somewhere over 1.09, maybe even 1.1. What can i do to tone the alcohol down and make this drinkable and prevent bottle bombs?:(
 
It looks like you are brewing a "almost" braggot. To be a braggot, over half the ingredients need to be honey but that is a lot of honey.

Time will be your friend on this monster. Let that baby bulk age for a couple months to mellow. There is no way you can rush this to bottle.
 
Unless it tastes horrible to you, don't ditch it. Messing up is one of the joys of homebrewing. As for the bottle bomb thing: let the fermentation finish and maybe even pitch a small starter of a drier yeast (for this purpose, you really want to pitch active yeast). If you don't want to do that, just make sure and use less priming sugar.
 
I'm gonna start kegging in may so i thought about cold crashing then getting a corney and leting it naturally carb with whats leftof the honey. If the card doesnt take good i can alwatys force carb next month, and at this ABV (about 9%) the extra 2 months conditioning will be good for her. (will definately be kegging next month, B-bay present). thoughts?
 
Dang, that's a lot of honey! Don't dump it!

The problem with honey is that it can take a long time to ferment completely, so it might be risky to bottle until you are sure it's finished. At least that is my understanding.
 
Why would you want to dump it? It's going to be stronger than planned and not exactly what you had planned, but there is no reason it won't be good. Give it some time to finish and plenty of time to age.
 
Thanks guys, I think i'll get a corney and take a FG reading in about 2 more weeks. That gives it almost a month (i'll rack probably tomorrow) counting secondary. Then keg it without force carbing and give it 2 months to set at about 60~70f. Then force carb it with the keggin system. That sound good? Thoughts?
 
Thanks guys, I think i'll get a corney and take a FG reading in about 2 more weeks. That gives it almost a month (i'll rack probably tomorrow) counting secondary. Then keg it without force carbing and give it 2 months to set at about 60~70f. Then force carb it with the keggin system. That sound good? Thoughts?

Keep it at 67-70 degrees for the first 5-6 weeks. You want that mix to finish fermenting and doing so in a sealed keg will also allow some natural carbonation to start. Anything below 67 at this stage and you'll probably retard the fermentation process.
 
Holy..........


Hey, why not go all the way? Rack it to another carboy, add 3 more lbs of honey, and pitch some champagne yeast. Leave it in that for another 3 months, then keg it.
 
Thanks guys, I think i'll get a corney and take a FG reading in about 2 more weeks. That gives it almost a month (i'll rack probably tomorrow) counting secondary. Then keg it without force carbing and give it 2 months to set at about 60~70f. Then force carb it with the keggin system. That sound good? Thoughts?

no reason in rushing to keg it. just let it sit. let it do its magic. after a month or so check it out. just make sure the airlock has fluid and youll be ok.
 
never, ever, ever, dump beer. I had a raspberry ale (save you jokes) that tasted like donkeys ass mixed with skunk juice after 3 months, after a year in the bottle, its a mighty fine drink. all be it a raspberry ale... so you know, you can only hope for so much...
 
My first batch was horrible... I let it sit for 6 months and it was drinkable... came back in another 6 and said 'oh lord that's oxidized' (it was before I had an autosiphon). So sometimes it doesn't fix itself, but there's no harm in waiting. And since yours seems to taste good? If you want to dump it, dump it in the mail to some HBT members :)
 
never, ever, ever, dump beer. I had a raspberry ale (save you jokes) that tasted like donkeys ass mixed with skunk juice after 3 months. After a year in the bottle, it just tastes like donkey's ass, and you can't taste the skunk juice at all...


There, fixed your post for you.
 
Holy..........


Hey, why not go all the way? Rack it to another carboy, add 3 more lbs of honey, and pitch some champagne yeast. Leave it in that for another 3 months, then keg it.

Are you saying go full blown mead with it. I thought about that and wasnt sure how the pilsen and all that malt would tastewith it. I have never done a meade before.:tank:
 
Are you saying go full blown mead with it. I thought about that and wasnt sure how the pilsen and all that malt would tastewith it. I have never done a meade before.:tank:

Not a full blown mead, but something in between. I forget what it's called, but it uses as much as, or more honey than the grain bill. I've never made it, but tasted it before. It's better than sparkling mead, because it has more of the mouthfeel of beer, but it does pack a helluva punch. Why you use the champagne yeast.......higher tolerance to alcohol so it ferments completely without killing off the yeast.

More of a tongue in cheek joke.........I think what you have will be just fine and an interesting drink without adding anything else. If it was my brew though, with that much honey and that big of a grain bill.......I would hit it with some champagne yeast and leave it in secondary for 3 to 6 months to make sure it's completely fermented.
 
...Time will be your friend on this monster. Let that baby bulk age for a couple months to mellow. There is no way you can rush this to bottle.

Completely agreed. Let this monster bulk age for a while, and keep checking the flavor. It will probably taste like rocket fuel for a few months before it mellows, but it may mellow into something really nice. Aging in a keg might be useful if you plan to force carb it, but I'd consider bottling, unless you have a spare keg to tie up for 6-9 months.
 
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