Mead to braggot

[canadian006]

I'm new to homebrew and recently tried to make a 5 gallon batch of mead.

Everything went fine but I'm not a big fan of the taste and it's very dry. I do however enjoy a glass of braggot and I'm wondering if I can convert this mead into braggot by adding some malt, hops and water.

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Double_D]

My understanding of braggot is honey, malt and hops fermented together. With that said, adding malt, hops, and water to fermented mead won't necessarily make it a braggot. How long has the mead been aging? At which gravity did it finish? You could sweeten it, add fruit or spices to it. Young mead tends to be slightly acidic depending on the varietal used and if it fermented dry. Aging will bring it together.

 

[bernardsmith]

I agree with Double D that a braggot starts life as a braggot (so you ferment the malt with the honey) but I recently made what I claim is a braggot where I added a mead I did not think sufficiently rich in taste to a finished ale and so blended the mead with the ale. I thought it quite drinkable but the owner of our LHBS to whom I gave a bottle thought he could detect some undesirable sour notes. In any event my suggestion would be to make a beer (perhaps a stout or a pale ale) and simply blend the beer with the mead. You might bench test the proportions of each but 1:1 may be fine.

 

[TheZymurgist]

I agree with Double D that a braggot starts life as a braggot (so you ferment the malt with the honey) but I recently made what I claim is a braggot where I added a mead I did not think sufficiently rich in taste to a finished ale and so blended the mead with the ale. I thought it quite drinkable but the owner of our LHBS to whom I gave a bottle thought he could detect some undesirable sour notes. In any event my suggestion would be to make a beer (perhaps a stout or a pale ale) and simply blend the beer with the mead. You might bench test the proportions of each but 1:1 may be fine.

I definitely vote for blending, however, I would say to just keep it around and experiment with different batches, rather than brewing a specific batch just for blending. That way you can taste how it blends with different types of beer.

 

[canadian006]

It's been aging for about 6 months.
1.095 OG and 1.01FG.

Blending does sound like it would be the easier way to go. It was originally made with nothing but honey, water and yeast as an experiment. Having tasted it, I now understand why most mead has fruit and other additives in it.

I have a recent batch of all grain that is a little too hoppy for my taste so maybe I'll do a blend with that.

 

[bernardsmith]

Not sure I agree that mead needs to have spices or fruit. Good varietals of honey result in good flavor profiles (tupelo, orange blossom, acacia and the like). It may be that you need to start with a more concentrated honey:water mix. I am OK with 1.095 but you might prefer another 1/2 lb - 1lb of honey/gallon to raise the gravity 20 - 40 points... The flavor is in the honey but the addition of more honey (and so more flavor) increases the ABV. That may mean that you need to step feed the mead with honey to help ensure that you don't overwhelm the yeast....

 

[Immortals]

I'm sure you're probably set on braggot, and because I've never made a braggot I don't know if it would be wise or not at this point. If your mead is really dry you could always consider backsweetening though.

 

[Curtis2010]

Its my understanding that historically Braggots were both brewed as Braggots and blended using mead and beer.

I've made them both ways, but the very first braggot I ever made was a blend of an IPA I wasn't quite happy with and a basic mead. The result was awesome. My GF still recalls it as my best braggot.

An advantage of blending is you can easily mix to taste. You also get three brews (mead, beer, braggot) for the effort of two.

 

[RachmaelBenApplebaum]

It's been aging for about 6 months.
1.095 OG and 1.01FG.

Blending does sound like it would be the easier way to go. It was originally made with nothing but honey, water and yeast as an experiment. Having tasted it, I now understand why most mead has fruit and other additives in it.

I have a recent batch of all grain that is a little too hoppy for my taste so maybe I'll do a blend with that.

This is why your mead is funky. Without proper nutrient management doing a "show" mead can make a mead with a lot of H2S, VA, and probably ethyl mercaptans. I know the appeal of doing it as a show mead is appealing to some but honestly I haven't tasted a single one that isn't flawed beyond drinking. Use good nutrient management and you'll have mead that's tasty.

 

[Complete_Amateur]

+1 for blending, but if the flavor is off that may not go so well either. If your mead tastes rough, harsh, or any other kind of off, I would age it some more before doing anything with it, or those flavors may just carry over and produce less than satisfactory results.

If there are not off flavors, but it just doesn't wow you, particularly if it is dry, I would backsweeten with either a very light honey - so as to not significantly alter the flavor profile- or with a varietal you want to shine in your product (I usually do this only when I used that same varietal in the fermentation).

What type of honey did you use? And what is it about the flavor that you don't like? The latter is probably the best question to answer before deciding what to do with your batch.