my first Braggot

[neb2619]

I have decided to push into the mead world through the braggot. I have a recipe thats 40% honey to 60% all grain beer. I am now fermenting the low gravity (1.040) 5 gallons of beer with T-058 a Belgium dry along with 2 oz of cluster (60min) and 2 oz of saaz (5min) before I add the 5 pounds of honey. I am going to wait until full fermentation is well underway then add the easy sugars of the clove honey. Am I wrong with this thinking.. brew the beer first then add the honey or should i be adding nutrients and such or adding the honey earlier?

 

[biochemedic]

It's certainly one way to do it, but I think most of the time you do your mash and boil, then add the honey to the ferment primarily. I'd add the honey at any time (sooner than later) and wouldn't hesitate to add a bit of nutrient, although its probably not necessary given the higher proportion of malt as fermentable. As long as your effective OG isn't beyond the ability of your yeast to handle, you shouldn't have had a problem either way.

 

[1Brotherbill]

Just boil the malt like your making beer then add the honey after it's done boiling.

I know this is nit picking but a braggot has more honey than malt. Otherwise it's just a beer with honey in it.

My first braggot from scratch had 5lbs honey 3 lbs DME for five gallons. Let me tell you that one would sneak up on you. Next time I brewed it I dropped one pound of DME added .5 lbs of specialty grain. See what it turns out as in a few weeks.

 

[malkore]

technically if its not more than 50% fermentables from honey, its not a braggot. Its a honey-fortified beer.

Definitely add the honey before you pitch. and I'd pitch the yeast hydrated, and proofed.

 

[neb2619]

Oh my bad I was told as long as the honey content was over 30% then you could call it a braggot though it was a wine friend who told me this

I will then make my next real braggot with more honey. I was waiting to add the honey which if I am right is a simple sugar until the yeast was well into the harder complex malt sugars. I will pitch the honey tomorrow then.

 

[Blackgaurd_Brewing]

I would pitch the honey at or near high kreusen as that should give you the most honey flavor, and the yeast are their most active and so should eat the honey relatively quickly. Honey is a slow fermenter, and even though it mostly simple sugars, tired yeast will make a very very slow ferment