Recipe Critique

[PantherEnjoyer]

Ok, so I am going for a Blackberry Bochet style mead for Christmas gifts. I have not done a Bochet before, and have heard hit and miss things regarding doing all the honey etc. So, my plan is:

Size: 20L (5.3g)
Honey: 7kg (15.4lbs)
Berries: Frozen, 3kg (6.6lbs)
Yeast: I was gonna go 71B but can't buy it in Aus, so either Mangrove Jacks Mead, or D47?
OG: 1.109 (GotMead Calc)
ABV: 14.25

Plan:
Bochet about 1/3 of the honey, or 2Kgs to a dark caramel colour, similar to the 60m mark on the wheel by /u/jewish_monk and then mix with the remaining 5kg of un cooked honey. The honey itself is a mix of Clover and Orange Blossom (about 50/50) and I was going to Bochet the Clover and use the orange blossom raw.

So, I will bochet the honey. Add the raw honey, top up to 20 litres with water. Also, will put the 3kg frozen berries in then, so it will be a bit more than 20L. Will also add some Pectic Enzyme at that stage to help with extraction. Re-hydrate yeast with Go-Ferm Protect. I will stagger nutrients (all Fermaid-O) as per YAN calc over first few days of fermentation. Will degass over the first week, mainly by pushing the berries down into the must once a day.

After 2 weeks, rack to secondary glass carboy and let bulk ages for a few months, then bottle.

My thoughts on not doing all the honey bochet, is that I will at least get SOME bochet character from 1/3, and also if it's not enough then next time I can bump it up. I saw a man made mead video where he suggested 1/3 bochet and 2/3 un cooked. I want to avoid astringent, burnt tastes and when I saw the CS Brews Bochet, it put me off (no offense, not meaning to raise arguments) so that's why I figure go lightly first time. Worst case scenario? I end up with delicious blackberry melomel. Best case? It's got hints of vanilla and caramel.

Critiques? Suggestions on yeast? Is just whacking frozen fruit into the honey mix ok or do I need to heat it? I thought about adding it to the Bochet honey to 'pasturise it' and cool the honey (being careful of course due to exploding honey)

 

[PantherEnjoyer]

Thanks for all the feedback! I went with D47 yeast in the end, as I can't get 71B in Aus.

We are headed into a COVID lockdown and blackberries are hard to source, so i'm most likely going to have to change to cherry aswell.

Will let you know how it goes, and critique my own recipe I guess.

 

[AzOr]

I think it sounds great. I think I’d personally bump up the berries.

Good call on the ratio of burnt honey. I’ve done a few small batches w 100% burnt honey and I didn’t like the flavor. I got a cardboard sherry flavor that was ok but not worth repeating.

 

[bernardsmith]

Bochet should be caramelized honey, not burnt honey. Burnt honey is no different from burnt toast. It is bitter and acrid to the point of disaster but If you enjoy burnt toast more power to ya.. In my world, honey caramelizes at 230 F or 320 F depending on which sugars you want to caramelize and so in my opinion those dabs of honey and the "color wheels" are simply nonsense created by folk who have no idea what they are doing. You use a thermometer to determine the temperature of the honey. Of course, if folk are only interested in watching for their honey to smoke like the Vatican announcing the election of a new Pope, then forget the thermometer.

 

[PantherEnjoyer]

Smoke like the Vatican. Made me actually giggle..

I have an instant read thermometer for BBQ, what temp do you suggest I go for then?

I figured colour is a good indicator because it's like making caramel, but instead of sugar just honey. Temp makes a bit of sense though!

Thanks for the feedback. I couldn't buy blackberries, so I got 2kg (4.5lbs) pitted cherries and 1kg (2.2lbs) of mixed berries which are strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and blackberries.

 

[bernardsmith]

Different honeys are different colors and the same honey in different seasons exhibits different colors, so if you are aiming for a color then you need to know what the color difference is equivalent to given you varietal of honey you are using. For example, buckwheat honey in the east coast is dark. Sunflower is a pale yellow and clover is more pale. Orange blossom has a reddish tint. Your starting color is then very different so presumably the honey that is more pale will darken after the darker honey has darkened to the point that satisfies those who go by color (unless of course it is burnt long before then)...When you caramelize table sugar the color of the sugar is always white and when you heat the sugar and melt it it is as clear as water.

What temperature should you aim for? I would suggest that you aim for the temperature you want. When you heat the honey to 230 you will be caramelizing the fructose which is about 38% of the sugars in honey. When you heat the honey to 320 you are caramelizing Glucose and sucrose which is about 33% of the sugars. Different sugars. Perhaps you heat one batch to 230 F and a second batch to 320 F and see which flavors you prefer.

But you need to be careful that you don't scorch the bottom of the honey by allowing it to sit right on the heat source while the top is cool to the touch. In my opinion using either a very large dutch oven in an oven works well as does using a crock pot - In both cases you cannot scorch the honey.

 

[PantherEnjoyer]

That's great advice! So how long do I need to maintain those temps, or do I just aim for em and once I get to them i'm good to go?

What's the flavour profiles between the two?

 

[bernardsmith]

I would say that you treat the honey much like you would treat bread in the oven ... When the inside of the bread reaches 190 F the bread is fully cooked BUT a) it can take 40 minutes for the center of the dough to reach that temperature and b) it continues to bake as it cools which is why you should not slice a bread the minute you take it out of the oven. So with bochet you are looking for all the honey to reach the temperature you want AND it will continue to caramelize as it cools down - Note that the thermal mass of honey is such that it can take a very long time to cool so you may want to help it cool either by adding cold water (and the water that touches the surface will boil immediately and is likely to splatter in all directions so you should wear sleeves and long pants and protect your face) or by immersing the container in an ice bath.