Experiment: Coconut Water Bochet

[Dr_Floyd]

This will be my 4th Bochet with my most recent Coffee Cinnamon Bochet being so good I think I could sell it. So clearly I like Bochets and this is something I've wanted to do for a while now. I had mild success with my Lactomel so I started thinking about other water alternatives were out there. I looked for coconut water that was 100% coconut water and not from concentrate. Recipe is as follows:

Coconut Water Bochet 1 Gallon:
- 100 fl. oz. Coconut Water
- 3.5 lbs. of Wildflower Honey
- 1 Packet of Lalvin 1122
- Nutrient and Energizer (too small an amount to bother measuring)
- Distilled Water (to top off in case of head space)
- Toasted Coconut Chips (for Secondary)

1. The day before I planned on starting the batch I dissolved one crushed Camden Tablet in the Coconut Water.
2. Boil the honey for approximately 45 minutes or until a dark chocolatey color and a faint smell of toast happens. Cool rapidly with 1 cup of warm water and then using the coconut water thereafter to get it cool enough it stops cooking the honey.
3. Let it cool to room temp in an ice bath.
4. Do the regular mead making stuff and let it ferment!


I'd love to get opinions or thoughts. I tend to experiment a lot with my fermented beverages and like the public discourse a lot. Thanks and Cheers!

 

[BalloonGuy]

How long do you age this before drinking? It sounds awesome but I have no patience...

 

[Dr_Floyd]

How long do you age this before drinking? It sounds awesome but I have no patience...

On the average with 1122 (in my experience) it's about 6 months until it's good to drink. I'm impatient too but only in that I can't seem to hold on to any bottles longer than 6 months after bottling! I've learned my lessons bottling too early so I hold back while it bulk ages after clearing completely. It's also worth noting that in the past my Bochets have finished faster than other batches of Mead. I had one Bochet finish Primary in less than a week! It honestly scared me like I had a stuck fermentation but a Hydrometer put that fear to rest, it was just super fast.

 

[Dr_Floyd]

So I just pitched the yeast. It turns out I don't need quite as much Coconut Water as expected after I add the honey in, so a little bit of waste. The boiled honey with Coconut Water (to cool it down) was delicious just by itself so I have high hopes for this one!

 

[TandemTails]

I thought I remembered reading a thread where someone else tried this and said it ended up tasting rancid. Hopefully you have better luck!

 

[Beek]

Using TOSNA I can have meads with 71b tasting perfect in less than 3 months.

 

[Paps]

In

 

[Dr_Floyd]

Update, something went wrong with my initial pitch and at 24 hours it was barely fermenting. So I racked it to another container and re-pitched. Within hours it was crushing it.

My theory is the Camden tablet had not yet dissipated in the coconut water and the yeast was not able to overcome the hostile environment. In any case there was a thick foam at the top that I was glad to be rid of so it worked out great.

 

[bernardsmith]

Dr Floyd, You refer to "boiling" the honey? But for a bochet don't you need to get the temperature of the honey to at least 350 F? I cook the honey in the oven and so I have some (complete) control over the temperature

 

[Dr_Floyd]

Dr Floyd, You refer to "boiling" the honey? But for a bochet don't you need to get the temperature of the honey to at least 350 F? I cook the honey in the oven and so I have some (complete) control over the temperature

Thus far I've only known a Bochet to be a Mead made from honey that you've caramelized but I'm willing to concede that I may be wrong in that. I've seen some people take it far enough that they char the honey a bit and I've seen people use crock pots. I base mine more on color than anything.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

With flavors of honey, toasted marshmallow & coconut, I'm interested to see how this turns out. BTW, the addition of a split vanilla bean might be something to consider, just sayin'.
Regards, GF.

 

[Dr_Floyd]

With flavors of honey, toasted marshmallow & coconut, I'm interested to see how this turns out. BTW, the addition of a split vanilla bean might be something to consider, just sayin'.
Regards, GF.

That's interesting. I've heard of the vanilla bean addition before, what does it bring to the mead? Obviously a vanilla taste.