It's been a long time coming and a dream of mine to create the beverage of vikings I've imagined since I was a kid watching Kirk Douglas in the classic film "Vikings."
Personally I've never cared for beer, or at the very least any I have ever tried, and yet the aroma and flavor I imagine is close to a honey ale but what I would consider tastier. Sweet bread, crackers, biscuits, honey bran, oatmeal, nuts, muffins, honey... All these things have a hint of what I imagine a braggot being and after enough research and studying I'm taking the dive. Most commercial or homebrew braggots I've had were simply a hoppy or bitter beer with some fermented honey. However I favor semi sweet beverages that tend to be middle of the road for most people I've interacted with, semi sweet meads for me being in the range of 1.012-1.020 usually when finished. I like fruity mixed drinks as well as Scotch, whiskey and rum on ice but have yet to find a hop flavor I liked.
So this is going to be a raw ale style experiment without hops or anything to complicated until I get the feel for grains. I considered extracts for a while but I enjoy growing things for brew out of my wife's garden, or hope to very soon, so it can be more of a brew it yourself situation. One day we hope to have a garden/food forest setup and retire with everything in place. Anyhow the plan is to try and make a raw ale, after it ferments out, 5-7 days is the plan, I'll add honey and ferment as a mead with the raw ale. Once it's finished I want to cold crash, transfer, collect and wash the yeast and see how it ages or any other quality change. The goal is to create a recipe that can be brewed consistently and continuously, much like a house cider reusing the yeast and barrel once it's been racked.
That's the hopes and plans but I know all to well how it can go so it's going to be a learning experience either way. If I can't get something I like in the next ten years I might reevaluate things, until then I hope you enjoy the ride. And feel free to shout newbie at the screen when I make a bonehead decision but I'm ultimately going to try things in a manner I think might work or make sense and learn the hard way. Any thoughts or constructive criticism is welcome.
Cheers!
Personally I've never cared for beer, or at the very least any I have ever tried, and yet the aroma and flavor I imagine is close to a honey ale but what I would consider tastier. Sweet bread, crackers, biscuits, honey bran, oatmeal, nuts, muffins, honey... All these things have a hint of what I imagine a braggot being and after enough research and studying I'm taking the dive. Most commercial or homebrew braggots I've had were simply a hoppy or bitter beer with some fermented honey. However I favor semi sweet beverages that tend to be middle of the road for most people I've interacted with, semi sweet meads for me being in the range of 1.012-1.020 usually when finished. I like fruity mixed drinks as well as Scotch, whiskey and rum on ice but have yet to find a hop flavor I liked.
So this is going to be a raw ale style experiment without hops or anything to complicated until I get the feel for grains. I considered extracts for a while but I enjoy growing things for brew out of my wife's garden, or hope to very soon, so it can be more of a brew it yourself situation. One day we hope to have a garden/food forest setup and retire with everything in place. Anyhow the plan is to try and make a raw ale, after it ferments out, 5-7 days is the plan, I'll add honey and ferment as a mead with the raw ale. Once it's finished I want to cold crash, transfer, collect and wash the yeast and see how it ages or any other quality change. The goal is to create a recipe that can be brewed consistently and continuously, much like a house cider reusing the yeast and barrel once it's been racked.
That's the hopes and plans but I know all to well how it can go so it's going to be a learning experience either way. If I can't get something I like in the next ten years I might reevaluate things, until then I hope you enjoy the ride. And feel free to shout newbie at the screen when I make a bonehead decision but I'm ultimately going to try things in a manner I think might work or make sense and learn the hard way. Any thoughts or constructive criticism is welcome.
Cheers!