Looking for Feedback - Smoked Maple Bacon Braggot (GotMead Experiment)

[HawleyFarms]

Looking for some feedback on a Smoked Maple Bacon Braggot. Folks at GotMead are experimenting with bacon so I figured I'd join in. More of an all grain beer recipe but more than half of gravity points coming from honey so I thought it would go best in mead forum. Mods feel free to move it to another forum if you disagree.

AG Recipe

OG: 1.127
FG: 1.025
ABV: 13.37%
IBU: 13.66
SRM: 20.92

155° mash for 60 min
6# Pale Ale Malt
1.5# Munich Light Malt
1# Kolsch Malt
1# Caramunich I
14oz Cherrywood Smoked Malt
8oz Honey Malt
6oz Chocolate Malt
1# Torrified Wheat

Hops
1oz Willamette @60

Post-boil
9# Clover Honey

5.5g Primary
Maple Extract and Bacon Extract in secondary.

Primed with Maple Syrup and bottle conditioned in 22oz bottles.

 

[DungMonster]

I am no expert but it looks more like a type of beer over mead regardless of the fact it has some honey in it. Send me a bottle and I can tell you how it is though.

 

[HawleyFarms]

I am no expert but it looks more like a type of beer over mead regardless of the fact it has some honey in it. Send me a bottle and I can tell you how it is though.

Well that's because it's a braggot lol. More than half the gravity points end up coming from the honey, even though there is a couple pounds more grain than honey.

But in a year or so, when it's ready I'll send ya a bottle lol.

 

[DungMonster]

I'm stuck in my way I only see wine, mead, beer, and liquor. . Never really cared to classify further as it gets too much of an opi ion in a lot of cases. Like mead is just honey water and wine but if you add fruit it is a melomel. However some fruits have thier own name and I add raisins to my basic mead for yeast food but it is afruit I added so it is a melomel.....oh wait but when you add grapes it has a different name and rasins are just a dried grapes so which name you choose to give it becomes just an opinion and yet everyone have an opion and the supposed rules change between different agencies just enough to be annoying. So I throw all that to the wayside a shun it! I call it what that base thought of brewing is. Technically you could just call mead wine too but since I am a bee keeper I gave it an exception. Well thats my rant for the day.

What size bottle!? I have a pineapple coconut that might be decent in 6 or so months. It is currently fermenting.

 

[HawleyFarms]

Raisins don't add as much in the way of nutrients as some would have you believe. Using raisins as nutrient wouldn't qualify it as a pyment.

Although I do an enormous amount of experimentation, I tend to keep my meads to style that I want judged at some point or another.

These will be bottled in 22oz bombers to be aged for a good six months in bottle. Might even bottle a gallon still in wine bottles to see how it turns out. Haven't ever had a braggot that wasn't carbed so it may be interesting.

 

[DungMonster]

Heh the rasins add more than nothing and I have noticed puree works way better then just adding the rasins straight in, I just toss some in my ninja or chop like a maniac. Judging?!? I judge mine with my tum tum. I am more about making for my lonesome to save cash then anything else lol. I have my own honey so last time I compared a 5 gallon. Ucket of feel good juice costs me a packet of yeast and whatever fruits I add. Easily under 2 buckets a gallon. My last batch was more because I was being fancy pants with coconut water. Though it was still around 3 bucks a gallon.... wat cheaper then buying crap beer on the cheap at 12ish bucks a gallon. Good luck with the judging though, hope you win stuff

 

[Dr_Floyd]

By definition a Braggot is at most 50% fermentables coming from Malted Barley with the rest coming from honey. You are right to put it in the Mead Forum though as it's most likely considered a Mead rather than a beer.

The recipe sounds amazing by the way! One of the best Braggots I've ever had is from Rogue in Oregon called Rogue Farms Marionberry Braggot.

 

[DungMonster]

Lets call it num num juice until he sends out samples so we can try it!

 

[HawleyFarms]

By definition a Braggot is at most 50% fermentables coming from Malted Barley with the rest coming from honey. You are right to put it in the Mead Forum though as it's most likely considered a Mead rather than a beer.

The recipe sounds amazing by the way! One of the best Braggots I've ever had is from Rogue in Oregon called Rogue Farms Marionberry Braggot.

Thanks! Finally got this started this afternoon. Unfortunately still not done yet. I really need to get a bigger kettle. I upgraded to a big cooler for mashing, added almost double the water because I saw 22# of fermentables with the honey added so I mashed for 21.25# instead of 12.25# at 1qt/# (thankfully not 1.5 or 2/#) so added up with more liquid after sparge than I planned for. Have half of it boiled w/half the weight of Willamette. Have a new year's party to attend so will have to boil the other half when I get home.

On the plus side, I think my efficiency was in the upper 80's/lower 90's with the new cooler setup.

Will keep everyone updated with progress!

 

[HawleyFarms]

This has been in secondary since it reached terminal. Still waiting on the bacon extract to arrive.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

How much Bacon Extract and Maple Extract are you using for this recipe in secondary?

 

[HawleyFarms]

How much Bacon Extract and Maple Extract are you using for this recipe in secondary?

Right now it has 15ml of each in it. No discernible bacon flavor and very little maple flavor. Also pretty disappointed in the lack of smokiness. I think the large amount of honey must have overpowered the smoked malt.

Going to put it away for a few months with my solera style bochet cyser and taste it when it mellows and then add more flavoring before bottling. I don't want to over-extract it.

 

[HB_in_Subic]

Interesting, I will be watching this thread for future updates...

 

[HawleyFarms]

Finally bottling this today. Ended up adding the full 59ml of bacon extract and around 45ml of maple extract. Priming with maple syrup as well. Seems like it failed in the bacon department, taste is more akin to French toast. Breakfast braggot maybe? I'll give it a few weeks in the bottle and test it cold and carbed.