Hello Hive Mind!
I have a question about a Braggot I'm formulating a recipe for. What I'm hoping for is about a 60/40 Barley/Honey ratio. The highest % of honey I've ever used before is 25%, so I'm worried about several issues from feeding (will I need to treat a beer with this much honey the way I would a standard Mead? - nutrition/enzyme-wise? I've never done this, obviously), to predicting F.G., to yeast health because of high gravity.
My plan right now is to make a wort that is around 1.100.
50% Vienna Malt, 10% other barley malt, and 40% local honey.
I'm going to hop it at FW, and again at 10 minutes to F.O., to about 30 IBUs.
For yeast I'm planning on a blend of one Ale Yeast (WYeast 1450 - Denny's Fav. 50), one Mead Yeast (WYeast 4184 - Sweet Mead), and one Wine Yeast (WYeast 4783 - Sweet White).
My biggest question is on the yeast. Temperature-wise, everything should be alright. I'm going to ferment at about 67F, and give it all the time it needs. Eventually, it will be going into (twice already used by me) Bourbon Barrels for about 6 months. I'm not sure what attenuation I should be expecting. I'm assuming pretty close to complete, no? If that's the case, the ABV will be above the level that will kill both the Ale and the Mead Yeasts, but the Wine Yeast will be fine. Will I be causing any trouble to the Braggot by killing off the less tolerant yeast via ABV production? Normally when I transfer into barrels I skip cold crashing in order to have active yeast in the barrels, but in this case, should I cold crash to get out all the yeast, and then repitch with more of the Wine Yeast for barrel aging? The other beers I'll have used in the barrel previously will all be intolerant to this level of alcohol, so they won't help on their own (and I'm not planning on any brett or other barrel strains).
Also, I'm debating whether to add all my honey in the whirlpool, or to feed 50% of the total honey after several days of fermentation, to give the yeasts (especially the Ale and Mead strains) a chance to have more influence over the product. Also - if I'm feeding it again, should I consider giving it a little additional O2, or leave well enough alone?
I know this is a lot of questions, but I'm out in new territory, and there isn't a lot of good info about Braggots out there that I've been able to find.
Thank you so much in advance!
I have a question about a Braggot I'm formulating a recipe for. What I'm hoping for is about a 60/40 Barley/Honey ratio. The highest % of honey I've ever used before is 25%, so I'm worried about several issues from feeding (will I need to treat a beer with this much honey the way I would a standard Mead? - nutrition/enzyme-wise? I've never done this, obviously), to predicting F.G., to yeast health because of high gravity.
My plan right now is to make a wort that is around 1.100.
50% Vienna Malt, 10% other barley malt, and 40% local honey.
I'm going to hop it at FW, and again at 10 minutes to F.O., to about 30 IBUs.
For yeast I'm planning on a blend of one Ale Yeast (WYeast 1450 - Denny's Fav. 50), one Mead Yeast (WYeast 4184 - Sweet Mead), and one Wine Yeast (WYeast 4783 - Sweet White).
My biggest question is on the yeast. Temperature-wise, everything should be alright. I'm going to ferment at about 67F, and give it all the time it needs. Eventually, it will be going into (twice already used by me) Bourbon Barrels for about 6 months. I'm not sure what attenuation I should be expecting. I'm assuming pretty close to complete, no? If that's the case, the ABV will be above the level that will kill both the Ale and the Mead Yeasts, but the Wine Yeast will be fine. Will I be causing any trouble to the Braggot by killing off the less tolerant yeast via ABV production? Normally when I transfer into barrels I skip cold crashing in order to have active yeast in the barrels, but in this case, should I cold crash to get out all the yeast, and then repitch with more of the Wine Yeast for barrel aging? The other beers I'll have used in the barrel previously will all be intolerant to this level of alcohol, so they won't help on their own (and I'm not planning on any brett or other barrel strains).
Also, I'm debating whether to add all my honey in the whirlpool, or to feed 50% of the total honey after several days of fermentation, to give the yeasts (especially the Ale and Mead strains) a chance to have more influence over the product. Also - if I'm feeding it again, should I consider giving it a little additional O2, or leave well enough alone?
I know this is a lot of questions, but I'm out in new territory, and there isn't a lot of good info about Braggots out there that I've been able to find.
Thank you so much in advance!
Comment