Braggot/Bracket recipe questions

[wowbagger]

I'll soon have a little more time and, more importantly, some free carboys. While lurking around the forums I somehow came to the conclusion that I would like to try making a Braggot. I found a recipe on another site for inspiration but I wanted to get some more feedback.

1 Gallon black & blue braggot

2# honey
1# dark DME
1# blueberries
1# blackberries
Yeast & Nutrients

I was thinking of splitting the berries betwen the primary and secondary. Firstly, any suggestions for honey to use in this recipe? I'm planning on using no hops, so this might not technically be a 'braggot' right? Also, seeing as I've made melomels but never a braggot, is there anything special or different I need to do?

Thanks!

[hepcat]

It's my understanding what makes mead a braggot is when ~51% of your fermentable sugar is honey and you also have extract or whole grain in the recipe, hops are optional.

[akueck]

Melomels are harder than braggots in terms of extra steps, having that fruit cap that needs punching, straining, pressing, etc. Braggots are comparatively easy, so you should be good to go.

Hops are not necessary, you can have a hopped mead fall into the metheglin category. But add malt and you get braggot.

There's no hard line for braggot vs. honey beer vs. malty mead. A braggot is just supposed to have noticeable and more or less balanced contributions from the malt and honey components. What that means is really up to you, unless you're trying to get a label permit from the TTB of course. Then braggot doesn't exist!

[mccann51]

What kind of yeast you using? If memory serves and DME adds about 35 points to gravity, then you're looking at an OG of 1.105. You could end up with a very sweet brew if you're using a beer yeast, even a strong one like Safale-04 or Nottingham. If you are using a beer yeast, you might consider throwing in some hops to balance the sweetness. The acid from the berries will help, but it might not be enough (somebody with more experience might have more to say here).

I personally prefer a beer yeast for braggots, as when I've used wine yeasts I find the malt character doesn't taste quite how I want it; sorry I can't be more specific. That said, perhaps a wine yeast makes more sense here because the berries and high OG, it's all in what you're going for I guess.

[wowbagger]

Thanks for the feedback all! My initial thought was to use D-47. That way I can end up with sweet but not too sweet and hopefully give it a more wine character than a beer character right?

[wowbagger]

Actually, in that vein: I'm not opposed to adding some hops for balance, but what would my other options be to add acidity? More berries?

[akueck]

The dark DME will probably have some astringency from the roasted and/or high kilned grains. You might not need to add more acidity. I'd wait until it's finished before deciding you need to make it more tart.