General view of definition of "Braggot" ?????

fatbloke · #1 12-28-2010, 03:51 AM

Ok, so I know that Braggot is a mead made with some malt.

Fine.

My problem is that when I read around the bazaars, some seem to think that it should be made like a beer, others use the ubiquitous wine making methods/techniques.

I've seen stuff on TV recently where a bloke who is a brewer and apiarist, makes "honey beer", so I'm presuming that while it's really up to the maker, from a "technical" point of view, it should be made as a wine but with honey and malt for the sugar source(s) to make the alcohol part and also for flavouring.....

Who's right, and who's wrong.... Or which is the "more correct"

?

TVM

regards

fatbloke

p.s. Oh and I'm asking as I've got both liquid malt extract (like from a health food shop) and also got a bag of powdered spray malt.......

darthbooger · #2 12-28-2010, 07:02 AM

Okay, im glad someone else has the same question I do, im on my second batch of braggot, the first one I made like a beer, this second one im going more along the lines of a wine, I myself would love to know which of these is the more correct way of going about it, the definition of a braggot is very vague and offers little guidance

havoc64 · #3 12-28-2010, 08:58 AM

YEA! Someone else asked the question I wanted to ask..

My co-worker is a beer brewer and he and I were talking..he said.."you mean a honey beer?"...

so please, someone help us out...

Medsen Fey · #4 12-28-2010, 10:08 AM

To eliminate such confusion, here at the Fusel Shack we have developed a braggot certification testing program. You simply send us a sample of the brew in question, and after rigorous standardized testing (

), if it is a braggot, you'll receive an official certificate documenting the status of the brew as a braggot. Those not meeting the criteria for certified braggot will be deemed "honey-beer."

The service is free of charge for all GotMead Patrons, and between now and the Super-Bowl, we are offering this service to all others at a deep discount. Just PM me for prices - discounts for multiple samples* will also apply.

Just another way for GotMead to serve you better!

Medsen

* samples will not be returned.

AToE · #5 12-28-2010, 10:46 AM

I'll volunteer for the Canadian version of that testing facility.

On a serious note though, there is no right or wrong way to do it. It's half beer half mead (roughly), treat it as such.

The only real difference is fermentation management, and apparently some people are starting to do that for big beers too, so it's not just a wine technique anymore.

The same recipe handled more like a beer or more like a wine will have some differences of course, but not so extreme that one turns into straight mead and the other into straight beer or anything like that. Braggot is a vague thing, nothing to really be done about it, no "more correct" way to do it (historically it wasn't even fermented as one drink, it was a mixed drink).

If anyone cares to elaborate on treating their braggot "more like a beer" or "more like a wine" I'm sure there could be some good discussion on how to make the best possible braggot (rather than the most "correct").

akueck · #6 12-28-2010, 11:56 AM

It's a braggot if you say so. Call it an elephant if you like, it can be that too.

I have seen some "official" definitions of meads: melomel for example is supposed to contain at least 50% of fermentables from honey. For braggot the line was drawn at no less than 25% fermentables from honey. Obviously there is a huge difference between a 25/75 honey/malt and a 75/25 blend, but both could be called braggot without upsetting the mead gods.

I think a better definition is a functional one: how do you consume it? If it's 6% abv and you drink it by the pint, you might want to call it honey beer. Not that it isn't a braggot, but by calling it beer everyone knows what to do with it. Now if it's 12% abv and you sip it out of a snifter, perhaps braggot is the better term for it. It could be the same recipe with less water, but it "acts" more like a wine/mead than a beer.

havoc64 · #7 12-28-2010, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medsen Fey

To eliminate such confusion, here at the Fusel Shack we have developed a braggot certification testing program. You simply send us a sample of the brew in question, and after rigorous standardized testing (

), if it is a braggot, you'll receive an official certificate documenting the status of the brew as a braggot. Those not meeting the criteria for certified braggot will be deemed "honey-beer."

The service is free of charge for all GotMead Patrons, and between now and the Super-Bowl, we are offering this service to all others at a deep discount. Just PM me for prices - discounts for multiple samples* will also apply.

Just another way for GotMead to serve you better!

Medsen

* samples will not be returned.

MEDSEN you kill me!!

Brad Dahlhofer · #8 12-28-2010, 04:54 PM

I'm brewing 30 gallons of an Imperial Stout braggot tomorrow. So I'll ponder this question over a few glasses once its done.

AToE · #9 12-28-2010, 05:07 PM

Does that mean you found a way to commercially produce braggot, or is this just for yourself and friends?

fatbloke · #10 12-28-2010, 06:32 PM

Oh bollocks! that doesn't get me any closer to a definitive answer does it.......

It's just that I wonder if it's supposed to be a beer that has a bit of a honey taste or whether it's supposed to be like a mead/wine that has hints of malt in it......

I'll just have to use the malt extract as a back sweetener then to give things a malty hint.....

Hey ho!

AToE · #11 12-28-2010, 09:25 PM

There's no answer to that, it could be either. I personally see it as a beer with some mead character, since malts and hops so easily overwhelm the honey - but a braggot done mostly honey with just a hint of malt/hops would be great too.

Brad Dahlhofer · #12 12-30-2010, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AToE

Does that mean you found a way to commercially produce braggot, or is this just for yourself and friends?

It's a homebrew batch for me and the B. Nektar crew to share, learn from, and tweak. We want to do beer in the future, but we figure we might as well work on some recipes first.

Brad Dahlhofer · #13 12-30-2010, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatbloke

Oh bollocks! that doesn't get me any closer to a definitive answer does it.......

It's just that I wonder if it's supposed to be a beer that has a bit of a honey taste or whether it's supposed to be like a mead/wine that has hints of malt in it......

I'll just have to use the malt extract as a back sweetener then to give things a malty hint.....

Hey ho!

I personally don't think the style has been so strictly defined that you can't have a lot of creative freedom with braggots.

Smarrikåka · #14 12-30-2010, 08:32 AM

If a brewer who isn't into meadmaking makes a beer with honey in it, they might be calling it a honey beer.

If a meadmaker makes the exact same thing, they'll be calling it a braggot as long as the fermentable sugars coming from honey are big enough, for it to be called a braggot.

If a brewer who isn't into meadmaking should make a really strong beer with a lot of honey in it, they still may not call it a braggot. It's possible they'd call it a honey barley wine, it's also possible they'd call it a mead.

If a meadmaker makes the exact same thing, they'll be calling it a braggot, or if the malt contributiion is very, very tiny, but the hops contribution significant, why not a methelgin?

My own view is that it should be called honey beer if the sugar contribution from honey is too low, or if the honey isn't fermented, but only used for sweetening. A blend of already fermented mead and beer, should also be called a braggot.