Hi all, just bottled a light bochet, 1 gal batch. Tastes wonderful, thought I'd post my process/ see if anyone else out there has any experience with this seemingly taboo fringe-beverage (lotta folks cringe at the idea of caramelizing honey for a lot of stuttering "but...it..." reasons. This is brewing, man, it's science! and innovation...sorta)
Makes 1 Gal.
-3 1/2lbs Flagstaff wildflower honey (a light local varietal, very sweet, by Mountain Top Honey)
-2 tbsp bee pollen
-1/2 tsp yeast energizer
-1/2tsp DAP
-2 g. Lalvin D-47
O.G 1.120-F.G 1.180
Process: all honey added to 25qt. pot, caramelized very vigorously for roughly 90 minutes until a dark mahogany color. added approx 1 oz. water to honey every 30 minutes as it caramelized to soften the process a little, kinda like caramelizing onions. Beware! Boiling-hot honey is violent to water. Once 90 minute mark was hit, added 1/2 gallon cold water SLOWLY and stirred, re-heating on low. Once the honey mixed nicely with the water I added 2 tbsp bee pollen (as a nutrient source) and allowed it to dissolve, then added the mix to a 1 gal. jug with the energizer and DAP and topped to the neck to cool. Made some more headspace when I drew a hydrometer reading, capped and aerated, made a 1/2 cup starter with the D-47, waited, pitched at approx 85F, etc.
Notes: Fermentation started VIGOROUSLY at about the 2hr mark. Very dark reddish-brown color, the fermentation had lots of stringy-looking yellow chunks of what I presumed to be obliterated proteins (i.e. the foam you'd skim turned into a gummy precipitate) It spent 2 weeks in first fermentation when I noticed all the gummy crap had settled out and it was actually looking reasonably clear already but still fermenting. Racked off about 1 1/2inch of lees/mystery gunk into a clean gallon jug with approx 1/4 ounce dark roast hungarian oak. let sit on the oak in secondary for 2 weeks till fermentation slowed to a crawl and I could read my mail through the bottom of it, then bottled. Taste of my *ahem* sample was young, but had some resemblance of the original honey, with strong toffee/caramel flavors and an underlying vanilla taste. The nose kinda reminds me of a red ale though? not sour, but malty? Tastes dry in spite of FG, possibly some residual sugar left to give it a hint of effervescence, but it's clear so I'm thinking bottle conditioned chances are low if non-existent? Looking forward to getting a sip of this 6months/year from now, I'll finish my lil' sample for now.
Makes 1 Gal.
-3 1/2lbs Flagstaff wildflower honey (a light local varietal, very sweet, by Mountain Top Honey)
-2 tbsp bee pollen
-1/2 tsp yeast energizer
-1/2tsp DAP
-2 g. Lalvin D-47
O.G 1.120-F.G 1.180
Process: all honey added to 25qt. pot, caramelized very vigorously for roughly 90 minutes until a dark mahogany color. added approx 1 oz. water to honey every 30 minutes as it caramelized to soften the process a little, kinda like caramelizing onions. Beware! Boiling-hot honey is violent to water. Once 90 minute mark was hit, added 1/2 gallon cold water SLOWLY and stirred, re-heating on low. Once the honey mixed nicely with the water I added 2 tbsp bee pollen (as a nutrient source) and allowed it to dissolve, then added the mix to a 1 gal. jug with the energizer and DAP and topped to the neck to cool. Made some more headspace when I drew a hydrometer reading, capped and aerated, made a 1/2 cup starter with the D-47, waited, pitched at approx 85F, etc.
Notes: Fermentation started VIGOROUSLY at about the 2hr mark. Very dark reddish-brown color, the fermentation had lots of stringy-looking yellow chunks of what I presumed to be obliterated proteins (i.e. the foam you'd skim turned into a gummy precipitate) It spent 2 weeks in first fermentation when I noticed all the gummy crap had settled out and it was actually looking reasonably clear already but still fermenting. Racked off about 1 1/2inch of lees/mystery gunk into a clean gallon jug with approx 1/4 ounce dark roast hungarian oak. let sit on the oak in secondary for 2 weeks till fermentation slowed to a crawl and I could read my mail through the bottom of it, then bottled. Taste of my *ahem* sample was young, but had some resemblance of the original honey, with strong toffee/caramel flavors and an underlying vanilla taste. The nose kinda reminds me of a red ale though? not sour, but malty? Tastes dry in spite of FG, possibly some residual sugar left to give it a hint of effervescence, but it's clear so I'm thinking bottle conditioned chances are low if non-existent? Looking forward to getting a sip of this 6months/year from now, I'll finish my lil' sample for now.