my second all grain brew (easy drinking honey ale)

[dave-o]

As we're on the subject of mead-style drinks, i was wondering if you have any experience of Braggot. I noticed it on Beersmith the other day and have been toying with trying it.

Beersmith info:

Braggot
Type: Mead
Original Gravity: 1.060-1.130 SG
Color: 5.9-31.5 EBC
Final Gravity: 1.004-1.025 SG
Bitterness: 0.0-50.0 IBU
Carbonation: 1.8-2.8 vols
Alcohol by Volume: 6.5-14.0 %
Description: Mead made with a mix of honey and malt. Alternatively may be made by mixing mead with ale. Hopped varieties (optional) should have a evident hop flavor.
Profile: Flavor and aroma should reflect a mix of beer and mead flavoring. Pale to dark colored. Bitterness should balance with honey character. Should have some head retention if carbonated.
Ingredients: Made from > 1/3 malt and <= 2/3 honey (though this may vary) Hops optional for bitterness. May be lightly to heavily carbonated. Styles using ingredients other than honey and malt should be entered in open mead category.
Examples: Magic Hat Braggot, Brother Adams Braggot Barleywine Ale, White Winter Traditional Brackett

I was planning a 20l batch with about 3kg of grains and 2.5kg of honey. Hadn't planned the hops yet.

Any advice/experience?

[bs3mdp]

i have recently discovered this concept of mixed brews (i.e. malt/ honey mix and apple cider/malt mix) i have a book with a couple of recipes in and like you i am intrigued... il have a look at my recipes and type them up if they are relevant.
i will probably try one out once i am done with my honey beer.

3kg of grain and 2.5kg of honey sounds like the right sort of ratio, do you know what kind of initial gravity that will have? i would deffinately hop it and have a go at balancing that honey sweetness with the hop bitterness.

[dave-o]

At 75% eff, that gives:

(est)
1071 OG
1018 FG
6.9% ABV

Although i'd probably add a little more of something and aim for the magical 7% abv!

[bs3mdp]

actually now that i look at your idea for a recipe it is quite similar to mine for my honey beer except you intend to use about 3 times as much honey....

its deffinately an interesting enough idea to have me intrigued

[bs3mdp]

well i got my beer into a corny last night. i of course had a sneaky taste on its way in...

it was really quite good!! it had a strong aroma/bouquet of honey (i think 900g of runny honey is about right!!) and the cascade hops were just right for my tastes.

it was slightly thin though as predicted but isnt exactly watery, its very drinkable. Next time i make it i will probably increase the amount of pale malt to about 3kg - 3.5kg and use it in tandem with a less attentive yeast as someone recomended early on in this thread. Can anyone suggest a specific strain of yeast i could use to keep the abv lower? i dont really want it going above 5%