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Mead to beer

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Fellow homebrewers, I need some advice!

I've been brewing mead for years - mostly metheglin with ginger and vanilla, but I've done a few fruit meads too. I jump back and forth between D-47 and EC-118 yeast depending on my mood and I usually shoot for 16-18% ABV, fermenting dry and backsweetening before bottling.

But I'd like to shift gears a bit, and brew something sort of beer-like, and I'd like thoughts on what yeasts to try, fermenting time, and see if anyone has tried this. What I've got in mind is sort of akin to a braggot I suppose; what I plan to do is start by caramelizing my honey like a bochet with the addition of both bittering and aromatic hops at the appropriate times, then fermenting for a low ABV (somewhere between 5-7%). My goal flavor wise is something near a stout.

So - has anyone out there done anything like this? Thoughts on any of this? Thanks ahead of time!
 
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I'm a big fan of braggots and bochets can be good if done well. I've never done what you're describing as I've only done 1 "classic" mead so far but it sounds like an interesting project! Subscribing to follow.
 
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Fellow homebrewers, I need some advice!

I've been brewing mead for years - mostly metheglin with ginger and vanilla, but I've done a few fruit meads too. I jump back and forth between D-47 and EC-118 yeast depending on my mood and I usually shoot for 16-18% ABV, fermenting dry and backsweetening before bottling.

But I'd like to shift gears a bit, and brew something sort of beer-like, and I'd like thoughts on what yeasts to try, fermenting time, and see if anyone has tried this. What I've got in mind is sort of akin to a braggot I suppose; what I plan to do is start by caramelizing my honey like a bochet with the addition of both bittering and aromatic hops at the appropriate times, then fermenting for a low ABV (somewhere between 5-7%). My goal flavor wise is something near a stout.

So - has anyone out there done anything like this? Thoughts on any of this? Thanks ahead of time!
If your goal is flavor-wise like a stout, the only way you will get there is to use the proper grains & make a stout. Just caramelizing the honey & adding hops for a mead will get you a very different flavor profile that I think you will not be happy with. Bochets typically have a very marshmallow-like flavor with some added sweetness (caramel/toffee/fig/etc) depending on the honey you use - personally... your best bet would be this:
- make a stout
- make a bochet
- blend the two together after primary fermentation (only issue is this would probably go past your 5-7% abv)
you need a beer yeast to ferment the beer, you need a wine yeast to ferment the mead, adding both yeasts into one primary fermentation will create some issues
Hope that helps
 
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If your goal is flavor-wise like a stout, the only way you will get there is to use the proper grains & make a stout. Just caramelizing the honey & adding hops for a mead will get you a very different flavor profile that I think you will not be happy with. Bochets typically have a very marshmallow-like flavor with some added sweetness (caramel/toffee/fig/etc) depending on the honey you use - personally... your best bet would be this:
- make a stout
- make a bochet
- blend the two together after primary fermentation (only issue is this would probably go past your 5-7% abv)
you need a beer yeast to ferment the beer, you need a wine yeast to ferment the mead, adding both yeasts into one primary fermentation will create some issues
Hope that helps
Unfortunately, no...Celiac has pretty much halted my enjoyment of grain based beers, and what I'm going for is an attempt at replacing beer in my diet. I've never had a proper bochet, so I wasn't sure what my end flavor profile would be there.

Hmm. I wonder if there's anything I can add in primary or secondary to get it closer to the profile I want? Even if I don't get it to a stout, getting close to beer would be acceptable.
 
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Unfortunately, no...Celiac has pretty much halted my enjoyment of grain based beers, and what I'm going for is an attempt at replacing beer in my diet. I've never had a proper bochet, so I wasn't sure what my end flavor profile would be there.

Hmm. I wonder if there's anything I can add in primary or secondary to get it closer to the profile I want? Even if I don't get it to a stout, getting close to beer would be acceptable.
Sorry to hear that - here is my next suggestion then:
Make the bochet - in secondary, I would add some cacao nibs & vanilla - maybe even some oak cubes soaked in bourbon too
 
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