Beer Style: Mead
Gordon Strong’s Braggot
A braggot with an English barleywine base beer with about half the fermentables coming from wildflower honey.
Braggot
Braggot is a unique beverage that is part mead and part beer. Different from honey beer as a larger percent of its fermentables come from honey, yet braggots can be made with a base beer style in mind. Learn more about what braggot is and three different approaches to making one.
Varietal Mead
Varietal Mead (5 gallons/19 L)OG = 1.120 FG = 1.012 ABV = 14% Most of the traditional mead recipes that I make follow this ratio: 1 part honey, 3 parts water. Using
The Queen’s Mead Recipe
OG = 1.073 FG = 0.998 ABV = 9.8% Bitten by the meadmaking bug during the pandemic, Paul Crowther set out to make a historic mead. Not just any mead steeped in
Ancient Fire Mead & Cider’s 60% Of The Time clone
Ancient Fire Mead & Cider’s 60% Of The Time clone (5 gallons/19 L, bottled under cork)OG = 1.152 FG = 1.028ABV = 16% Ingredients16 lbs. (7.3 kg) wildflower honey2.5 gallons (9.5 L) 24 °Brix
Ancient Fire Mead & Cider’s Leaping Off The Ledge clone
Ancient Fire Mead & Cider’s Leaping Off The Ledge clone (5.25–5.5 gallons/20–21 L, keg carbonated)OG = 1.058 FG = 0.997 FG = 1.010 (after backsweetening)ABV = 7% Ingredients8 lbs. (3.6 kg) orange blossom
Ancient Fire Mead & Cider’s Granola Bar! clone
Ancient Fire Mead & Cider’s Granola Bar! clone (5 gallons/19 L, bottled under cork)OG = 1.131 FG = 1.020ABV = 14.5% Ingredients18 lbs. (8.2 kg) buckwheat honeyWater to 5 gallons (19 L)20 g Lalvin
I’ll Have The Pie
I’ll Have The Pie (5 gallons/19 L)OG = 1.138 FG = 1.025ABV = 14.5%, est Ingredients16 lbs. (2.3 kg) honey3–4 gallons (11.5–15 L) fresh-pressed cider25 g 71B-1122 wine yeastYeast rehydration agentYeast nutrientsStabilization
Pear & Grape Cocktail Mead
Pear & Grape Cocktail Mead (6 gallons/23 L)OG = 1.067 FG = 0.997ABV = 7%, est (final, 9% after ferment) Ingredients6.4 lbs. (2.9 kg) honeyWater to 4.5 gallons (17 L)12 g QA23
Spiced Orange Mead
Spiced Orange Mead (3 gallons/11.5 L)OG = 1.127 FG = 1.020ABV = 14%, est Ingredients10.5 lbs. (4.8 kg) mix of clover and basswood honeys12 g Côte des Blancs wine yeast3 orange peels 1
Candy Cane & Chocolate Mead
Candy Cane & Chocolate Mead (3 gallons/11.5 L)OG = 1.134 FG = 1.027ABV = 14%, est Ingredients11 lbs. (5 kg) wildflower honeyWater to 3 gallons (11.5 kg)15 g Côte des Blancs wine
Braggot
Somewhere between a traditional mead and a beer is where you’ll find braggot. The trick, however, is to balance the two ingredients to create a synthesis of malt and honey. Learn about the history, ingredients, and techniques to brew a braggot worthy of bragging about.