# Don't Cry For Me Spargentina



## pdilley (13/5/09)

This is the base braggot Ken uses to create a whole panopoly of different braggots with unique colours, aromas, and flavors. Adjusting malts and honeys, as well as malt and honey ratios and of course the addition of fruits and spices including hot peppers :blink: 

From Ken Schramm's
The Compleat Meadmaker

This braggot will be amber to tawny brown in colour with a dense, cream-to-tan coloured head. It will have a noticeable caramel sweet nose entwined with honey and malt. The hops should not be evident in the aroma but should provide a pleasant, mildly bitter counterpoint to the full and distinctly sweet body. If you do not elect to add hops, this braggot will have a much sweeter profile on the tongue and may be suited to small, after-dinner dosages.

5 US Gallons (18.92 L)

All Grain Option:
4# (1.82kg) crushed pale malt
0.5# (227g) crushed crystal malt

Alternate Extract Option:
3.3# (1.5kg) pale male extract syrup
Or 3# (1.36kg) pale dry malt extract

Common Ingredients:
2oz (56.7g) Cascade hop pellets, ~5.5 AAU (optional)
10# (4.55kg) medium amber honey
2 tsp (19.8g) yeast nutrient
2 tsp (19.8g) yeast energizer
10g Lalvin D-47 yeast


All Grain:
01 - Sanitise 7 US Gallon (25L or larger) plastic fermenter or 6 US Gallon (23L) carboy. Fill partially with 2.5 US Gallons (9.5L) water, and chill to 55F (13C) or cooler, if possible.
02 - In a large stockpot, heat 4.5 quarts (17L) of water to 170F (77C). Stir in crushed grains. The resulting mash should be thin cooked cereal consistency and should stablise to between 145F (63C) and 155F (68C). Stir well, and hold the mash in that range for 30 minutes. If the mash dips below 142F (61C), add heat slowly, stirring constantly, to bring it above 145F (63C). Stir occasionally. Fill the smaller sparge pot and the teapot with water, and heat to 185F (85C).
03 - After 30 minutes, you are ready to sparge. Place the strainer over the second stockpot and carefully spoon or pour the mash into the strainer. Some liquid will strain into the pot below. With the teapot, rinse the grains by slowly pouring hot water over the grain bed. Try to rinse the entire grain bed by pouring some liquid over the entire surface of the grain. Using the teapot makes this simpler. Fill it from the other pot when empty. Repeat until you have poured out about 1 US Gallon (3.8L) of water over the grains.
The resulting liquid should total about 6 to 7 quarts (5.7L to 6.6L). It should taste malty and sweet, with a slight caramel flavour.
04 - At this point, you can add the option hops if you wish. Bring liquid to a boil for one hour.

Malt Extract:
01 - Santise a 5 US Gallon (18.92 L) plastic fermenter or 6 US Gallon (22.5L) or larger carboy. Fill partially with 2.5 US Gallons (9.5L) of water, and chill to 55F (13C) or cooler, if possible.
02 - In a large stockpot, bring 5 quarts (4.7L) of water to a boil, then shut off the flame and add the malt extract you have selected, and hops, if you wish. After mixing thoroughly, turn on the heat again and boil the liquid and hops for 1 hour.

Completing the Recipe:
05 - Remove the boiled extract or all grain malt mixture from the head and add in the honey. Stir well, and allow to cool. The wort/must must be no hotter than 100F (38C) if you are using a glass carboy. Transfer wort/must to the fermenter containing cool water. The resulting mixture should be about 65F (18.5C) to 75F (24C).
06 - Add yeast nutrient and yeast energizer, stir well, then add the yeast, which has previously been rehydrated according to package directions.
Affix fermentation lock and wait for the fun to begin. You will want to rack this to a secondary fermenter once the primary fermentation has slowed, and bottle after all signs of fermentation has ceased.

You can carbonate at bottling with the addition of 1/2 cup of honey, 3/4 cup corn sugar, or 1/2 cup corn sugar plus 1/2 cup dry malt extract. Carbonation will take two to four weeks.


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

PS. Note: Honey/Liquid dilution is 6:1. Honey fermentable contribution = 0.071 gravity points.


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## Airgead (14/5/09)

Interesting recipe that one. Its more of a malt flavoured mead than a honey flavoured beer. Historically a braggot was a beer strengthened with honey (often the second runnings boosted to full strength by addition of Honey or an addition to cheaply boost the strength of a beer where grain was scarce). It was still a beer with a honey addition though. This one comes in from the other direction.

Sounds pretty nice though.

Cheers
Dave


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