Fermentation 3 months at 80 degrees.

There is a slight lacto/brett character which is present that provides a pleasing tannic sour character. It is light but aids in the dryness of the braggot. Carbonation levels are high, but due to the lack of nucleation sights, the bubbles are fine and minimal head is present. Nose is amazing with vinous chardonnay fruity qualities. Mouthfeel is dry, slightly tannic from the dark grain but not overly tannic. The honey flavor dominates with a wonderful floral fruit character which mixes elegantly with the slight wild yeast phenols and esters.

Recipe changes for next batch would be to use the same honey in 33%, perhaps a pilsner malt 20% with 5% pale chocolate and 2-3 amber malt and 2-3 victory malt. The remaining sugars should be from Pear or Apples.

24 Gallons of water total

Mash Temp 153

Strike Temp 171 for mash at 11 gallons

Sparge Water 180 degrees at 13 gallons

ca2 – 60

mg2 – 7

so4 – 141

na – 7

cl – 28

hco3 – 7

baking soda – 1gram

gypsum – 20 grams

calcium chloride – 4.5 grams

epsom salt – 7 grams

canning salt – 1 gram

Hop Additions

Chinook 1.5 oz at 75 minutes

Chinook 1.5 oz at 10 minutes

40 ibu total

Yeast

SA04

Grain Bill

Pale Malt 20lbs US 2 row

Munich Malt 1 lbs

Crystal Malt 40l 2 lbs

Crystal malt 160l 1/2 lb

Vienna Malt 1 lb

Raw White Wheat 3 lbs

Predicted OG 1.048.

Came out to 1.040. Spilled the first prime 4 gallons of wort runnoff (ughh) so the batch came out a bit more watered down than planned. This actually made the recipe better by creating a better malt balance with the hops.
90 minute boil

Predicted PreBoil OG 1.040

Fermentation

Ferment at 66 then raise to mid 70′s after one week

Flavor.
Came out light and very drinkable. Hop profile is diminutive and favors the flavor a bit more than the bittering element. Excellent smooth drinking light session beer. Not too aggressive on the hops which are one dimensional. Smaller version of a very clean blend between sierra pale ale and abita. It’s off dry, but closer to dry. Hops are slightly oily on palate with a very subtle pine flavor and even more subtle spicy herbal finish. Probably the best session pale ale for a beer lover on a hot summer day that you could ask for. Almost a lager like yeast character due to the 2 months at cellar temp and cool ferment temperatures. Just enough hops to clean off the palate, but not so much that they linger or dry the mouth out. Slight bready/caramel malt flavor to balance the hops.