First Braggot

OG - 1.066 - started on 2/5/2018
FG - 1.010 - reached on 2/28/2018
Racked onto Gelatin Finings - 3/6/2018
Bottled - 3/13/2018

Brewing: Mix of Grains steeped in 3 gal water at 160F for ~15 min. Turned up heat and added 3.3lbs Light Gold Liquid Malt Extract. Brought to boil and poured over 6lbs crystallized wildflower honey. Topped up to 5.5 gal. 3/8 tsp nutrients added during aeration. Windsor ale yeast pitched at ~90F (this is too high).

Nutrients:
day 0 - 3/8tsp
day 1 - 1/8tsp
day 2 - 1/8 tsp
70% ferm - 3/8tsp
(Mead nutrient mix of 1:2 ratio Fermaid K to GoFerm)

Fining: After fermenting, braggot was pitch black but noticeably cloudy; no light would shine through. .75 tsp of gelatin finings were added to 1/2 cup cold water and allowed to sit for 1 hour. Braggot was racked into an intermediate bucket, it's primary fermentor cleaned & re-sanitized. The fining mix was added to the now secondary fermentor and the braggot was racked onto it. After two days, the color had not changed but the liquid was definitively clearer. Noticeably less yeast flavor. Left for a total of one week on finings.

Bottling: Bottle selection includes a 2l growler, several wine bottles, many grolsch bottles (all swing-top) and a few ~22oz crown-cap craft beer bottles. Bottles were rinsed, sanitized and aligned for easy filling. Bottling bucket and equipment were sanitized. 5oz of Corn Sugar were added to 1 cup of water and brought to a boil. After several minutes, this priming sugar was added to the bottling bucket. The braggot was racked onto the priming sugar, carefully leaving behind the remaining lees/finings. Primed braggot was distributed to bottles using a bottling wand. Final volume of braggot bottled was 4.5gal. Bottles put into large cardboard box and stored for 2-3 weeks.

Drinking: Carbonation was complete around 2.5 weeks after bottling. Moderate sediment in most bottles, with larger amounts in larger containers. On pouring, a light head forms and shortly dissipates; color is tan. Carbonation is similar to a soft drink or hefeweizen. Flavor is bitter dark malt followed by a mellow sweetness and yeast flavor throughout. Could be described as "a very malty soda with 7% abv."