Batch #005: Bocheted Capsicumel
- Batch Size
- 5 gal
- Starting Gravity
- 1.076
- Final Gravity
- 0.994
- Approximate ABV (before backsweetening)
- 10.76%
My first attempt at a bochet, aiming for a flavor profile I landed on by accident while making some arepas, and also an experiment with toasting honey using an immersion circulator.
- bulk clover honey, toasted
- medium toast frech oak
- morita chile peppers
- cinnamon
- vanilla
Most Recent Update
Racked and added adjuncts
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 morita chiles
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 medium toast French oak staff
Measured the gravity at 0.994, so something like 100% attenuation, and between 10 and 11% ABV. There was a kind of mineral-y, white wine dryness to it, but the caramel flavors were still there, especially after letting a sample breathe a little.
I added the adjuncts, and I’ll be tasting it every other day for a week or two to see where the flavor lands; I don’t want to overextract either the cinnamon flavor or the morita heat.
I may have to backsweeten, but I’m adding two ingredients (oak and vanilla) that can make meads taste sweeter even if they’re somewhat dry, so I want to see where it lands with those before I add anything else.
Full Log
Toasted honey
- 10 lbs bulk clover honey
Measured 2 lbs of honey into each of 5 mason jars, leaving a generous headroom in each and lids just loose enough to allow air to escape. Held those jars in a 200ºF water bath for 20 hours.
I was happy enough with the change in the honey—it developed some nice toasty and almost molasses-y notes—that I’d like to do a side-by-side comparison between sous vide honey and directly heated honey. The former is definitely easier and safer, but the latter is much faster and probably produces a deeper flavor.
Mixed must
- 4 gal bottled spring water
- 5 campden tablets
Mixed the now-toasted honey with water and sanitized the must with campden tablets.
Pitched yeast
- 11.5g Fermentis SafAle US-05 ale yeast
- 1¼ tsp LD Carlson Yeast Energizer (DAP)
- 3 tsp LD Carlson Yeast Nutrient
Measured the initial gravity at 1.076 (potential ABV of ~10%).
I noticed that even before picthing the yeast, the must already smelled like a dark beer.
Racked and added adjuncts
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 morita chiles
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 medium toast French oak staff
Measured the gravity at 0.994, so something like 100% attenuation, and between 10 and 11% ABV. There was a kind of mineral-y, white wine dryness to it, but the caramel flavors were still there, especially after letting a sample breathe a little.
I added the adjuncts, and I’ll be tasting it every other day for a week or two to see where the flavor lands; I don’t want to overextract either the cinnamon flavor or the morita heat.
I may have to backsweeten, but I’m adding two ingredients (oak and vanilla) that can make meads taste sweeter even if they’re somewhat dry, so I want to see where it lands with those before I add anything else.