I am planning on brewing a big Braggot to be ready for the holiday season and I was wondering if I should let it mature in the fermentor and then bottle around October/ November or if I should bottle sooner and let it mature in the bottle for a few months?
I made a wheat braggot a few years ago and bottled it after three weeks like an ale and left it alone for 6 or 7 months before trying it. It took close to a year to start getting really good. It was 9%, a weaker one would be good quicker.
I prefer bulk aging myself. I have enjoyed some braggots with little age on them, and others with a lot. It seems like a style with such a wide range of possibilities that it is hard say. I brewed a braggot last year in the spring to be ready for winter, and it is just now coming around to deliciousness. That particular honey, meadowfoam, took a while to come together with the malt.
That’s the best honey; wish it were more widely available.