1. I've been told that unless the Braggot base beer is of the "light" nature, such as a wheat, that it's just a waste of good honey because the honey won't be evident in something like a Porter.
2. Maybe that's true if the honey is added somewhere in the boil. So I thought, "What If?"
- What if I brewed the beer & mead separately & blended them after they were fermented.
3. In either case I'm thinking forced CO2 might be the safest and most consistent way to carbonate??
1. These folks haven't experimented enough to master the blending of must and wort.
2. I've found success with adding honey to wort fermentation just after high krausen. Also, you can add any portion of must you like, IMO a 50/50 mix just doesn't cut it. Don't boil honey ever.
3. This is the only method I've used so I won't comment further on carbonation.
The thing that I was surprised by (I think most people would be too) is that adding honey to the wort fermentation can cause some of the previously unfermented grain components (complex sugars) to break down further. This will especially be the case if you correctly manage your fermentation. So let’s say you have a base beer that would have had a FG of 1.012, by adding honey (that hasn't been boiled) to the wort fermentation you can end up getting a FG of 1.001 or 2. Thus the braggot would have higher alc content and perhaps a bit of a drier feel than was expected. I will say that, the majority of the homebrewed Braggot I’ve tasted (made by other brewers) was gnarly sweet and lacking in discernable honey character and that’s too bad, it turns people away from what can be delicious. But with a little bit of planning and thought towards blending, anything is possible. Cheers, j
[edit] in addition to the excellent help on this site you can read up on honey varieties at gotmead