I am IN!!! I have only been making mead and beer for about a year now, but I have the bug BAD! I just listened to the podcast where you talk about this project. I made up the first two gallons today. Yes, I am doing two different runs of gallon batches.
Base is 5 lbs. of raw wildflower honey on med to med high heat for about 75 minutes. I stopped it as soon as I started to get a collection of smoke in the kitchen. Amazing really opaque copper hue.
Using a SNA program and 71B for the yeast.
One run I am keeping basic. Just different batches of burnt honey.
The other run I am going to make into a capsacimel (sp?). Billie's Chilies is one of my favorite beers. So I am going to use the different peppers I grow in different batches to create a wonderful blend of flavor. I am pretty sure the heat won't survive the aging, but I want that chili flavor to pair with the sweet smoke of the bochet.
I am a student of the craft first, and am excited to jump in on this project with all of you guys that have basically been my instructors indirectly over the past year.