mw20

Recipes 

I've got Denny Conn's vanilla bourbon porter in the fermenter now. I'm trying to decide if I'm gonna use bourbon or not. What kind of flavor does this add? And how much to use in a 6gallon batch?

bkov

Recipes 

i would add the bourbon, even if your not a big fan of bourbon. i think the recommended amount is a pint, 375ml per 5gallons of jim beam black

fivehoursfree

Recipes 

You could test it out by bottling with different amounts of bourbon and then finding your perfect ratio

Brutus Brewer

Recipes 

Different bourbons will offer different taste characteristics as well. I plan on brewing this using Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve, which is a 20 year old bourbon. It has a mellower flavor than some of the younger brands and should contribute the same mellowness to the porter.

brewt00l

Recipes 

My 2 cents: I wouldn't bother wasting spendy bourbon when dosing your beer unless you are really planning on hammering up the bourbon flavor so that it dominates the flavor profile. I generally shoot for complimentary flavors that blend together rather than dominate so you aren't really tasting the bourbon as an individual big flavor.

As far as what kind of flavor it adds, drink some bourbon and you'll get an idea. I like to dose a sample to taste and then apply that to the whole batch. It's rather important to cleanse your palate in-between the samples while you do this too so you get a fresh perspective.

peternf

Recipes 

I have this on tap as we speak (Denny Conn recipe)... I used a pint of JD to soak the vanilla beans in which I added to the secondary. One of the tastiest beers I have ever tasted. Subtle hints of the JD are definitely there whichs really adds to the flavour profile...yummy!!

ohiodad

Recipes 

I use a pint of makers mark in mine.. and I believe that you CAN taste the difference in bourbons in the beer... Maker's mark is the best in this! Blends so well with the chocolatey porter and the vanilla beans...

Lil' Sparky

Recipes 

+1 on Maker's Mark.

Why don't you bottle 1/2 without the bourbon, and the other 1/2 with? That's what I've always done when I've brewed it.

Start small with the bourbon additions - just a few oz - taste it, and repeat until you've reached the bourbon character that suits you. That way you don't overdo it for your own taste.

__________________

brewt00l

Recipes 

who said you can't? I hope you didn't take my post to imply such.
Makers is a good one for blending, nice and distinct. I used Bulleit on my last brew, its got a pretty spicy edge that I wanted in the flavor. Came through nicely.