Bourbon Vanilla Porter (AG) - Page 9

iddqd · 09-01-2009, 12:35 AM

Thinking about brewing something similar to this. I'll probably use extract instead of 2-row and munich, 1 lb of biscuit instead of brown malt and maybe using Morgans Master blend chocolate instead of the chocolate malt and some of the extract. I'm also planning on adding oak chips to it. The plan is to soak them in the bourbon for a while along with the vanilla beans and then tossing everything into the secondary.

How does this sound? Think it will be good?

**Lil' Sparky** · 09-01-2009, 04:25 AM

Honestly, I really don't know. I've never brewed extract, and this has such a complex grain bill that I'm not sure exactly how close you can get using extracts unless you were REALLY good at doing the conversions. The Morgan's sound like it might be OK, and it's 85% munich malt so you'll be making that part of the grain bill back up. I'd go easy on the oak chips. I've heard they can be overpowering if you're not careful. Are you substituting biscuit for brown because you can't get it there? It's not the same, but I guess it might be close - wouldn't be bad anyway.

iddqd · 09-01-2009, 03:56 PM

Thanks for the reply! Yep, the biscuit malt is because I can't find brown malt. And I'll check out some recipes with oak chips and see how much they used before brewing, thanks for mentioning that.

bkov · 09-02-2009, 03:35 AM

i think the brown malt is a significant part of this brew

bkov · 09-10-2009, 08:21 PM

is crisp brown malt the same as brown malt like in the recipe?

**Lil' Sparky** · 09-10-2009, 09:18 PM

I don't know for sure but I bet it's ok.

14thstreet · 09-11-2009, 05:45 PM

I'd like to plug my recommendation for this beer. I made mine (with the corrected chocolate amount) 7 months ago and despite coming in low at 1.068 (didn't boil off enough), this beer still ranks as the best I've made so far. I made a half batch to start and split it with one half getting the vanilla and bourbon. If you can't get any of the extras, the base porter is awesome in its own right. I've sheepishly kept it to myself but I'll admit I've nursed them because they are so precious and was curious to see how it ages over time.

egurney · 09-16-2009, 03:19 AM

Can somebody post a beersmith file for this?

**Lil' Sparky** · 09-16-2009, 04:41 AM

I added it to the 1st post.

theacolyte · 09-20-2009, 05:08 AM

Sorry for the potentially stupid question here.

I'm trying to do something similar (my first homebrew) with a brown porter mix...

I'm not doing a secondary so I'm wondering if I just add vanilla extract + bourbon when I bottle will I get the same effect? I'm guessing that adding real beans to a secondary allows for the essential oils to absorb, but that's what extract is...

My thought was to add the vanilla/bourbon at the same time.

Thanks in advance!