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iBeer · 04-25-2007, 12:00 PM

Has anyone had any good success fortifying beer with hard alcohol? I've got some bottles of hard stuff (whiskey, carabou, ...), that have been sitting around, and I'd like to try adding them to my beer to give it some extra character (not really necessarily to boost the alcohol).
Does anybody have any tips for this? I bottle condition, so I want to keep the % alcohol low so I don't kill off the yeast. How much would you add per 5 gallon batch ... 5 oz, 10 oz ? When would you add it ... in the primary, secondary, or just at bottling?
Thanks!

jelsas · 04-25-2007, 01:15 PM

There's been some talk of soaking oak chips in whiskey and then adding to the secondary:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=23194&highlight=soak+chips+whiske y

Don't know how any of its turned out, but could make for an interesting brew.

**Denny's Evil Concoctions** · 04-25-2007, 01:36 PM

Buy some cheap whiskey, pour into a pot and heat up enough to see vapors coming of but not enough for steam. This will evaporate the alchohol and leave you with whisky flavoring. Then add that to the beer. Adjust to taste.

I'd have a hard time doing that, but if the whiskey was cheap enough....

Evan! · 04-25-2007, 01:39 PM

Oh, am I an expert? One could say that.

What I did was make a malty, low-hopped winter ale. While it was fermenting, I soaked a vanilla bean and 1.5 ounces of oak cubes in 2 cups of Evan Williams. I tasted it along the way, and added real vanilla extract along the way as required. The jar sat in the fridge all week, and by the end, it was hard to dump it into the carboy, because the steeped whiskey tasted so damn fine. But alas. I dumped the whole thing---bourbon, oak, vanilla---into the secondary, then racked the beer on top of it. I let that age for a couple of weeks before I racked again for a week of clarification.

At first, it was very, very harsh because of all the booze. But I tried another bottle last night, and it is DAMN fine stuff, and very ageable. It's like dessert. I highly recommend it. With bottle conditioning, the beer has absorbed and integrated the bourbon, and it's smooth as hell. Anyway, here you go. Do not omit the biscuit, whatever you do. The reason the malt bill is so lengthy isn't the result of some painstakingly detailed process of determining the perfect mix, I was just getting rid of a bunch of stuff that had been sitting in my grain container. But the dark malts and the biscuit are key. The carapils is also integral. if you don't have maltodextrin, you can just increase the carapils amount. The extra body (which is what maltodex does) is definitely a requirement, because a thinner beer can't stand up to the booze, and it'll end up out of balance. Anyway, enjoy!

Evan Williams Fortified Winter Ale

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

21-B Spice/Herb/Vegetable, Christmas/Winter Specialty

Min OG: 1.030 Max OG: 1.100
Min IBU: 2 Max IBU: 100
Min Clr: 2 Max Clr: 25 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 12.00
Anticipated OG: 1.077 Plato: 18.62
Anticipated SRM: 22.3
Anticipated IBU: 25.8
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.065 SG 15.98 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Tinseth
Tinseth Concentration Factor: 1.30

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.1 0.25 lbs. Malto Dextrin North America 1.030 0
41.7 5.00 lbs. Generic LME - Weizen Generic 1.035 7
25.0 3.00 lbs. Generic LME - Extra Light Generic 1.035 7
16.7 2.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
4.2 0.50 lbs. Biscuit Malt Great Britain 1.035 35
4.2 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
2.1 0.25 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350
2.1 0.25 lbs. Coffee Malt America 1.030 350
2.1 0.25 lbs. Melanoidin Malt 1.033 35

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.75 oz. Northern Brewer Pellet 6.50 17.1 60 min.
0.50 oz. Goldings - E.K. Whole 6.00 8.8 45 min.

Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.00 Cup(s) Bourbon Other 21 Days(fermenter)
1.00 Unit(s)Vanilla Beans Spice 7 Days(fermenter)
1.50 Oz Oak Cubes - American, House To Other 7 Days(fermenter)

Yeast
-----

Wyeast N/A Rogue Pacman Ale

Notes
-----

Steep vanilla beans & oak in bourbon during primary fermentation. Add bourbon, vanilla and oak cubes to secondary.

Evan! · 04-25-2007, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dennys Fine Consumptibles

Buy some cheap whiskey, pour into a pot and heat up enough to see vapors coming of but not enough for steam. This will evaporate the alchohol and leave you with whisky flavoring. Then add that to the beer. Adjust to taste.

I'd have a hard time doing that, but if the whiskey was cheap enough....

My guess is he'd want to retain the alcohol from the bourbon, since he's trying to make a fortified beer.

Evan! · 04-25-2007, 01:43 PM

Oh, and one last thing: if you're not a fan of oak, you could reduce the amount of oak cubes by half. I love oaked brews, personally, so I went heavy. But you could do with as little as 3/4oz.

andypantz13 · 04-25-2007, 03:35 PM

I'm probably a little crazy for trying this, but I think I'm going to try and do this with a citrusy IPA, some lime, some oak and some añejo tequila. My friends keep bugging me for a tequila beer, so we'll see how it goes. Reading all this certainly helps though.

**Yuri_Rage** · 04-25-2007, 03:52 PM

I don't think fresh lime will work out too well. Lime goes rancid and gets really nasty, especially when allowed to ferment (imagine the smell/flavor of vomit). Try some dried lime peel or an extract flavoring instead.

For a demonstration of what I'm talking about, squeeze a lime wedge into a glass of water and let it sit overnight at room temperature. Taste/smell it in the morning.

andypantz13 · 04-25-2007, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yuri_Rage

I don't think fresh lime will work out too well. Lime goes rancid and gets really nasty, especially when allowed to ferment (imagine the smell/flavor of vomit). Try some dried lime peel or an extract flavoring instead.

For a demonstration of what I'm talking about, squeeze a lime wedge into a glass of water and let it sit overnight at room temperature. Taste/smell it in the morning.

Oh yeah, I'm going to use lime peel/lime leaves. I know not to put fresh lime juice in it. Its just the lime flavor I want.

Willsellout · 04-25-2007, 04:33 PM

I will be adding 2 vanilla beans soaked in Knob Creek Bourbon to my next batch of Blonde. I actually got the recipe from brewhead I believe. It's his Pantydropper blonde..only instead of vodka I'm using bourbon. Can't wait to brew it...

Dan