kingwood-kid

Recipes 

If you have the storage space, you could split your batch in two and add the cubes to half, then blend to taste later. You can always drink the bourbon if you don't want to waste it.

cheezydemon3

Recipes 

I am all for experimentation, but I think you made the right choice.

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Yankeehillbrewer

Recipes 

Good choice

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Kegged:Kolsch,Motueka Pale Ale, Coffee Porter, 3C's IPA

Primary #1: Simcoe/Amarillo IPA
Primary #2: An experiment
Secondary:
On Deck:Stout,Pilsner

cayergeau

Recipes 

So if anyone is still subscribed to this, I'm thinking about making an imperial IPA with bourbon and oak cubes. Judging from this, my first thoughts are of taking a jar and using 2 oz of oak cubes and maybe 2 oz of bourbon and letting them sit for a couple of weeks, shaking them every day or so to recoat the cubes and such. I figure this way, there won't be too much bourbon and the cubes will get sanitized effectively.

No thoughts on how long I should let them sit though in what I'm assuming should be the secondary fermenter... Any thoughts on this?

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MikeInMKE

Recipes 

I don't know the correct answer, but my approach was to:

1) Wait until fermentation was slowing down, then soak the cubes in bourbon

2) Wait until fermentation finished, add the cubes (but not the bourbon) to the primary.

3) Sample the beer every few days until it has enough oak flavor. This is the stage my bourbon barrel porter is at currently.

4) Rack to bottling bucket. Add some of the bourbon, stir and taste until I think I have enough bourbon in the beer. Bottle.

5) ???

6) Profit!!!

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Primary 1: EdWort's Robust Porter
Primary 2:
Primary 3:
Bottled: Grateful Dead Guy, Bourbon Barrel Porter, Tasmanian APA, Oktoberfest, Maibock, Barnyard Brown Ale, Tasmanian APA batch #2
On Deck:

cayergeau

Recipes 

I do like the sound of that. Gives a lot of control over the oak level as well as the bourbon level. Do you think that bourbon would even work well at all with the IPA flavors? Or should I just stick with the oak?

Edit: Basically I'm brewing a batch of beer for my brother's birthday present, and he likes bourbon and oak, but not stouts, so I'm banned from the darker beers for this, and my want for a nice bourbon soaked beer is starting to get to some pretty high levels. Perhaps another style that would work better?

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highgravitybacon

Recipes 

Jack Daniels sells chopped up barrels as smoking chips for BBQ at a lot of places. Black bag. Might be a cheap way to get a nice flavor without soaking if you sanitize them. Just thought of that now. A bit off the topic, but worth mentioning.

cayergeau

Recipes 

if nothing else, that sounds like a great source of smoking chips. ill have to inform my friends who have smokers

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chiteface

Recipes 

Ipa, old ale, I really like scotch ale. Founders has a great example of this with backwoods bastard. I feel like they hop the sh*t out of it too.

tennesseean_87

Recipes 

If you don't want to go the IPA route, think about a scotch ale, like Innis and Gunn's Rum barrel version. I really liked it. I would think first of bourbon oaking maltier styles, so maybe a big brown (too dark?) might work, too.

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#8 Corks in Belgian Bottles Hold Carbonation
Drinking: Graham's Cider, Sour mash Red, Rochefort 8 clone, Yeti Imp Stout clone, Brown Sugar Spiced Cider, Split batch IPA/SBitter, Oatmeal Brown Ale, Belgian Pale Ale, Oatmeal Dry Stout
Bottle conditioning: Graham's Cran-Apple Oaked Cider, Raspberry Apfelwein, Split batch Tripel, Split Batch Pilsener
Fermenter: Graham's Cran-Blue-Pom-Apple Cider
On Deck: Gun Stock Old Ale, BC Haus Pale (half nugget, half columbus), Berliner Weisse