NorthernBrewer Bourbon Barrel Porter - Page 33

djbradle · 01-06-2012, 04:43 PM

I put this in the primary at 58 degrees ambient in the basement on Jan. 2nd and hit the OG of 1.065. I just took a reading this morning and it's now at 1.024 with active ferm still going on. I gave it a swirl and placed it to a warmer spot at the basement stairs at around 68 degrees which is on the upper level for this Scottish ale yeast. Temps are supposed to be between 55 and 70 degrees for this strain. Any objections to this move? Bubbling had slowed to ever 5-10 seconds at this point. The sample tasted great! What were everybody else's FG's? If I can get this into the teens I'll be pleased. I have two vanilla beans sliced and opened sitting in 20 oz of bourbon with the 2 oz of toasted oak cubes going for 1.5 weeks now. This is an extract kit btw, my second batch ever. It's level at the 5 gallon mark on the bucket which was better than my number 8 at about 4.5 gallons when moved to secondary. I didn't do a full boil with this bbp.

djbradle · 01-06-2012, 11:59 PM

Before I add this bourbon/vanilla bean(2)/ oak cube mixture are there any thoughts out there as to the best way to do it?

I was thinking of adding the full 20 oz because I typically like very strong beers. I had placed the vanilla beans in the jar about 4 days ago. The oak cubes have been in there for almost 2 weeks. I used a cheap bourbon, Crow reserve.

**glenn514** · 01-07-2012, 04:27 PM

Make sure you have enough "head space" in your fermenter. When I added the bourbon, my Better Bottle overflowed with LOTSA foam! I was unable to put the oak bits in...barely got the bourbon in! However...I WILL brew this one again! Very, V-E-R-Y tasty!

glenn514

smurfwar · 01-09-2012, 01:00 PM

I soaked my oak chips in knob creek whiskey for about 2 months. brewed this on 9/1/11. Went 2 weeks primary and two weeks secondary. Added vanilla to the secondary along with the oak chips. Now it has beed sitting in a keg conditioning since 9/30/11. 31 days to go until its tap date. Haven't sneaked a taste yet. Smelled delightful when transferred to the keg. You guys make it difficult not to sneak it in early as how good everyone says it is. *will power*

**vengazor** · 01-09-2012, 06:16 PM

I brewed this kit on 10-05-11 and bottled on 12-7-11. During the process i put the toasted oak cubes, 20 oz Makers Mark and 2 oz of vanilla extract from a caribbean island we had sitting around, for three weeks then added to carboy before siphoning the wort. When i was bottling, the mix smelled strongly of bourbon and i was worried about the fact that i may have used too much boubon, but after bottle conditioning for a month, this beer is fantastic, maybe the best i have made in my 20 batches. This is also the first batch that i used Muntons Kreamy X as my carbonation mix.

I have a few questions though about gravity measurements.

When adding 20 oz of 80 proof whiskey in the carboy, what does an OG and FG reading really tell you? I feel that the beer is much higher alcohol percentage than what i can calculate, any help here would be appreciated.

djbradle · 01-18-2012, 12:40 AM

My secondary went without the oak since the oak was more potent than I liked. I threw in the two vanilla beans and 600 mls of bourbon. No foaming on my end though. The secondary is still bubbling slowly. Awesome taste from the gravity sample. The OG was 1.065 and the FG just a couple days ago was 1.018 after the bourbon pitch. OG and FG give you an estimated abv. With whiskey or bourbon alcohol will increase but less than perceived since its 5 gallons of beer. Some have said 1 percentage point but I doubt that. Just over 6 percent for me unless the FG drops a bit more.

smurfwar · 02-16-2012, 01:10 PM

Omg its so good. Still tastes young but got other things to keg and no more empties available. Will be making again in a few months and bottling that batch. 8 months conditioning should make it perfect. So glad i waited the 4 months to taste. *drool*

Effington · 02-16-2012, 01:16 PM

I bottled this beer March 2010. I just tried a bottle this weekend and it's AMAZING.

The smell is oaky and bourbony, but the taste is smooth and mellow. This beer is great for aging.

martialscientist · 02-28-2012, 01:35 AM

Bottled this 3 weeks ago and had to taste a bottle. It's already amazing and can't wait to taste it after it has aged.

**glenn514** · 02-28-2012, 10:51 AM

I had a bottle the other night from a batch I brewed in August 2011...and it was AWESOME! I've got a 12-pack of it down in the cellar. I think I'll leave it alone for some weeks, and then enjoy another bottle or two. Oh, did I say it was AWESOME? Oh, I guess I did. But it was...A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

glenn514