Help with Oaked Bourbon Porter

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1stTimer

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Would it be best to use a brown porter or robust porter recipe? This is my first oaked brew as well as boubon brew. Thanks for the help.:mug:
 
Bourbon = vanilla. Vanilla makes things taste more sweet than they really are. Either beer would work as a base, just make sure you get better attenuation than your normally would for the style.
 
1stTimer,

I have two barrels (5 and 10 gallon rum barrels) and brew for four others (30-50+ gallons, each). What we have found is the barrel seems to strip the body of the beer; not necessarily from the tannins either. We have put everything from RIS, Old Ale, Barley Wine, Wheat Wine, Rye Porter into these barrels....they all seem a touch thin and watery...not thick and chewy like Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout or King Henry.
I suggest that you don't let the FG get too low or to increase the body with some additional proteins, like oats, golden naked oats or wheat....without overdoing these to where they are noticeable.

I think a Robust Porter or Baltic Porter would be a great first beer into the barrel...assuming it's a fresh barrel. Let the roast (add >50% more than normal) offset the implied sweetness of the vanilla and bourbon.

That's what I did for the last 10 gallon rum barrel I received fresh; first beer in was an Imperial Porter-ish beer...heavy on chocolate malt, roast malt and gravity. I don't mind saying...it's pretty damn tasty! Just pulled Bert's Perfect Porter, brewed on the bigger side, out of the barrel recently and now have a foreign extra stout in it.

That's my experience and .02, for what it's worth.

It just occured to me now, that you might just be adding bourbon soaked oak cubes. If that's the case, ignore most of the rambling above.
I'd still bump the roast up just a tad for the reasons already stated, though.

Good luck with whatever you decide to brew!
 
Thanks everyone. Always appreciate the feed back. I think I will go with the robust porter. Its the style I prefer and if both will work why not go with my favorite.

DeadHead, I am planning on using oak chips. I havent got the money for a barrel yet. Saving up though.
 
Denny wrote a good article in the latest Zymurgy about how to make a beer very similar to what you're describing.
 
For Christmas, my daughter bought me Northern Brewer's Bourbon Barrel Porter All-grain kit. I brewed it in January and and have been drinking on it since late-March. I used a bottle of Maker's Mark for the bourbon. It is, I believe, a robust porter. And it is my best beer yet. It's been a hit with everyone who's tried it. I had really good efficiency with this brew, a 1.074 OG and 1.007 FG, 8.8% abv. (before adding the bourbon). I used oak chips as well, and you can definitely taste a hint of oak in it.

Enjoy!
 
Thanks again for the responses everyone. FX, thanks for telling me that. Im brewing it this weekend and Im getting more and more excited.

Nateo, can you give me a link to the article? Id love to read it.
 
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