IPA w/ Bourbon?

I was just curious if my next idea might be too weird in case anyone has tried it. I want to make a pretty aggressive Black IPA, but was thinking of adding 1/2 to1 cup of my favorite bourbon to the secondary before I rack it over. On top of the dry-hopping (not sure with what yet, maybe Warrior/Zeus?) is that way too out of the the ordinary? Or should I care because trying things like this are what make the hobby fun? Thanks!

Might be a bit weird, but it's up to you. i think a lot of black IPAs work by emphasizing the bitter roast qualities over sweet chocolate tastes, but bourbon has a natually sweet/caramel taste. Depends on what bittering hops you use, I guess. Could be fun to try, though!

most of the time when you hear Bourbon Porter or something like that, it's a beer that was aged in a bourbon barrel. That said, the fun thing about home brewing is finding creative ways to include those types of flavors with out having access to old whiskey casks. I can't see any reason why it would be a bad idea to add that bourbon to the secondary if you want boubon flavor in your beer. I also don't think it's out of the ordiunary at all. We see fruit in the secondary, hopps, oak chips, honey, no reason why bourbon can't fall into that category.

I will say this, that kind of addition is going to take some tuning. I would ere on the side of not enought bourbon rather that too much.

A bourbon IPA is not unheard of. I had a maple bourbon IIPA at a recent outing at Founders Brewing. I'm planning a bourbon stout or IIPA very soon.

I went looking for oak chips and found some Jack Daniels chips made from their old barrels, and I'm soaking them in some bourbon. I'll add to the secondary of whatever I decide to make and see what happens. Oaking and adding bourbon is starting to become the next big thing I think.

The thing about adding bourbon is that it might be easy to overpower a less-sweet beer with it. It really goes best in a beer with some sweetness to help balance it. Id' go for it. The dark malts will help add some roast flavor that goes well with the bourbon. But I'd probably mash a bit higher, or add more crystal malt to help balance the sweetness with the heat of the bourbon.

I did a bourbon oaked DIPA a couple months back. It is awesome.

Revvy, how much bourbon should you use for a 5 gallon batch? I'm currently soaking 2 ounces of chips. Is that enough? Do I add just the chips, or should I pour the bourbon in too? I just don't want to add too much.

Homercidal said:

Revvy, how much bourbon should you use for a 5 gallon batch? I'm currently soaking 2 ounces of chips. Is that enough? Do I add just the chips, or should I pour the bourbon in too? I just don't want to add too much.

Click to expand...

I usually use about a cup to a cup and a half of bourbon, I use a mason jar, put the chips in there (about the same amount as you, but I just do a small handfull) and top off with the bourbon, basically just filling the jar.

It's up to you whether or not you want to add the bourbon, I like adding it.

The thing about oaking especially on a big beer like a dipa, is that you can't really over oak- technically you can, but then you just let it age out.

I'll usually leave them in for a week, 10 days max, then rack to a tertiary for a couple weeks, then bottle.

I am just curious what your favorite bourbon is? I am an Elijah Craig guy.

Personally, my favorite is Pendleton, followed by Maker's Mark if I want something sweeter and less harsh. Not sure what I'll add to this upcoming beer though. I'm glad to hear it's not a horrible idea at least! Although I am doing extract brewing so I may have trouble balancing it as someone mentioned.

I like the Ridgemont Reserve 1792.