Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Bourbon Vanilla Porter (AG)

LLBeanJ said:

I soaked the beans in about an ounce or so of the bourbon for a few weeks (was only supposed to be a week, but my brew schedule kept getting pushed out and the beans were already soaking) to sanitize them before adding to secondary. The bulk of the bourbon (I used 8 oz.) was added when I transferred from secondary to the keg.

Edit: No, this isn't what I did. I'm remembering incorrectly. Jeez, it sucks getting old.

It was the oak chips that ended up with an extended soaking in the full 8 oz. of bourbon for about 3 weeks before adding to secondary. I can't remember what I did with the vanilla beans. Might've just added them to the end of the boil. I'll check my notes tonight and update this post... again.

Edit 2: Evidently, I soaked the vanilla beans and the oak chips in 8 oz. of bourbon and dumped the whole mess into the secondary for about a week, then I kegged and let it age for 4 months before tapping. Fortunately, I don't need to refer back to my notes to recall that it turned out to be really nice brew.

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These all sound good. My OG ended a little low (1.071) but I used a lot less Bourbon. The vanilla and chocolate flavors still came through strong. Great recipe but I ended up a little cidery cause I went a little too high with my ferment temp.

Just placed my 5gal (post blow-off) into secondary with 2 vanilla beans split, scraped, and chopped soaked in 2oz Paddleford Creek bourbon for 6 days. I had to leave it in primary for a little longer than I would've liked (5 weeks) due to vacation and work problems, but It smelled great when transferring and I can't wait to take the first sample tomorrow!

If I can find Brown Malt locally, I'm going to brew this on Thursday.

It was either this, or my RIS that I've made a few times. I asked SWMBO her opinion and she said "This will give you an excuse to buy some bourbon!"

Love that gal.....

I've been looking for a good vanilla porter base recipe, and I've decided on doing this recipe (without the Bourbon). Although we will split part off into 1 gallon jugs to do a couple experiments...maybe bourbon .

I'm planning a 10 gallon batch and wanting it closer to 5%, but I'm restricted to around 23-24 pounds of grain with my mash tun. I'm thinking of just adjusting the base grain a little to bring the ABV down and volume of grain and water needed. Does this seem to be a good approach or should I adjust all of the specialties also? Thanks guys!

just brewed this recipe last night. had to add a gallon of boiling water to my mash in to bring my temp up but took a gallon off on the back end. should I have any problems w the final gravity. my og was 1.081. I'm relatively new to home brewing just don't want to screw this one up. my thought is that it doesn't really mater how u get the sugar from the grain, but just want to make sure.

It'll be fine.

mrjaked said:

just brewed this recipe last night. had to add a gallon of boiling water to my mash in to bring my temp up but took a gallon off on the back end. should I have any problems w the final gravity. my og was 1.081. I'm relatively new to home brewing just don't want to screw this one up. my thought is that it doesn't really mater how u get the sugar from the grain, but just want to make sure.

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Worst case is that you might create a more fermentable wort. However, when mashing cool, you'll have to mash longer to convert the wort into that more fermentable solution. If you added the hot water relatively quickly, you'll likely have no problems.

Even if you did mash at the lower temp, your FG likely won't be affected more than a few points.

I don't typically say it, but RDWHAHB.

thanks for the reply. I will def relax and have a home brew!

I brewed this last December and have slowly been opening a bottle every two weeks to taste the changes in flavor. At first it was hot with the bourbon alcohol taste and had low carbonation. That was the first few months.
The next few months still had a bit of warmth from the bourbon but was mellower than before, the carb levels were nice even if it seemed a touch low.
I opened a bottle a few nights ago and it instantly overflowed from the bottle, obviously over carbed. I poured it into my glass and let it sit for a while and the flavors were great.
I followed the recipe on here as well as put it into BeerSmith for the proper corn sugar added. I left the bottles in the back of a cupboard at room temp around 70 degrees for a few months before putting a few in the fridge at a time a couple days before drinking. Any ideas why they are so over carbed. I will have to check my notes when I get home but it was a 5gallon batch, 10oz makers mark and around 4oz corn sugar.
I plan to brew this again eventually since it was delicious but wanted to wait for that 9-12 month mark to drink it since a lot of people on this thread said this beer is amazing at that time frame. Any ideas would be helpful as to why it happened to avoid it next time.
Thanks for the great recipe.

I apologize if this was previously covered in this crazy long thread. has anyone used oak chips in the secondary w this recipe. I've been soaking some in some bourbon for a couple weeks and since they are in the bourbon I thought it might be a nice add. any thoughts.

Yes. I brewed this as a 4 gallon batch and I ended up soaking an ounce of medium toast oak chips in 8 ounces of bourbon for about a month, then dumped it all into secondary for a week before racking the beer to a keg. Vanilla beans were also soaking in an ounce or so of bourbon for several weeks and they were added to secondary as well at the same time as the oak chips. A week in secondary worked well for my batch size, but you may need a bit longer if doing 5 gallons.

Got a question , I have the porter in primary right now , I would like to fill two one gallon jugs and oak the two with medium toast spirals , soak one with a bourbon and the other with rum . I an on to keg the rest three gallons and bottle the two gallon Oaked . Should I just transfer and put a airlock on while I have the oak in ? And then can I use the carb tabs to carb in the bottles after they are done oaking?

You will definitely want to use an airlock on the two 1 gallon jugs portions. I've used this method to secondary other bree beers that I wanted to add specific flavors to. This way you can just remove and taste to see where your at. You'll get about 6 bottles out of each gallon so I would say using the tablets will make it easiest to carb up each bottle correctly instead of trying to measure out priming sugar portions.

Good luck!

Thanks !!!

Apologize if this has already been address somewhere in the 53 pages prior but does anyone have an extract version?

PrivetDriveBrewery said:

Apologize if this has already been address somewhere in the 53 pages prior but does anyone have an extract version?

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There is a "search this thread" button at the top. Not trying to be a jerk, just pointing it out. Maybe you use the app on the phone and that choice isn't present.

I did the search ("extract version") and came up with these links:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f126/bourbon-vanilla-porter-ag-30185/index13.html#post3396464
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f126/bourbon-vanilla-porter-ag-30185/index12.html#post2763499
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f126/bourbon-vanilla-porter-ag-30185/index9.html#post2144999
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f126/bourbon-vanilla-porter-ag-30185/index8.html#post1896940
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f126/bourbon-vanilla-porter-ag-30185/index5.html#post1587550

Thanks for the help! Still learning about forums, I've tried searching an entire board before and came up with mixed results but didn't realize there was an option at the time. Appreciate the tip.

This is a common problem across all large threads. There is no master owner usually and the original poster is not always the best to answer all questions. Truly each large thread should have a designated collaborative FAQ or wiki page from experts.

Just added bourbon (Jim Beam Black) tonight. Outstanding taste after adding about 250 mL to the 5 gal batch! One mistake (thought about after I did it) I made was mixing the bourbon without adding CO2 to headspace first. It was not a hard mix at all, but just tilted back and forth a few times. A little foam was on top but hopefully it won't have an impact. I usually try to steer clear of oxidation....

Hi guys,

This is my second batch of this awesome brew. However, I hooked the keg up to the gas over 2 weeks ago and it's still not carbonated. Not even a little. I also connected a keg of another brew at the same time and that one is fully carbonated. I don't remember if it took this long the last time I did this porter. Anyone else experience an extremely slow rate of carbonation with this beer? There's definitely gas pressure in there as I've drawn some to taste and also pulled on the vent ring and it gases out. I just disconnected this keg and shook the living hell out of it and reconnected. Will give it another week before I taste test again.

DarkUncle said:

Hi guys,

This is my second batch of this awesome brew. However, I hooked the keg up to the gas over 2 weeks ago and it's still not carbonated. Not even a little. I also connected a keg of another brew at the same time and that one is fully carbonated. I don't remember if it took this long the last time I did this porter. Anyone else experience an extremely slow rate of carbonation with this beer? There's definitely gas pressure in there as I've drawn some to taste and also pulled on the vent ring and it gases out. I just disconnected this keg and shook the living hell out of it and reconnected. Will give it another week before I taste test again.

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Something's wrong. What temperature and what pressure did you have it at for 2 weeks?

I've never had to wait more than a few days to get at least a little bit of carbonation. I'm not suggesting you can get this to speed up, I'm just saying that you should definitely notice something by now.

I would normally suggest that you check for a leak. However, if there was a leak with no carbonation after 2 weeks, your canister would be empty by now.

Obviously check that the valve is all the way turned on and you could also try to remove the ball/pin lock and clean it up.

Another question. When you re-connect the gas line after opening and re-sealing the lid, did you hear the gas going into the keg?

Gotta try this I'm torn between this and Edworts Robust Porter. Guess I will just have to do them both.

Haputanlas said:

Something's wrong. What temperature and what pressure did you have it at for 2 weeks?

I've never had to wait more than a few days to get at least a little bit of carbonation. I'm not suggesting you can get this to speed up, I'm just saying that you should definitely notice something by now.

I would normally suggest that you check for a leak. However, if there was a leak with no carbonation after 2 weeks, your canister would be empty by now.

Obviously check that the valve is all the way turned on and you could also try to remove the ball/pin lock and clean it up.

Another question. When you re-connect the gas line after opening and re-sealing the lid, did you hear the gas going into the keg?

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Both kegs are on the same bottle of cO2 which are connected through a manifold. The one keg of beer is fully carbed but the porter isn't at all. There is gas in the keg, yes. I hear it go in, there is serving pressure on the line and when I pull the vent ring on top of the keg, gas is clearly in there and under pressure. So weird. I've never had this happen with any beer. There is no leaks either. Sprayed starsan around the inlet/outlet and the lid. No bubbles indicating a leak.

DarkUncle said:

Both kegs are on the same bottle of cO2 which are connected through a manifold. The one keg of beer is fully carbed but the porter isn't at all. There is gas in the keg, yes. I hear it go in, there is serving pressure on the line and when I pull the vent ring on top of the keg, gas is clearly in there and under pressure. So weird. I've never had this happen with any beer. There is no leaks either. Sprayed starsan around the inlet/outlet and the lid. No bubbles indicating a leak.

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Maybe a leak in the pressure relief valve? You could try disconnecting the keg for a few days and then try to release pressure, if nothing comes out then you will know if you have a bad o-ring somewhere. Sounds like something is definitely wrong though

I have the exact same problem as DarkUncle. Mine has been kegged for about two months. Three other kegs have been carbonated well. There is still CO2 in the tank so I know it can't be a large leak. I depressurize and hear the gas going back in. I've popped the top and reinserted with more keg lube several times. Nothing.

On the bright side, the beer tastes great even without a lot of carbonation. This is my second batch and first doing it all grain. The first batch took multiple weeks to carb as well. Hmmm....maybe too much bourbon?


Coy

coy94 said:

I have the exact same problem as DarkUncle. Mine has been kegged for about two months. Three other kegs have been carbonated well. There is still CO2 in the tank so I know it can't be a large leak. I depressurize and hear the gas going back in. I've popped the top and reinserted with more keg lube several times. Nothing.

On the bright side, the beer tastes great even without a lot of carbonation. This is my second batch and first doing it all grain. The first batch took multiple weeks to carb as well. Hmmm....maybe too much bourbon?


Coy

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On one of my used kegs I have to back the post out a quarter to half a turn otherwse the poppet doesnt depress and I get a very slow flat pour that would take 2-3 minutes to fill. pint.

Transferred this beer to a secondary for bulk aging today. 1.086 > 1.019 and it is very boozy and hot. Time for some reating time with my good pall Elijah Craig and Bulleit.

Well after 3+ weeks on the gas I'm finally getting some carbonation. Beer tastes great by the way. I don't know. Maybe higher alcohol content has some influence on the rate of carbonation? I've never heard that or read that anywhere though. Who knows. I'll grab another pint in a week and see how it goes. It's in a keezer at around 37 degrees with no detectable leaks anywhere on the keg and has plenty of pressure on the serving line. I fill a pint up in less then 5 seconds.

I have the recipe from a TrueBrew Porter Kit I brewed a while back, and am thinking of just applying the hops and yeast from this recipe to it and then adding the vanilla in secondary and bottling with Bourbon. The recipe, then, is as follows

Type: Extract
Yeast: American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)
Batch Size: 5 Gal.
OG: 1.043-1.045
FG: 1.012-1.014
IBU: 32?

Ingredients:
Dark Malt Extract - 1 Can (7lbs?)
Dark DME - 2lbs
Malto-Dextrin - 8oz
Choc. Grain Malt - 6oz
Hops 0.75 oz Magnum [14.00%](60 min)
Hops 1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (10 min)

Ferment as normal, 2 vanilla beans in secondary, 2.5 oz/gal bourbon with priming sugar at bottling.

I'm going to bring this to my LHBS for advice, but I'd love all the input I can get. I'm looking forward to this.

GrizzAndFish said:

I have the recipe from a TrueBrew Porter Kit I brewed a while back, and am thinking of just applying the hops and yeast from this recipe to it and then adding the vanilla in secondary and bottling with Bourbon. The recipe, then, is as follows

Type: Extract
Yeast: American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)
Batch Size: 5 Gal.
OG: 1.043-1.045
FG: 1.012-1.014
IBU: 32?

Ingredients:
Dark Malt Extract - 1 Can (7lbs?)
Dark DME - 2lbs
Malto-Dextrin - 8oz
Choc. Grain Malt - 6oz
Hops 0.75 oz Magnum [14.00%](60 min)
Hops 1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (10 min)

Ferment as normal, 2 vanilla beans in secondary, 2.5 oz/gal bourbon with priming sugar at bottling.

I'm going to bring this to my LHBS for advice, but I'd love all the input I can get. I'm looking forward to this.

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That will turn out horribly bitter. I'm assuming the OG of 1.044 is accurate, not the 7lbs of extract. If you apply that much hops to a malt bill that yields 1.044 it will be 1. Too low of gravity and won't be similar to this recipe as a result. 2. The same hops in a lower gravity environment will extract even more alpha acid than it would from the original recipe (higher gravity).

Using Tinseth I get 49 IBUs, which is off the charts in terms of bitter:sweet balance. You should be shooting for 16-18 IBUs if the gravity is 1.044 and you want to approximate the balance of this recipe. Probably means boiling with a smaller amount of much lower alpha hops, like 0.5 oz of Fuggles at 60 instead of 0.75 of magnum, keeping the EKG where they are.

As for the bourbon and vanilla I don't know how that would impact a light beer.

That being the case, can anyone suggest a tried and true extract recipe for this beer? I read the first 25ish pages of the forum before my eyes started to bleed, and their were a few people trying extract versions. One issue I saw come up rather often is loss of head retention due to oils from the vanilla beans. Some solutions that I saw suggested were the addition of flaked oats, barley or cara-something (pils?), would these work if steeped with the chocolate and brown malts, or do they need to be mashed? Thank you in advance for all your help.

Hi,
I have just one question and I don`t know if it has been asked before, but how long do you age this beer.
I was thinking of brewing it now in order to have it drinkable at around x-mas. Is it to long to age this beer for three to three and a half month?

Ravenor said:

Hi,
I have just one question and I don`t know if it has been asked before, but how long do you age this beer.
I was thinking of brewing it now in order to have it drinkable at around x-mas. Is it to long to age this beer for three to three and a half month?

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No! I bet mine was drinkable in a month if I kegged, add 2 more weeks for bottling (Month and a half).

You will lose a ton of vanilla by 3.5 months. It's still a good beer, just not a Bourbon VANILLA Porter.

Be sure to pitch plenty of good yeast and keep temps under control, though!

rpe290 said:

No! I bet mine was drinkable in a month if I kegged, add 2 more weeks for bottling (Month and a half).

You will lose a ton of vanilla by 3.5 months. It's still a good beer, just not a Bourbon VANILLA Porter.

Be sure to pitch plenty of good yeast and keep temps under control, though!

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I used a small bottle of pure vanilla extract (about what I have seen recommended) every time I make this and then end up aging a minimum of 4 months. The vanilla is still very much there and I find this to be much more smooth and worth the wait. We killed a full 5 gal keg at a birthday party last weekend. I would go for it and then if too much vanilla drops out for your taste, add more.

tv187u said:

I used a small bottle of pure vanilla extract (about what I have seen recommended) every time I make this and then end up aging a minimum of 4 months. The vanilla is still very much there and I find this to be much more smooth and worth the wait. We killed a full 5 gal keg at a birthday party last weekend. I would go for it and then if too much vanilla drops out for your taste, add more.

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You could always bulk age until you got closer, then start the vanilla soaking closer to time, too.

Well I just checked my gravity after being in fermentation for 10 days and it's down to 1.015 from 1.078. I don't plan on putting it into secondary until saturday (~ 3 more days). I just took it down to the basement where ambient is probably closer to 55F just to stop any more fermentation from taking place. Is that a good idea?

Also, when I rack to secondary and put my vanilla bean in, should I keep it at 55F or move it back to 70F? Or does it really matter? I know when I bottle it should be back to fermentation temps (~70F) so it will carb up.

Oh and I pitched two packets of re-hydrated US-05.

No, not a good idea if you're going to eventually bottle it. You don't want to prematurely stop fermentation until the yeast have consumed all of the fermentables, otherwise they could come back to life after bottling and leave you with bottle bombs.

LLBeanJ said:

No, not a good idea if you're going to eventually bottle it. You don't want to prematurely stop fermentation until the yeast have consumed all of the fermentables, otherwise they could come back to life after bottling and leave you with bottle bombs.

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Do you think it will go any lower? I certainly wouldn't want it to...

I couldn't say. It may very well be done, but you need to give it time to confirm. Two readings of the same gravity 3 days apart will tell you when it's finished.

Gonna be brewing up this recipe for the second time on Labor Day. Last time I brewed it I went with a secondary for the oak chips and vanilla. This time the plan is to dump the oak-infused bourbon and the bourbon-soaked vanilla beans right into the keg after what I expect to be a 3-week primary, skipping the secondary altogether. By the time to keg comes around, both the oak chips and vanilla beans will have been soaking in bourbon for 4-5 weeks. We'll see how it comes out this go-around.

Hey quick question , I just siphoned off a gallon from a 5 gallo batch to bourbon oak , so the rest is still in primary waiting to get bottled this weekend . What's my chance of oxidation , high or low ?