My Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale attempt

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OHIOSTEVE

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My KBBA is on the oak chips now ( 2 days) and the sample I pulled at racking was terriffic. I THINK I hit the base brew dead on and will make this again even if I mess up the oaking process because I really liked the taste of the sample. I cut a stave from a KNOB CREEK barrel into chunks and soaked it in woodford reserve for 2 weeks. I figure I will wait a bit longer and start tasting it until I get what I want. Any tips on how long to wait before starting to taste it?
 
tasted it just now, and normally when I do a taste of warm flat beer I taste and toss the rest of the sample. I could have poured a pint of this and sat and enjoyed it. Anyway the oak has only been in about 3 days now and I can MAYBE get a hint of it already. I will give it till monday and give it another taste. Definitely brewing this again even without the oak.
 
If you like how it tastes now, bottle or keg it now. I too have ruined a stout by not bottling when I liked it. Time got away from me and 1 week later it was nearly undrinkable. Now at 1.5 years old its mellowed enough to call it good.
 
boostsr20 said:
If you like how it tastes now, bottle or keg it now. I too have ruined a stout by not bottling when I liked it. Time got away from me and 1 week later it was nearly undrinkable. Now at 1.5 years old its mellowed enough to call it good.
Click to expand...

understood but I am waiting on the oak and bourbon to come out more. I know what you are saying but the base beer for this is terriffic , Thats what I meant.
 
BTW is setting at 62 degrees so it will be a bit slower process hopefully. That way I do not overshoot it.
 
Bottled it just now. Sat on the oak for 7 days and as I tasted I started to notice it changing so I quit while I was ahead. When I do this again I do not think I will soak the oak in bourbon, but rather add pieces of a toasted oak stave to the beer and add the bourbon seperately. I THINK the soaking in bourbon caused me to get more bourbon and less oak than I wanted. Still tastes great don't get me wrong but just not exactly where I want it. I will say that the base beer was dead on what I taste in the KBBA and the differences are in the oaking.
 
ohiosteve, I bought a 4 pack of KBBA yesterday. It's quite possibly one of the best beers I've ever drank. I'm interested in brewing this myself, what recipe did you use? Thanks!
 
Ohiosteve I brewed this clone for my last brew and it has been in the bottle three weeks now. I used 1 oz of med roast French oak chips and two vanilla beans. I did soak the oak and beans in bourbon during primary, but I discarded the Bourbon when I racked the beer on top of the oak and beans.... I was afraid of the tannins that are in the wood. I left it on top of the oak and vanilla for 15 days and it was perfect. I added around 1-1/4 cup of bourbon when I bottled, but I wish I would have added a little more.... My beer needs to age a little while longer, but it is the best beer I have brewed to this date.
 
I contacted the company and one of the brewers was kind enough to give me the malts and percentages and what hops they use. I used beer calculus to put it together as best as I could and I have to admit that the base beer was dead on IMO. I used a piece of a KNOB CREEK barrel cut up into small pieces and soaked a couple of weeks in woodford reserve. I dumped the bourbon and just used the soaked oak. I do not think I hit the oaking right but it is VERY good regardless. As I posted if I had it to do again I would use the unsoaked oak and add bourbon at bottling to taste. The recipe along with the sparse notes I take.


KBBA 11-2-11

10 LB 2 ROW
1 LB CRYSTAL 40
1LB CARA PILS
12 OZ WHEAT MALT

MASH WITH 4 GALLONS AND ONE PINT OF WATER FOR 60 MINS @ 150 DEGREES
FIRST RUN SHOULD BE ABOUT 2.5 GALLONS. DOUBLE BATCH SPARGE WITH 1.75 GALLONS EACH

60 MINUTE BOIL
1.25 OZ KENT GOLDINGS @ 60

.5 OZ FUGGLES @ 5

ENGLISH ALE2 YEAST
PROJECTED OG=1.070
PROJECTED fg= 1.017

OG=1.065 pitched yeast and moved to the new ferment room!

11-15-11
Racked to secondary over charred knob creek oak chips soaked in woodford reserve. Gravity was 1.012 which is way lower than expected but this yeast is new to me.

11-22-11 racked to a clean carboy. Not sure that I didn’t jump the gun but it tastes really good as is. I will try this again and leave on oak a couple of weeks.

11-24-11 BOTTLED
 
OHIOSTEVE said:
I contacted the company and one of the brewers was kind enough to give me the malts and percentages and what hops they use. I used beer calculus to put it together as best as I could and I have to admit that the base beer was dead on IMO. I used a piece of a KNOB CREEK barrel cut up into small pieces and soaked a couple of weeks in woodford reserve. I dumped the bourbon and just used the soaked oak. I do not think I hit the oaking right but it is VERY good regardless. As I posted if I had it to do again I would use the unsoaked oak and add bourbon at bottling to taste. The recipe along with the sparse notes I take.


KBBA 11-2-11

10 LB 2 ROW
1 LB CRYSTAL 40
1LB CARA PILS
12 OZ WHEAT MALT

MASH WITH 4 GALLONS AND ONE PINT OF WATER FOR 60 MINS @ 150 DEGREES
FIRST RUN SHOULD BE ABOUT 2.5 GALLONS. DOUBLE BATCH SPARGE WITH 1.75 GALLONS EACH

60 MINUTE BOIL
1.25 OZ KENT GOLDINGS @ 60

.5 OZ FUGGLES @ 5

ENGLISH ALE2 YEAST
PROJECTED OG=1.070
PROJECTED fg= 1.017

OG=1.065 pitched yeast and moved to the new ferment room!

11-15-11
Racked to secondary over charred knob creek oak chips soaked in woodford reserve. Gravity was 1.012 which is way lower than expected but this yeast is new to me.

11-22-11 racked to a clean carboy. Not sure that I didn’t jump the gun but it tastes really good as is. I will try this again and leave on oak a couple of weeks.

11-24-11 BOTTLED
Click to expand...

Can't wait to hear how it turned out!

were the percentages about
78% 2 row
8% crystal 40
8% carapils
6% wheat

what IBU's and %AA for the hop additions?

I think your gravities are fine since they are .005 low on each end so the % alcohol will be the same. What was your preboil volume and gravity? efficiency?

I hope to give this a try later this month as I can't afford to drive down there to get a fresh supply all the time.
 
MrSparkleQ said:
Can't wait to hear how it turned out!

were the percentages about
78% 2 row
8% crystal 40
8% carapils
6% wheat

what IBU's and %AA for the hop additions?

I think your gravities are fine since they are .005 low on each end so the % alcohol will be the same. What was your preboil volume and gravity? efficiency?

I hope to give this a try later this month as I can't afford to drive down there to get a fresh supply all the time.
Click to expand...

yes those percentages are right on. preboil volume 6.5 gallons and post boil 5 gallons...I will have to plug it back into beer calculus to get the hop IBU's and go to the brew shed to check the AA% on my hops. I can tell you that the pre oaked beer was fantastic. if you could in your head remove the oak and bourbon from a glass of the KBBA, that is EXACTLY what this tasted like. So as I said before if it is messed up it is from me messing up the oaking as the base beer was dead on. oh yeah my efficiency is always right at 75% or rather I set my program to 75% and 99% of the time hit the numbers dead on.
 
thanks for sharing this. I want to give this a try. This is a great brew. I live about 15 minutes from Alltechs Brewery. They have a anniversary party every year that is free to get in...and all you can drink kentucky ale, light, and Bourbon Barrel. when they were in their final stages of developing the bourbon barrel recipe my room mate in college was working as an engineer renovating their warehouses. They would send him home with growlers from the batches every night and we could crush it!
 
OHIOSTEVE said:
yes those percentages are right on. preboil volume 6.5 gallons and post boil 5 gallons...I will have to plug it back into beer calculus to get the hop IBU's and go to the brew shed to check the AA% on my hops. I can tell you that the pre oaked beer was fantastic. if you could in your head remove the oak and bourbon from a glass of the KBBA, that is EXACTLY what this tasted like. So as I said before if it is messed up it is from me messing up the oaking as the base beer was dead on. oh yeah my efficiency is always right at 75% or rather I set my program to 75% and 99% of the time hit the numbers dead on.
Click to expand...

For those interested, I adjusted for 70% efficiency and a 7 gallon preboil, 6 gallon post boil and 5.5 to primary and came up with:
12.75 lb 2 row
1.33 lb carapils
1.33 lb crystal 40
1 lb wheat malt

for that, the hop additions come out to about 26 IBU's using Rager's formula.

For the yeast is that WLP002/Wyeast 1968?

I hope to try this recipe in a couple weeks, so I should probably start soaking some cubes or chips now.
 
opened one tonight after chilling a couple of days....great color and aroma ..nice head that lasted...very tasty, however NOT KBBA..close but the oaking is just BARELY there. It is a VERY good beer but I missed the mark a little. I will make it again and either add the oak and bourbon seperately or leave the chips in longer.
 
took four of these to get together tonight. when I mentioned what they were one guys eyes lit up and he said that KBBA was his favorite beer. I poured him one and he took a sip and pondered for a minute. I said " IT IS NOT EXACTLY RIGHT IS IT?" he thought for a second and responded " NO, NOT EXACTLY BUT IT IS SO CLOSE THAT YOU CAN HARDLY TELL THE DIFFERENCE"
 
on my second one of these tonight after lettin em set a little longer.. this is a great beer IMO. It is even more like KBBA...I am REALLY liking this stuff.
 
ordered the ingredients for this yesterday. I'm going to try barrel chips for 5-7 days, then bottle with bourbon..we'll see how it goes.
 
MrSparkleQ said:
For those interested, I adjusted for 70% efficiency and a 7 gallon preboil, 6 gallon post boil and 5.5 to primary and came up with:
12.75 lb 2 row
1.33 lb carapils
1.33 lb crystal 40
1 lb wheat malt

for that, the hop additions come out to about 26 IBU's using Rager's formula.

For the yeast is that WLP002/Wyeast 1968?

I hope to try this recipe in a couple weeks, so I should probably start soaking some cubes or chips now.
Click to expand...

I just made this yesterday, mashed a little high at 154, but I hit 14.6P for my preboil gravity. I didn't take a post boil as I should have hit 17P on the nose with my volume being correct.
I have been experimenting with chill cubes, so I put it in and let it drop to 63 degrees for a little over 24 hours while i used 2 liters of my wort to create a starter. I set the temp controller for 65 and will ramp up 1 degree per day after the krausen has dropped up to 70.
Also, I decided on using Wyeast 1098 (WLP007).

After reading everyone's comments, I think that oak, then bourbon will produce the best results. Now, for the oaking, I am thinking of just adding the cubes to the keg so I can easily taste, then remove the oak once it tastes correct. Thoughts? How much bourbon for 5 gallons is everyone adding?
 
Hey, this sounds great but I only have room & and equipment for extract brewing. Any recommendations for an extract recipe? I was considering Karl's ninety 90 schilling extract kit from northern brewer then adding bourbon soaked wood chips to the secondary. Any thoughts on individual extract ingredients?
 
Im from Lexington and toured the brewery over Christmas break. KBBA is by far one of my favorite beers and I was planning on brewing midwest bourbon barrel ale but this sounds even better.

I guess I can do AG because I use a turkey frier and my kettle is 7 gallons so 6.5 boil is possibly but could you replace the 2 Row with DME or LME and then use the rest of the grains as specialty? Also why not soak the oak for a shorter time in bourbon to have less bourbon and more oak flavor?
 
MrSparkleQ said:
I just made this yesterday, mashed a little high at 154, but I hit 14.6P for my preboil gravity. I didn't take a post boil as I should have hit 17P on the nose with my volume being correct.
I have been experimenting with chill cubes, so I put it in and let it drop to 63 degrees for a little over 24 hours while i used 2 liters of my wort to create a starter. I set the temp controller for 65 and will ramp up 1 degree per day after the krausen has dropped up to 70.
Also, I decided on using Wyeast 1098 (WLP007).

After reading everyone's comments, I think that oak, then bourbon will produce the best results. Now, for the oaking, I am thinking of just adding the cubes to the keg so I can easily taste, then remove the oak once it tastes correct. Thoughts? How much bourbon for 5 gallons is everyone adding?
Click to expand...

I've done Bourbon porters in the past and am going to approach this the same. I have always added oak chips to secondary for 5-7 days, then bottled with 675ml of bourbon, let condition for 6 weeks or so. I brewed my KBBA last weekend, came in a little low on the OG but we'll see how it turns out.
 
Henry22 said:
Im from Lexington and toured the brewery over Christmas break. KBBA is by far one of my favorite beers and I was planning on brewing midwest bourbon barrel ale but this sounds even better.

I guess I can do AG because I use a turkey frier and my kettle is 7 gallons so 6.5 boil is possibly but could you replace the 2 Row with DME or LME and then use the rest of the grains as specialty? Also why not soak the oak for a shorter time in bourbon to have less bourbon and more oak flavor?
Click to expand...

You wouldn't need to do a full boil, just add the extract later in the boil to sanitize, I have made some great beers doing partial boil.
I don't know how many fermentables you would get with the steeping grains, but you would need about 10.75 pounds of LME to get to the 1.070 gravity in 5.5 gallons post boil. I would steep the grains as per normal procedure and add 9 to 10 pounds of LME total and adjust with DME to get to the right gravity.
 
MrSparkleQ said:
You wouldn't need to do a full boil, just add the extract later in the boil to sanitize, I have made some great beers doing partial boil.
I don't know how many fermentables you would get with the steeping grains, but you would need about 10.75 pounds of LME to get to the 1.070 gravity in 5.5 gallons post boil. I would steep the grains as per normal procedure and add 9 to 10 pounds of LME total and adjust with DME to get to the right gravity.
Click to expand...

So for an extract version,

10.75 lbs LME (what type)
Rest of grains steep as specialty
Follow rest of directions/hop additions as before
Add DME to reach 1.070 (what type as well)

Sorry for all the questions, only brewed two batches so far and both were extract kits. I can do 5.5 gallon batches but is there any reason for 5 vs 5.5?
 
Henry22 said:
So for an extract version,

10.75 lbs LME (what type)
Rest of grains steep as specialty
Follow rest of directions/hop additions as before
Add DME to reach 1.070 (what type as well)

Sorry for all the questions, only brewed two batches so far and both were extract kits. I can do 5.5 gallon batches but is there any reason for 5 vs 5.5?
Click to expand...

The reason I have 5.5 going into my fermenter is so I can get a full 5 gallons into my keg when I am done with some loss to trub in the kettle and carboy. Getting the correct OG and FG is more important than getting a specific amount of beer, so gather as much as you are able to bottle or keg. I use brewtarget to calculate other people's recipes and formulate them for the volumes I want to produce.

LME, use the lightest possible such as this from morebeer or the Northern Brewer Gold.

For DME, even as an all grain brewer, i have a couple of 3 pound bags of Briess on hand at all times.
 
MrSparkleQ said:
The reason I have 5.5 going into my fermenter is so I can get a full 5 gallons into my keg when I am done with some loss to trub in the kettle and carboy. Getting the correct OG and FG is more important than getting a specific amount of beer, so gather as much as you are able to bottle or keg. I use brewtarget to calculate other people's recipes and formulate them for the volumes I want to produce.

LME, use the lightest possible such as this from morebeer or the Northern Brewer Gold.

For DME, even as an all grain brewer, i have a couple of 3 pound bags of Briess on hand at all times.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that helps a lot. I think I am going to attempt to do this extract version as my next brew. Would you add like 1/4 or 1/5 of the LME at the beginning and the rest at the end (flameout) to avoid a darker color?

Also, what would be the best way to handle the bourbon/oak. Unfortunately being at school I dont have access to a oak barrel stave. I told my brother who also homebrews and who is in lexington and he was wondering where you acquired the stave. Anyways, would a shorter soak time result in a more oak flavor.
 
Henry22 said:
Thanks, that helps a lot. I think I am going to attempt to do this extract version as my next brew. Would you add like 1/4 or 1/5 of the LME at the beginning and the rest at the end (flameout) to avoid a darker color?

Also, what would be the best way to handle the bourbon/oak. Unfortunately being at school I dont have access to a oak barrel stave. I told my brother who also homebrews and who is in lexington and he was wondering where you acquired the stave. Anyways, would a shorter soak time result in a more oak flavor.
Click to expand...

I would do about half in the beginning so it is approximately the same gravity as the finished wort for hop utilization. Then with about 10-15 minutes left I would add the remaining LME.

I am just using American oak cubes I got from the wine section of Northern Brewer. I am not soaking the cubes in bourbon so I can oak it first until I have the oak flavor right, then I am going to add the bourbon second. To get the right bourbon flavor, I will probably test in 1 ounce samples and put small amounts in until the flavor is right and then scale it up to the full batch size.
 
MrSparkleQ said:
I would do about half in the beginning so it is approximately the same gravity as the finished wort for hop utilization. Then with about 10-15 minutes left I would add the remaining LME.

I am just using American oak cubes I got from the wine section of Northern Brewer. I am not soaking the cubes in bourbon so I can oak it first until I have the oak flavor right, then I am going to add the bourbon second. To get the right bourbon flavor, I will probably test in 1 ounce samples and put small amounts in until the flavor is right and then scale it up to the full batch size.
Click to expand...

Sounds good, let me know what works for you because I will probably follow the same oak/bourbon regimen.

Was going to purchase the ingredients from my LHBS but they are absurdly expensive. I would have to spend about $30 just to get the LME. So Im going to order online. Could I use light DME instead of LME and just account for the difference (1lb LME=.85lbs DME)? How much oak chips do I need and what type (and toast)? Also which yeast would be best? On Northernbrewer I cant seemed to find Crystal 40, all they have medium to extra dark.

Easiest thing would probably be for someone to just list off everything they ordered.

Sorry for all the questions, first time brewing without a kit. Thanks
 
Henry22 said:
Sounds good, let me know what works for you because I will probably follow the same oak/bourbon regimen.

Was going to purchase the ingredients from my LHBS but they are absurdly expensive. I would have to spend about $30 just to get the LME. So Im going to order online. Could I use light DME instead of LME and just account for the difference (1lb LME=.85lbs DME)? How much oak chips do I need and what type (and toast)? Also which yeast would be best? On Northernbrewer I cant seemed to find Crystal 40, all they have medium to extra dark.

Easiest thing would probably be for someone to just list off everything they ordered.

Sorry for all the questions, first time brewing without a kit. Thanks
Click to expand...

No problem, its a big step and this is a fairly complicated brew to start on. DME would be fine at .85 of the original amount. Use Caramel 40, it is the same as Crystal 40. I am using a medium toasted amerian oak. I will use 1 oz of cubes. I used Wyeast 1098(WLP007 if you prefer) with a 2L starter. It ferments quickly at 65ºF, it is probably done here 1 week in, but I am in no hurry and will let it sit another week.
 
I'm going to be trying a similar extract strategy. I plan on using the northern brewer English pale ale kit plus adding 3.3 lbs of amber dme with the last 3.3 lbs of gold dme as a late addition. I'm going to add flaked wheat to the steeping grains to try to better match the all grain recipe. I do plan on soaking the nb wood chips in bourbon but only add the chips. If necessary I will add the bourbon to the bottling bucket to taste.
 
I think I might alter an ingredient kit too because the ingredients seperate are pretty expensive. I priced everything on NB and it was over 60 shipped. Hoping an ingredient kit can get me there for under 40 plus shipping.

Is a yeast starter totally necessary, don't have the necessary equipment to do one yet.

Another thing to note is KBBA is just KY ale aged in bourbon barrels and it's an Irish red type ale I believe. Was the recipe the brewer gave for KY ale?
 
Henry22 said:
I think I might alter an ingredient kit too because the ingredients seperate are pretty expensive. I priced everything on NB and it was over 60 shipped. Hoping an ingredient kit can get me there for under 40 plus shipping.

Is a yeast starter totally necessary, don't have the necessary equipment to do one yet.

Another thing to note is KBBA is just KY ale aged in bourbon barrels and it's an Irish red type ale I believe. Was the recipe the brewer gave for KY ale?
Click to expand...

Yea, that is expensive. I love getting a 50 pound sack of grain for $36 and getting a few batches out of it. A yeast starter wouldn't be necessary, but really helpful. You could pitch an additional package of yeast or use dry yeast. Yes, the recipe we are basing this off of a previous posters communications from the brewmaster for the Kentucky Ale.
 
Henry22( great rifles BTW) Yes I assume the recipe I was given by the brewer was the KY ale.. it was VERY good even prior to the oaking. As for a starter it does not take any fancy equipment.. nothing but some type of sanitized container with some sanitized foil over the top.
 
OHIOSTEVE said:
Henry22( great rifles BTW) Yes I assume the recipe I was given by the brewer was the KY ale.. it was VERY good even prior to the oaking. As for a starter it does not take any fancy equipment.. nothing but some type of sanitized container with some sanitized foil over the top.
Click to expand...

Might have to do the yeast starter. Are you referring to Henry repeating rifles? haha. Still trying to figure out the cheapest way to get the ingredients but still be true to the beer.
 
Buckeye_Brewer1 said:
I'm going to be trying a similar extract strategy. I plan on using the northern brewer English pale ale kit plus adding 3.3 lbs of amber dme with the last 3.3 lbs of gold dme as a late addition. I'm going to add flaked wheat to the steeping grains to try to better match the all grain recipe. I do plan on soaking the nb wood chips in bourbon but only add the chips. If necessary I will add the bourbon to the bottling bucket to taste.
Click to expand...

I think I am going to go this route to save some money instead of buying individual ingredients. Are you going to use the Wyeast 1098 or the yeast recommended for this kit. If you have brewed this, what were the exact amounts of the extra ingredients you added.
 
Just added up everything if I used the NB english pale ale kit and it was expensive as well, 58. I guess this will be an expensive brew no matter what.

English Pale ale 27.99
Wyeast 1098 6.99
Oak cubes 2 oz 2.99
Briess Amber DME 3lbs 11.50
Flaked wheat 1lb 1.99
Plus 7.99 for shipping.

Thinking I might wait on this and get some more experience before tackling this.
 

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