Northern Brewer Bourbon Barrel Porter

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djbradle

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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 that have brewed this kit? 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, basically from poor water measurement in the primary pour. I didn't do a full boil with this bbp.

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 stronger flavored 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, Old Crow reserve.
 
I tapped mine in December and absolutely love this beer. I soaked the oak cubes in a measuring cup so it was an easy pour into the better bottle, then racked off of'em at whatever the prescribed time was (sorry nowhere near my notes right now). I added a little more maker's than the high end of what they suggest and will add more next time.

I'm thinking of splitting the next batch with either vanilla or pepper so if you remember when the time comes, please let us all know what you think of the finished product.
 
I just removed the oak cubes from the bourbon mixture. Reason? I took some deep whiffs of the bourbon mixture and just did not like the strong charred oak flavor (I'm not a bourbon guy). I transferred the vanilla beans and all liquid contents into a sanitized 1 liter flask. I filled the mason jar with about 1 oz of filtered water and swirled to obtain all the vanilla bits in the bottom and added that too. I prefer vanilla and bourbon notes much more than oak. We'll see how this fits the bill for flavor. The oak cubes really imparted strong oak tones to the bourbon which imho will do the job of getting the oak nuances in the secondary.
 
:rockin:

Welcome to brewing! For a second batch, you appear very educated on the topic. You gave great information to help anyone that comes to answer your questions.

I do this with my batches. Since they can generate pretty good heat when the fermentation is vigorous, I keep it in a cooler part of the basement, and move it warmer near the end. Some yeasts seem to benefit from a little swirl (not enough to aerate) to rouse it and get it working again.

To keep my atta boy in tact, make sure to let us know how this comes out. :D This sounds like a beer I would like to try.
 
Thanks for the compliment lou2row :tank: I'll have to live up to your praise!

After much reading on this forum and having Palmer's book, I feel that I have a fairly solid beginners stance.

Now we stand at the 8th day in primary and I sanitized my beer thief and hands and the bung once it was removed to check another reading. Before I pulled it I did spray the top of the bucket with star-san mixture and let it sit for a minute. It now has a gravity of 1.018 down from 1.065 putting her at 6.17% abv according to brewersfriend.com abv calculator.

This sample is cloudy of course but tastes very good! Very similar to the Pro-Am porter from Wormtown brewery that I had a few weeks ago(liked that one alot). It definitely exhibits the chocolatety and roasty caramel malts with perfect hop balance (not a hophead). Pretty decent thick mouthfeel which I hope will stay that way through secondary and bottling. The color is a bit lighter than other porters I've had commercially.

Maybe another swirl? I think I'll put her in the secondary on the bourbon next Monday for a full two weeks. It's possible it might drop a bit more but I doubt it considering the abv already. I've used no clarifiers in the boil for these two batches but then again I'm not so interested in clarity though that may change when I actually hold up a glass of the proper "seasoning". Got some whirflock tabs for the next two, a nut brown ale, and a chimay blue clone.
 
Well it's racked to secondary now. Number 8 on the left and the porter on the right. :)

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Forgive the picture quality from this iPod 4th gen. For some reason it takes horrendous pics in low light.
 
I started this kit a week ago, I was putting it in promash to have notes, and when googling for a .rec file, I found that this recipe looks like it used to have 13lb Marris Otter, not the 9.5 now listed.. anyone know when this happened or the story behind it?
 
Good question why but I couldn't tell ya. This is the extract kit I'm doing; is that what your doing as well?

In anycase I took another hydrometer reading on the 21st and still am sitting at 1.018. The flavor has changed to quite oakey bourbon-like now so I will bottle tomorrow if I get a chance. Can't really get the vanilla right now but my taste is very rudimentary and unrefined.
 
Oh, left out that bit, I am doing the all-grain (there is no Marris Otter in the extract version)

I found that the old recipe had 1.076/1.090 for pre/post boil gravities for the all-grain version, while the extract version had 1.062/1.072..
 
Just bottled this yesterday and it has changed considerably! The flavor and mouthfeel, even flat, is supreme. Gotta brew another 5 gallon batch now for next year.
 
Just wanted to follow up with you guys. I bottled this BBP and the taste is ridiculously good! The color is like old motor oil. The taste has mellowed quite a bit from the previous hydro samples to a perfect blend of oak/bourbon/vanilla, I simply love it. I'm glad I added the 600 ml's of bourbon. I made sure to suck up some of the yeast on the bottom to make sure there was some extra in the bottling bucket. I used a full 5 oz. pack of corn sugar boiled and added half to the bottom of the bucket, then the rest before the last bit was syphoned. I stirred for a while with a sanitized spoon. They are now sitting in 70 degrees and will be there for another 2.5 weeks before I test one for adequate carbing. 24 22 oz bombers, 3 12 oz bottles, and one martinelli's green 750. That was from about 4.9 gallons minus small amount of peanut butter yeast. The head might be rather high since I didn't carb to style. It's just amazing to experience this and can't imagine how the flavor will meld after some proper aging. It's a lower abv so I will not age for too long. I will most likely enjoy through the early spring and save some more in the early fall.

The taste is really really perfect imho.
 
Brewed mine up on monday...bubbling away in primary right now...planning 3 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in secondary, then kegging for 2 weeks....but with all the great reviews its going to be hard to let this sit once i keg it....
 
Don't worry too much about letting it sit . . it's a low gravity brew so it doesn't need the aging imho. Just to get the oak/bourbon/etc. balanced is the key. Seriously, it tastes that good already and I plan on enjoying it right away after carbing.
 
Its an average gravity brew with complex flavor profile from the oak and bourbon. The longer I waited the more the bourbon blended with the porter and oak flavor profile...definitely cellar a few to try in a year if you can stand it.... You won't be dissapointed...
 
Question: Does there need to be a little sediment in each bottle for carbing?

Basically the BBP was in secondary for a while and I'm assuming the bottles will carb after 6 weeks but if they don't? Would the yeast have a tough time due to the oak and bourbon? The beer was pretty crystal clear when bottling.

Average gravity you are right . . I'm too used to very high gravity beers so the low gravity was just a personal opinion.
 
Is there something close to a consensus or preferred opinion as to the brand and amount of bourbon to use for this?
Also, is there anyone here who has made this with a rye whiskey instead of bourbon?
I am going to brew this next month and already getting excited for it. I have a specific rye whiskey that I like and am thinking about using that.
 
djbradle said:
Question: Does there need to be a little sediment in each bottle for carbing?

Basically the BBP was in secondary for a while and I'm assuming the bottles will carb after 6 weeks but if they don't? Would the yeast have a tough time due to the oak and bourbon? The beer was pretty crystal clear when bottling.

Average gravity you are right . . I'm too used to very high gravity beers so the low gravity was just a personal opinion.

There should be enough in suspension to carb up the beer when you transfer to the oak and bourbon and then subsequently to the bottling bucket. Mine was p pretty clear too and carbed up just fine.
 
doublebogey10 said:
Is there something close to a consensus or preferred opinion as to the brand and amount of bourbon to use for this?
Also, is there anyone here who has made this with a rye whiskey instead of bourbon?
I am going to brew this next month and already getting excited for it. I have a specific rye whiskey that I like and am thinking about using that.

I don't think there is a preffered consensus on the bourbon type but similar to wine with cooking, id use a good whisky/bourbon that you would typically drink not a cheap one....many people use makers...i used wood ford reserve... The rye idea is great. Use what you want to drink....
 
I cracked open a test bottle that was the last bottled filled. It had about 2.5 inches of headspace. This has been three weeks now in bottles. It gave a great pfffft! Carbonation was just like it should be. I served it at fridge temps. The oak is pretty strong so I see what acuenca is talking about concerning aging them. I'm going to sit on them until the fall and see what's up next. Other than that it's excellent; color, carbonation, lacing, etc. Just needs more time.

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Thnx man! I don't know if my palette is too used to sweeter malt bombs but this thing is smokin from the toasted oak. The bourbon is almost a forethought . . . Age is key here I guess.
 
I just ordered the extract kit, and just had a couple questions for those that have brewed this.

I see a lot of guys say that they added more bourbon than called for in the recipe. Does anyone have a reccommendation for an amount?

I plan on agin this beer for at least a year, to crack open for my wedding next may, would aging this in a keg be the same as bottling? I am at least bottling a dozen to cover the wedding party.

I can't wait to brew this after reading all the reviews on here and the web. Keep us updated on how they turn out!
 
I just ordered the extract kit, and just had a couple questions for those that have brewed this.

I see a lot of guys say that they added more bourbon than called for in the recipe. Does anyone have a recommendation for an amount?

I plan on agin this beer for at least a year, to crack open for my wedding next may, would aging this in a keg be the same as bottling? I am at least bottling a dozen to cover the wedding party.

I can't wait to brew this after reading all the reviews on here and the web. Keep us updated on how they turn out!

I did 16 oz. and it is mild in my opinion. I did do 20 oz but when I removed the oak cubes prior to secondary I lost 4 oz.Again, mild imho. The oak is strong and will need the year to mellow. The bourbon (Old Crow in my case) must have added oak notes with the oak cubes so a different bourbon may yield different results. I say to go with the 20 if you plan to sit on it for a year.

I believe the common consensus is that the quality of bottle conditioning exceeds that of keg conditioning. If the keg sits in a cool place, not cold, for a period of a year I would probably be unable to distinguish the two if tasted side by side as long as all factors remain equal. Now if it was a BSDA . . .that's a different story.
 
Coming up on 11 months now . . . . Man I wish I saved them all. This stuff is AMAZING! The bitterness had died down a tad and now the flavors have melded with the malt shining more. I must say this is very tasty, aromatic, and complex. This was the version with the Old Crow bourbon and Madagascar Vanilla beans (2).
 
I have this kit in secondary atm. Getting ready to soak the oak chips for a few days or so, then add them to secondary for a week. I'm using Old Crow as well. I must admit, I had some of the Old Crow a couple evenings ago, and I was very disappointed in it. I typically drink Woodford, but I was trying to be a little cheaper. Only way to find out is to drink it, though, right? :)
 
Well, it is a cheap bourbon . . but in a beer? Perfectly fine and I don't think I'd be able to taste the difference with vanilla beans and oak involved. It' really that good . . .
 
I just finished brewing NB's Bourbon Barrel Porter from extract.

Made a 1.5L starter of WY-1728 at noon on Thursday, hand stirred until midnight Friday, refrigerated until 4PM Saturday and then decanted.

A few days ago I'd put 2 gallons of boiled and cooled RO water into my 6G carboy and placed it out in the garage where it'd cooled to 46 degrees.

Three more gallons of RO water went into the brew kettle.

For top-off water, another two gallons of RO water went into a stock pot, heated to boiling, and cooled to room temp.

All went well. Cooled the wort down to 86, added it to the 2G @46 degrees already in the carboy, topped off, and ended up at 68 degrees, only two degrees colder than I was shooting for.

Put sanitized aluminum foil over the mouth of the carboy, and rocked it hard for 10 minutes. Pulled a sample with the beer thief for OG (still waiting for the foam to fall in the test tube!), used the beer thief to add some wort to the yeast flask, stirred and pitched.

Another few minutes of rocking the carboy, and I took it downstairs (60 degrees ambient) for a water bath (68 degrees) and blowoff tube.

Things learned:

Always pee before the boil.

First time using Fermcap pre-boil, and never saw a hot break foam-up.

First time using a hop bag, and I had almost no trub in the brew kettle.

First time using Whirlfloc tabs, and didn't have enough trub in the brew kettle to notice a difference.

I hope everyone else's brew day went as smooth. And my house smells like a brewery!

2012-12-15 21.21.17.jpg
 
I have this kit in secondary atm. Getting ready to soak the oak chips for a few days or so, then add them to secondary for a week. I'm using Old Crow as well. I must admit, I had some of the Old Crow a couple evenings ago, and I was very disappointed in it. I typically drink Woodford, but I was trying to be a little cheaper. Only way to find out is to drink it, though, right? :)

Figured I'd update this. I bottled on New Years Day, and cracked one open last night. The bourbon flavor was very weak, and it had a strong smokey finish. If I were to do it over again, I'd use more bourbon, and probably not put the oak chips in the secondary. It poured very dark with a thick head, similar to djbradle's photo posted above. All in all, it was a great smokey porter, but disappointing for a bourbon porter.

For the record - brewed on 11/12/12, transferred to secondary 12/4/12. Put oak chips in 16 oz bourbon on 12/14/12, added everything to secondary on 12/21/12, bottled on 1/1/13.
 
The OP suggested doing 20oz of bourbon instead of the 16 called for... I'd go for it.

May have to try this as one of my new favorites is a Bourbon Barrel Ale from Lexington Brewing...
 
I just removed the oak cubes from the bourbon mixture. Reason? I took some deep whiffs of the bourbon mixture and just did not like the strong charred oak flavor (I'm not a bourbon guy).


I prefer vanilla and bourbon notes much more than oak.

You state your not a bourbon guy. Then back that claim up by saying you prefer bourbon notes.

Bourbon is a spirit made from at least 51% corn and aged in charred oak barrels. I would suggest doing a little bit of research on your spirits before tackling a kit like this. Hope it turns out good!!
 
The OP suggested doing 20oz of bourbon instead of the 16 called for... I'd go for it.

May have to try this as one of my new favorites is a Bourbon Barrel Ale from Lexington Brewing...

A guy in my local club told me his bourbon beers were always overpowered by the bourbon, and recommended using less. I figured I'd stick with the kit instructions for the first time, since I had recommendations to go both ways. Live and learn, and make better beer next time!

The Lexington Bourbon Barrel Ale is what turned me on to it, too. I'd say at this point it is my favorite commercial brew.
 
I brewed up this extract kit from Northern on 11 August 2011. I took two cases of it down to Texas in December 2011 for the baptism of my first grandson. I brought back a case of it, and stored it in my cellar. My future son-in-law and I had one on Christmas Day 2012...over a year later...and it was OUTSTANDING! I still have about a half-dozen bottles left, which I will enjoy privately, thank you very much!

And I discovered that drinking this beer at a cool room temperature really brings out all the subtle flavors of the grains, hops and bourbon. I don't even bother to put this one in the frig!

glenn514:mug:
 
Beer to me is best at 55 to start and then to let it warm . . . no complex flavors hidden at those temps. . . . then again all the beers I drink are in that category of being complex with layers upon layers of flavor.

I have one more bottle of the Jan. '12 batch. My last taste was about a month ago. I wouldn't age mine any longer as it's perfect. I don't see how three years would serve any purpose other than a loss of some complexity and zero bittering balance.
 
You state your not a bourbon guy. Then back that claim up by saying you prefer bourbon notes.

Bourbon is a spirit made from at least 51% corn and aged in charred oak barrels. I would suggest doing a little bit of research on your spirits before tackling a kit like this. Hope it turns out good!!

Turned out awesome actually. I've never had bourbon before taking the taste of the Old Crow I used. There certainly was not even the slightest harshness and charred flavor in that sample. It was a preliminary flavor in the batch that soon mellowed out greatly even to be almost unnoticed. Possibly some greener elements as well that I can't remember too much. I guess bourbon notes suite my palate better as you state.

When it comes to spirits I like a good scotch. I can't remember ever getting any charred oak notes from Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, or Johnny Walker. I'm not a hard liqueur guy and never did research so I can't comment much.

This kit was actually my second ever batch. The first was a NB number 8. Both turned out great although the number 8 had some heavy weight fusels. Since then I've learned quite a bit and now do all grain custom recipes.
 
I realize this is an old thread, but I brewed this on Friday evening using the dry yeast(Danstar) and started fermenting like crazy(67 degrees in my chest freezer) when I woke up in the morning. Now on Sunday evening, airlock activity has ended(or barely active). I know I need to take gravity readings, but is it possible that active fermentation is finished already or could it be stuck? I don't want to take readings this early, but I am in panic mode because I usually have airlock activity for at least 3-4 days. I did not rehydrate....
 
Someone else is sure to ask: When you said it fermented in your chest freezer at 67 degrees, was that the ambient temperature inside the chest freezer, or the temperature of the wort that the yeast were fermenting?

Wort temperatures can get up to 10 degrees higher than ambient, so your wort (and the yeast in it) could have been as high as 77 degrees F, which is a bit outside the recommended range for that yeast: 64 to 70 degrees F. And if that was the case, the yeast may have finished, or nearly so, fermenting your wort.
 
Ahh that makes sense. Ambient temperature was 67 degrees inside the chest freezer, not inside the fermenter. Should I always set the temperature 6-10 degrees below suggested yeast temp the first few days? I hope I don't get too many off flavors from it getting too high. Thanks for the information.
 
Given that you are already controlling the temperature inside your chest freezer, I'm going to assume you have built some means of controlling the temperature.

Going on that assumption, if you tape the temperature sensor to the side of whatever you're fermenting in, and then tape a wad of insulating material over that (such as bubble wrap), your temperature controller will be operating based on the temperature of your wort.
 
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