bourbon county stout - first attempt

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jeliasik

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here is my first try at a goose island bourbon county stout clone. for any of you who have had this, it is thick and on the sweet side (finish gravity tested from bottle is over 1.040, i'm going a little lighter body).

I'm not posting about post-fermentation finishing with bourbon, oak and vanilla yet (that's another issue).

For now, my concern is sweet/roast balance. it is very plum/raisin, so i am trying to go heavy on the caramel 120, to be balanced by tree roasted malts. it is also not very bitter/ash, so i am cutting back slightly on the roasted. it is alot of roasted/chocolate, but i am hoping it will balance with the high finishing gravity.

for bitterness, goose island website says 60 ibu
also, website says ABV 13.0 (i'm shooting for 11.5% here and plan on getting the rest from the bourbon addition later)

Comments?

malt & fermentables
61% 12 lbs Northern Brewer Gold Malt Syrup
13% 2 lbs 8 oz Munich Malt - 20L
5% 1 lb Briess Caramel 80L
5% 1 lb Briess Caramel 120L
5% 1 lb Pale Chocolate Malt
5% 1 lb Chocolate Malt
4% 12 oz Roasted Barley
3% 8 oz Debittered Black Malt

Batch size: 5.5 gallons

Original Gravity
1.114 / 26.7° Plato
(1.102 to 1.119)
Final Gravity
1.031 / 7.8° Plato
(1.027 to 1.033)
Color
68° SRM / 134° EBC
(Black)
Mash Efficiency
75%

hops
90 mins 3.0 oz Yakima Magnum pellet 13.0 a.a
10 mins 1.0oz Willamette pellet 5.5 a.a.
1 min 1.0 oz Willamette pellet 5.5 a.a.
Boil: 4.0 avg gallons for 90 minutes

Bitterness
57.9 IBU / 39 HBU
ƒ: Tinseth
BU:GU
0.51

Yeast
SA-05 yeast cake from a previous amber ale
 
Subscribing to see how this turns out.

Any reason for the Yakima Magnum addition? Hops on hand? The website just lists willamette.
 
well, since it's just a bittering hops, I go for a high IBU, since the flavor and aroma will boil away anyway. Yakima Magnum is a clean bittering hop that does not impart alot of flavor on its own. The flavor will come from Willamette.
 
I'm looking forward to your brewing updates as well as the updates about the bourbon/oak aging with which you eventually decide to proceed. I hope this turns out really well for you.
 
I'm hearing more and more that the really well aged BB Oak Stouts such as this blend to taste at the end. I'm assuming that you could either age half of this on bourbon cubes/barrel and the other half without. Then you'd blend.

I know that a lot of the breweries also just brew a fresh batch of the Stout and blend the fresh batch with aged batch.

Just a thought
 
Just found this floating around the internet. Supposedly this came straight from the brewery in 2007 (Spec-Sheet). Although I can't officially confirm this, the 1.042 FG sounds spot on. Higher than most are assuming on these boards.

Here's a little more info that might help you. This is from a 2007 spec-sheet from the brewery.

Beer Bourbon County Stout
O.G. 30.0 (Plato)
F.G. 10.5 (Plato)
% Abv 12.0
%Abw 9.0
IBUs 60
Color 100
Carbs. 45
Cal/12oz 415
Hops UK Styrian
Malts 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, C-60, Roast Barley, DB Black

FYI... 30 Plato = 1.129 SG, 10.5 = 1.042
 
Well, it's approaching the time when you should be considering what you will soon be doing for the bourbon/vanilla/oak. Any plans for what you will do?

I'm extremely anxious to hear how this is coming along.
 
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