Bourbon Ale

I am currently brewing a blonde ale, and want to add bourbon to it. I have brewed at home a couple of times, but have never added anything like this. At what point would anyone suggest I add the bourbon, and in what quantity? The effect I am going for is have the bourbon both add taste to the light beer, and effect the alcohol content. My initial guess was to add the bourbon when I bottle the beer, but wanted to see what some other people had in mind. Thanks for any suggestions.

Never done it with a blonde, but I've put 10 oz bourbon on 2oz oak chips when I went to primary and added at bottling...minus the chips of course.

This was for an ale that already was about 21-22 SRM so not sure what that will do to color.

As with any flavoring, your best bet is in the bottling bucket.

I feel like bourbon added to a blonde would not be very good, but that's pure speculation. I do love bourbon. Post up how it turns out and what you used.

Thanks for the suggestions, I think this batch I will stick with adding the bourbon when I bottle. For the next, if this doesn't quite turn out right, I'll go with soaked oak chips during primary ferm. I will post about how it all turns out in a few weeks when it's done.

ODaniel said:

I feel like bourbon added to a blonde would not be very good, but that's pure speculation. I do love bourbon. Post up how it turns out and what you used.

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I have to agree...I can't get my head (or tongue) around a bourbon blonde ale...In fact there are no commercial examples. It doesn't seem to me that the flaovrs would harmonize.

Bourbon is traditonally added to brown ales, porters even stouts. And the flavor of the bourbon compliments the darker more roasted and carmalized flavors of the darker grains.

Good luck with it....you might want to be prepared for a long conditioning period in the bottle to try to mellow it out.

Honestly I'd add a fruit flavor to a blonde..or some homey malt and honet, and save the bourbon for you next porter.

If you do a porter with bourbon, start with Denny Conn's vanilla bourbon porter as a base. I changed it up a bit the first time I made it, but not much. It's really really good. I'l get 10 gallons of it going again this september.