Rich_F
Active Member
A bourbon ale I brewed in February, aged on oak and makers mark for 9 months, heres the final result:
Bourbon aged ale
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Rich_F
Active Member
also, notice my "anti-gravity" glass! Capable of holding delicious homebrew in your glass at any angle!
estricklin
Well-Known Member
Nice, is that a porter?
Rich_F
Active Member
It's actually more of an english brown ale. It's actually more of a medium amber red color. It's a little darker in the picture
estricklin
Well-Known Member
I was asking because I am planning a Bourbon Vanilla Porter in a few days. Was thinking about brewing as normal, then racking to secondary on top of some oak chips from real bourbon barrels which have been soaked in bourbon for a week or so.
I bet the oak and bourbon place nice together in that beer?
I bet the oak and bourbon place nice together in that beer?
That's sounds cool, where did you get chips made from real bourbon barrels. I have wondered how long I'd need to soak new oak chips in bourbon to remove some of the woody flavor so that when I finally put them in secondary they don't impart too much oak, I'm looking for more vanilla etc.
Rich_F
Active Member
The oak and bourbon are fantastic together...I will make one suggestion though, if you can let the oak chips soak longer before adding them to the secondary I would do that. I let them soak for 3 weeks before adding them to the secondary
Rich_F
Active Member
I don't think that they were actually from real barrels, but they were a medium toast. If you don't want too much woody flavor I would probably soak them for a week before adding them and then leave them for 4-6 months. maybe even less...I let mine go for 9 and it's not overly woody, but the bourbon does come through fairly strong
Yeah the toast is odd because bourbon barrels have that real strong char but most barrels and chips are more in the wine style with a light toast. I think I read somewhere about people charging chips with a small torch and then soaking a neutral sprinting in them. I'm going to brew and big bourbon beer around new years and hopefully enjoy it next thanksgiving
I soaked 2oz American white oak in about 2.5ozs Jim Beam regular bourbon in an airtight container during primary. Secondaried on a traditional stout for 7 days. Great oak & bourbon flavor. Good definition to the oak with the liquor. hope it mellows by Christmas.
I'm fermenting a robust porter now that I'm going to add vanilla to. 2 South African vanilla beans scraped & chopped in about 1.5ozs vodka. Looks like tea already. Think I'll just strain the vanilla into it before racking to the bottling bucket. The vodka should have plenty of vanilla flavoring by then.
I'm fermenting a robust porter now that I'm going to add vanilla to. 2 South African vanilla beans scraped & chopped in about 1.5ozs vodka. Looks like tea already. Think I'll just strain the vanilla into it before racking to the bottling bucket. The vodka should have plenty of vanilla flavoring by then.
Gunfighter04
Well-Known Member
This is one of my favorite beers, and probably my best recipes. the bourbon is upfront on the young beers, but mellow nicely over time. The oak seems to stay pretty steady throughout the age of the beer. If you like more oak, then toast. The first time I brewed this, I tried it after conditioning was done in 3 weeks. My first thought was that the bourbon was just too strong, so I put it away. Chilled a couple more at the 3 month time and though hmmm, this isn't bad. at the 6 month time I was in love.
This beer is one that will test your patience.
This beer is one that will test your patience.
Rich_F
Active Member
The stout with bourbon sounds great...I'm going to let these bottle condition until january thought. By then I think they will have mellowed out perfectly. But as I was aging this in the secondary I would test it every month and a half or so...It's interesting to taste the "evolution" of the beer as the flavor gets more character from the oak and bourbon
estricklin
Well-Known Member
I'm thinking these will lend a milder flavor, I only plan to leave this sitting around until a few days before Christmas.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QI9VM4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QI9VM4/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
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I saw those chips at home depot & Lowe's. The cool thing about bourbon barrel stouts & porters is that they were known in colonial times through Prohibition as Whiskely.
cyberbackpacker
Well-Known Member
I've used the JD chips with great success. What I actually do is dry "roast" on the stove in a skillet to increase the char level as most of the pieces are not charred. After doing this I think soak in bourbon for up to 3 months, drain off the bourbon, let the chips dry, and then I will use them. I really love the results I get with this technique and chips. That, and one of those bags lasts forever!!! 
Rich_F
Active Member
I've used the JD chips with great success. What I actually do is dry "roast" on the stove in a skillet to increase the char level as most of the pieces are not charred. After doing this I think soak in bourbon for up to 3 months, drain off the bourbon, let the chips dry, and then I will use them. I really love the results I get with this technique and chips. That, and one of those bags lasts forever!!!
That sounds like a good idea! I'm going to try and replicate this brew again and I might try this technique
The longer you soak the chips,the more resins (IE flavor) you soak out of them. that's why I use the liquid & chips.
Rich_F
Active Member
After I let mine sit for a bit I put the whole mixture in. It was probably around 4 oz of bourbon. Great for the aroma
I weighed out 2ozs of white oak chips to a couple ounces of Bourbon in an airtight container. I lept it in the fridge during primary,then socked it into secondary 1 week.
