I've got an AHS yeti clone (been in secondary for 3 months or so) and had planned on just bottling it straight, no oak and no bourbon.... I bourbon barreled beers, and my first batch ever was NB's Bourbon Barrel Porter, but was wondering what a batch of dark ale would taste like with adding some bourbon, but no oak? I can't get toasted oak locally and would like to get this stuff packaged soon, but if waiting to get the oak is really necessary, then I will do just that. It just seemed to me that the bourbon notes come through WAY stronger than the oak does with these beers, but that could just be me. All opinions/experiences welcome.
Adding bourbon to RIS, but NO oak?
- Thread starter duckmanco
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carnevoodoo
Well-Known Member
What you can do is take a sample of your beer and add a little bourbon to it. Start smaller than you think just to be safe and then go from there.
I've made Denny Conn's Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter and it has bourbon just dumped right in. It is a fantastic beer. I say give it a go. It is very different than having the oak component in there as well, but it is good. I think once you do this you will realize how the oak in most bourbon barrel aged beers is a backbone to the flavors, and really adds a vanilla and earthy quality that is missing with just a bourbon addition.
Go to your local hardware store, buy a half-inch round (usually 3 feet long), cut off 4 inches (probably cut the whole thing into small lengths), and bake in oven at 350 for an hour.
Add 4-inch section to beer. Leave for 3 to 4 weeks.
Add bourbon at bottling.
Add 4-inch section to beer. Leave for 3 to 4 weeks.
Add bourbon at bottling.
^^^^ You serious???? Thats a hell of an idea, and I'll probably do it because it sounds so good. Thanks for the responses guys, both offered great information, and at some point I'll try it both ways.
I work at a local wine/liquor store (named Spirit World for the curious). I consider myself an avid beer connoisseur among other things. I have drank MANY Yeti's and own nearly a dozen bourbons. I have yet to find an overly bourbon forward flavor from either the Oak Aged Yeti or the Oak Aged Chocolate Yeti. I mostly taste the vanilla oak and dark chocolate malts. Please do not take this as disrespect or that I am acting too pompous, I just feel the Yeties (<-- is this the plural for Yeti?) seem more balanced than say the Bourbon Cask series by Sprecher or Goose Island.
I say if possible, split the beers into two separate carboys and try one with bourbon and one without.
I might just have to make an Imperial Stout just to try this!!! Though I would probably soak the oak in Buffalo Trace or George T. Stagg for a couple of weeks
