Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout

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kingjohnh

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Just got back from a trip to Chicago and was able to have a few bottles of the Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout. Now I see what all the rage about this beer is about. I've been searching for an all-grain clone, but no luck. Can anyone point to me a clone recipe for this amazing beer?
 
Really?? No help? I'm driving across Kansas back to NM and really need a recipe to work with before I get back.
 
I didn't really get very many hints of coffee in this beer. I absolutely love this though.

I'm In the same boat and looking for a recipe. I will play around with some recipes and try to post something tonight for critique.
 
It must have changed, when I had a bottle when it first came out I couldn't taste much else besides the coffee. I thought it was too sweet and boozy as well.
 
I have been able to make a decent approximation of the regular BCS with just the information from the web site and aging the beer on oak for about 3 weeks with some bourbon added to taste.

BCS changes from year to year as they change bourbon barrel sources from time to time, so it can be hard to dial things in exactly.
 
I have been able to make a decent approximation of the regular BCS with just the information from the web site and aging the beer on oak for about 3 weeks with some bourbon added to taste.

BCS changes from year to year as they change bourbon barrel sources from time to time, so it can be hard to dial things in exactly.[/QU

Care to post your recipe?
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions and keeping this thread going. Novafire, if you could post your recipe for BCS that would be a great start. If anyone else has a recipe that they would like to share (either self-generated or found on the net) that would be great.
 
Here is the first recipe I came up with based on the ingredients listed on Goose Island's web site. I assumed that the malts listed were listed in order of amounts used, which may or may not be accurate, but it seemed to make sense: "2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roast Barley, Debittered Black".

I took some liberties using a different bittering hop (summit). These hops were a little old, so that is why my IBUs look higher than the 60 IBU stated on the web site. I also did not have any debittered black barley at the time to I just used 2 oz of black barley, but I highly doubt that made much of a difference - such a small amount in such a huge beer.

I think this recipe is a little light on the darker malts, so the next time I made it, I bumped those up. I can post that recipe next.

[size=-1]BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com[/size]
[size=+2]Recipe: BCS #1 [/size]
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications

Batch Size: 4.50 gal
Boil Size: 5.83 gal
Estimated OG: 1.113 SG
Estimated Color: 48.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 81.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 62.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:

Code:
Amount          Item                                    Type        % or IBU     
17 lbs 8.0 oz   Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)  Grain       77.4 %       
2 lbs           Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                   Grain       8.8 %        
1 lbs           Caramel Malt - 80L 6-Row (Briess) (80.0 Grain       4.4 %        
12.0 oz         Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)  Grain       3.3 %        
12.0 oz         Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM)          Grain       3.3 %        
8.0 oz          Roasted Barley (Briess) (300.0 SRM)     Grain       2.2 %        
1.9 oz          Black Barley (Stout) (500.0 SRM)        Grain       0.5 %        
1.00 oz         Summit [18.00%]  (60 min)               Hops        75.5 IBU     
1.00 oz         Hallertauer [3.00%]  (30 min)           Hops        6.4 IBU      
1 Pkgs          American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)        Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 22.62 lb
Code:
Name             Description                              Step Temp   Step Time   

Mash In          Add 28.28 qt of water at 160.2 F         146.0 F     75 min
Notes:

Aged for 3 weeks on 1oz Maker's Mark soaked american oak chips.

Pitched on a US-05 yeast cake from a ~1.050 pale ale.

The taste is not as chocolate sweet as real BCS, but it does have a great bourbon/oak flavor.

I always make another beer out of the second and third runnings of a beer this big. I usually cap the mash with a little more chocolate malt and some crystal to add back what seems to disappear after the first runnings are gone.
 
Why would you use such a low temperature? I would assume a higher temp for a larger body.

I am however, assuming you could still get a decent amount of attenuation for the alcohol level.
 
The one extreme characteristic to this beer is its insane viscosity level. I have never felt like I was chewing on a beer before this.

There has to be more than just the traditional ingredients to gain this complexity. Or they use a unique fermentation technique.
 
Here is the recipe that I have done most recently. It is still aging, so I cannot comment about flavor beyond the fact that it smelled and tasted pretty good when I racked to secondary about a month ago. I increased most of the specialty grains and added more late addition hops. Again I used a higher AA hop for bittering because I did not want to use up a lot of Willamette and maybe lessen trub loss a little. I also used de-bittered black this time, but I am still a little confused why it's included at all. This beer is dark enough either way. I had some pale chocolate malt on hand, so I used both pale and regular chocolate as well.

One more thing, neither of these recipes will get you to the 13% ABV that real BCS comes in at. I tried to keep these recipes a little more manageable for my MLT size while still coming out with 4.5-5 gal of beer. Someday when I am 100% happy with a recipe, I will bump the 2-row up to reach 13% ABV.

I will bottle this batch very soon and will post how it compares to my previous attempt and the real BCS.

I welcome any comments or suggestions.

[size=-1]BeerSmith Recipe Printout - www.beersmith.com[/size]
[size=+2]Recipe: BCS #2 [/size]
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications

Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 6.41 gal
Estimated OG: 1.122 SG
Estimated Color: 69.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 71.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 62.0 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
Code:
Amount          Item                                    Type        % or IBU     
19 lbs 8.0 oz   Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)  Grain       70.9 %       
2 lbs 8.0 oz    Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                   Grain       9.1 %        
1 lbs           Caramel Malt - 80L 6-Row (Briess) (80.0 Grain       3.6 %        
1 lbs           Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)  Grain       3.6 %        
1 lbs           Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM)          Grain       3.6 %        
1 lbs           Pale Chocolate Malt (200.0 SRM)         Grain       3.6 %        
1 lbs           Roasted Barley (Briess) (300.0 SRM)     Grain       3.6 %        
8.0 oz          Carafa II (412.0 SRM)                   Grain       1.8 %        
2.00 oz         Northern Brewer [8.90%]  (60 min)       Hops        64.9 IBU     
1.00 oz         Williamette [4.80%]  (10 min)           Hops        3.5 IBU      
1.00 oz         Williamette [4.80%]  (1 min)            Hops        2.9 IBU      
1 Pkgs          American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)        Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 27.50 lb
Code:
Name             Description                              Step Temp   Step Time   
Mash In          Add 34.38 qt of water at 166.3 F         149.0 F     90 min

Notes:
 
Why would you use such a low temperature? I would assume a higher temp for a larger body.

I am however, assuming you could still get a decent amount of attenuation for the alcohol level.

With larger beers like this, you will still get a rather high FG simply due to the large malt bill. My first batch ended at 1.029 even when mashed so low. You could certainly mash higher and achieve a even more viscous final gravity. For my first attempt I decided to err on the side of caution and did not want 5 gal of chocolate syrup.
 
Thanks so much for the help Novafire! I'm gathering my materials and plan on brewing next weekend. I'll probably boost the dark malts to get more chocolate and mash at a higher temp to get increase viscosity.
 
Bumping an old thread...

Hey all, new here. Looking for a little advice.

I want to brew this Bourbon County Clone this weekend but I am limited to partial mash. I was going to take the last recipe from Nova and sub the Pale Ale Malt grain with Pale Liquid Extract. Does this make sense?

I used beersmith to put this together and it looks like 11 lbs of Extract to get me to 11.63% ABV. That leaves 8 lbs of grain to mash still.

Is there any reason to partial mash the Pale Ale Malt grain? Say a few pounds. Or is it all the same to go completely extract for that.

Appreciate any help,
Thanks!
 
Oh cool, someone else bumped this.. I modified Novafire's recipe some, and wanted to get a sanity check on it...

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Assistant Brewer:
Boil Volume: 7.00 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.0 %

Ingredients Amount Item Type % or IBU
20.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 67.2 %
2.50 lb Caramel Malt - 80L 6-Row (Briess) (80.0 SRM) Grain 8.4 %
2.50 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 8.4 %
2.50 lb Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 8.4 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3.4 %
1.00 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 3.4 %
0.25 lb Debittered Black Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 0.8 %
2.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50%] (60 min) Hops 35.3 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [5.50%] (10 min) Hops 4.1 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [5.50%] (1 min) Hops 0.5 IBU
2 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile Estimated Original Gravity: 1.122 SG (1.030-1.110 SG)
Estimated Final Gravity: 1.028 SG (1.006-1.024 SG)
Estimated Color: 76.5 SRM (5.0-50.0 SRM) Color [Color]
Bitterness: 40.0 IBU (5.0-70.0 IBU) Alpha Acid Units: 3.1 AAU
Estimated Alcohol by Volume: 12.4 % (2.5-12.0 %)
 
Bumping an old thread...

Hey all, new here. Looking for a little advice.

I want to brew this Bourbon County Clone this weekend but I am limited to partial mash. I was going to take the last recipe from Nova and sub the Pale Ale Malt grain with Pale Liquid Extract. Does this make sense?

I used beersmith to put this together and it looks like 11 lbs of Extract to get me to 11.63% ABV. That leaves 8 lbs of grain to mash still.

Is there any reason to partial mash the Pale Ale Malt grain? Say a few pounds. Or is it all the same to go completely extract for that.

Appreciate any help,
Thanks!

I put his recipe in BeerSmith and came up with 11 lbs of Pale Ale Liquid extract, and 3.5 lbs of 2-row. Then all the other specialty grains.
 
I put his recipe in BeerSmith and came up with 11 lbs of Pale Ale Liquid extract, and 3.5 lbs of 2-row. Then all the other specialty grains.

I was not looking to actually get 13% ABV from my recipe. 11.5 was my target. I read somewhere else that the brewery shoots for 11.5% and the bourbon barrels are so concentrated that the beer absorbs enough alcohol to get to 13%. (at least on the last run) I plan on adding a pint or so of Makers Mark on oak and finishing out at 12% ABV.
 
Anybody have results that have brewed this? The last posts were 6+ months ago. There should be some good test runs out there now.

Hah, I went to my LHBS on Friday to pick up the ingredients and they were closed for renovation until Tuesday!! Talk about a buzz kill.
 
I brewed my version yesterday. My hydrometer doesn't go high enough to get a decent reading. Mine stops at 1090. I'm guessing it was up around 1120. But it's my understanding that the brewery shoots for an OG of 30 plato & a FG of 10, which would come out to 11.5-11.8% and it gets the other point or two from the bourbon barrels.
 
Anybody know how much oak chips to add to get a similar effect of using a bourbon barrel? I was thinking of 3 oz and at least a pint of bourbon. Possible a full fifth of bourbon. I recently did a different bourbon stout and used a pint and I could barely taste bourbon.
 
Hey Nova, How did your Beer come out? It looks very good, and want to try it.

Thanks

My BCS #2 turned out great. In fact, I made a stout from the second runnings (plus some extra specialty grains) that won a local contest entered in the Sweet Stout category and the next year I won the best in show with the first runnings beer from that exact same batch (RIS category).

Oddly enough, I am planning to make this same beer again tomorrow. I might replace the C120 with some British Extra Dark Crystal, but that's about the only change.
 
Looks like an old thread but Juat had my first bcbcs. Is this recipe close? I have to make some lol
 
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