Any help would be appreciated...I'm fairly new to brewing (about 10 extract kits in) and want to make a cherry vanilla bourbon porter. Going with a porter extract kit from Midwest and plan to get the bourbon taste by adding a cup and a half of bourbon at bottling. Where I'm stuck is the vanilla Bean/cherry extract addition. Since I'm going to have a lot of flavors going on should I still go with a full 4 oz of cherry at bottling as well as the recommended 2 gutted beans in secondary. I want the bold flavor but not an artificial taste. Maybe cut the cherry amount in half? Haven't used an extra an fruit flavoring yet to know how strong they are so any help would be awesome...thanks!
Cherry vanilla bourbon porter
- Thread starter jmcm_brew
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I have not made a fruit beer myself, but what I have read (specifically in BCS) suggests for best flavor you should use real fruit, not extract. Maybe go with some frozen cherries that you thaw and purée? You could even soak them in the bourbon for a day or two before putting them in the secondary to help kill the extra microbes you don't want in the beer.
I made a coconut porter using extract plus toasted coconut. It was tasty but had almost a medicinal aftertaste. I'll be using just the toasted coconut next time. I agree with the above, use real cherries if you have access to them.
