Adding Whiskey to My Brew

[mdd71699]

I've brewed 5 batches of the Northern Brewers Irish Red and obviously am rather fond of it....as are my family and friends. I've been reading about adding whiskey (Jameson) to the brew. Some threads I've read say to add it during the secondary and others during the bottling process. I'm looking for a little clarity to what would be the best route.I'm not planning on using oak chips...just adding the Jameson. Any and all advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[BansheeRider]

Hmmm sounds good. I would add it at flameout. Just make sure you don't go above 10% alcohol as most ale yeast can't handle that high ABV.

 

[mdd71699]

I've brewed 5 batches of the Northern Brewers Irish Red and obviously am rather fond of it....as are my family and friends. I've been reading about adding whiskey (Jameson) to the brew. Some threads I've read say to add it during the secondary and others during the bottling process. I'm looking for a little clarity to what would be the best route.I'm not planning on using oak chips...just adding the Jameson. Any and all advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[RDbrew]

Depending on how much you add and the yeast strain, adding it too early could affect fermentation by raising the alcohol level. As in 1gal or more in a 5gal batch (which I don't think you plan on doing!)

Other than that I would add it to bottle bucket for two reasons:
1 I don't see any benefit to adding it to secondary, but you do have the added risk of infection by removing the stopper/cap/whatever you use.
2 You can ensure an even blend in the bottle bucket and take samples as you add more to determine the perfect amount.

 

[duboman]

There is really no reason to add it at any time prior to bottling but keep in mind conditioning time will take longer for the added whiskey to mellow in the bottled beer.

I used 375ml of bourbon in Denny's Bourbon Vanilla Porter recipe and it was a perfect amount for 6 gallons of beer and I allowed it to condition about 3 months in the bottle-turned out fantastic!

 

[aiptasia]

For my wee heavy, I prepare about an ounce of oak chips for a five gallon batch by heat sanitizing it in the oven. I put them on a cookie sheet and bake them on the lowest oven setting (200f) for about thirty minutes or so. Then, I sanitize a small 4 oz. jelly jar and add the oak chips to it after baking. Then, I pour two mini bottles of Johnny Walker Red whiskey over the chips and seal the jelly jar lid. I let the chips sit for a week in a dark cabinet while the beer is in it's third week on the yeast cake. Then, I pour the chips into a sanitized hops bag with a sanitized quartz river stone in it to weigh it down and toss the bag of chips into the primary for the last week (five to seven days). I start taste testing the beer after three days to gauge the flavor and bottle/keg the beer when it's juuuust starting to taste a little too strong/over oaked. Oak flavor fades over time, so after three weeks of keg/bottle conditioning, it should be just about right in your beer.

 

[mdd71699]

Thanks for the advise! I'm going o go with 8 oz of Jameson and see how it turns out.....

 

[mdd71699]

Thanks!

 

[Hoser_brewing]

I've made up a bourbon oatmeal stout which got 1 oz whiskey per bottle, an amount I came to by doing taste tests - 35 mL beer and a 5 mL syringe to get the level right. It was really nice and subtle at 1/3 oz, pronounced at 2/3, and bloody huge and delicious at a full oz.

Always fun to do those tests too...