Bourbon barrel porter recipe help

[brianpablo]

I'm trying to make a bourbon barrel porter-type brew but I'm often wary of that style being too sweet, especially by the time I've gotten to the bottom of the glass. I like the bourbon and oak flavors but I want something more like a stout in terms of flavor profile. I've done a few things to cut the sweetness, including

1) Adding 6 oz table sugar to lower the final gravity
2) Dropping the OG to 1.061 from recipe's original 1.065
3) Added more Black Patent than the recipe would usually have

It feels like a delicate balancing act, because my palate has gotten really sensitive to sweetness in beer but at the same time I don't want something like tastes like charcoal soaked in rubbing alcohol. Deschuttes Obsidian is more or less my preferred flavor profile. I'd also like to keep this one from going much above 7 percent, which it will likely hit with the bourbon addition.

Thanks!


Est Original Gravity: 1.061 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.015 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.1 %
Bitterness: 42.5 IBUs
Est Color: 49.6 SRM

13.6 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM)
10.4 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)
10.4 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
1 lbs 9.6 oz Wheat Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)
3 lbs Pale Liquid Extract [Boil for 60 min](8.0 SRM)
1.00 oz Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min
3 lbs Pale Liquid Extract [Boil for 15 min](8.0 SRM)
0.50 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min
6.4 oz Sugar, Table (Sucrose) [Boil for 15 min]
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins)
0.50 oz Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL/Fermentis #S-04)
16.00 oz Bourbon Oak Blend (Secondary 14.0 days)

 

[Homergah]

Have you tried a drier finishing yeast? Maybe S05?