Burton Baton Replica (combine IIPA and Old Ale)

[brewsme]

First I'd like to say to all contributors of HBT - thank you! You guys are awesome!

Disclosure: I've brewed 5-6 batches so I'm still a noob...

When traveling on the east coast a few months ago I came across Burton Baton by Dog Fish Head. One of the best beers I've ever tasted and I immediately wanted to attempt to replicate it! I can't get BB in Houston - I've tried

I read on the Dog Fish Head website that they combine/blend two threads (IIPA and Old Ale) in a large oak container for 1 month. After reading on HBT that oak barrels are more trouble than they're worth, I went with oak cubes. I've also read here on HBT that one month in the primary (skipping secondary) is the way to go so here's the plan:

1. Brew IIPA and Old Ale separately (10 gallons total)
2. After 4 days, dry hop IIPA, add 2.5 ounces of American Oak (Medium/Heavy Toast - 5oz total) to each primary without boiling, steaming, or soaking, and 1 vanilla bean split down the middle to each primary (2 vanilla beans total).
3. Spin primary's to keep the yeast going and force out any air captured when adding oak/vanilla.
4. Age 4 weeks, rack both threads into large container, lightly stir, and rack into two 5gal kegs.

I don't want vanilla to dominate the taste so maybe I should tone down the vanilla bean (e.g. split 1 vanilla bean and put one half in each primary)?

I've also never combined two batches. Should they age together in the same container prior to kegging?

I haven't found a 'here's the best way to oak your beer'. The consensus seemed to lean about 1 month so this is what I've come up with - all tips are welcome!

Thanks!
Shaun

 

[MoronBrothersBrewery]

So, how did it go? Any luck brewing this bad boy?

 

[MoronBrothersBrewery]

I tried replying to your message but your inbox was full.

My thoughts exactly! Use Beer Smith to get the 10% ABV while keeping the IBU's at 70. I did find the Thomas Fawcett amber malt, which I'm very happy about, and I will try a pound of British medium crystal malt, like you suggested. I think we'll stick with Amarillo, Simcoe and Warrior hop combination in the boil as well as dry hopping. We'll add about 3 ounces of the French oak med toast in the keg, and let that sit in there for a month or so. Maybe a tiny piece of vanilla, not sure yet. Is there anything else we're forgetting that would improve this recipe?

 

[unionrdr]

Make sure you put those French oak chips in a hop sack when you add them. I did that when I added them to secondary for my whiskely ale. Only took 8 days to get fairly strong. But I used 4oz chips to 5 jiggers of Beam's Black. So the plain chips should take longer to infuse the ale.

 

[MoronBrothersBrewery]

Why a hop sack?

 

[unionrdr]

Because those medium toast French oak chips are quite small. Basically small splinters that could get into a bottle & skewer the drinkers tonsils. Good safety measure that makes it easy to remove them since they won't sink into the trub if you did it in primary. I do oaking & the like in secondary.
So it seems like the fairly clean bottom would make them easy to slide on through the spigot if you use a secondary pale like I do. I wanna keep'em contained.

 

[MoronBrothersBrewery]

Never thought about that, good tip. Thanks!

 

[unionrdr]

You're welcome. Safety first,as always. Besides makin it easier to keep it clean.

 

[JeepDiver]

Check the oak levels often. I did a Kentucky Breakfast Stout and 3 gallons (split 6 gallons between kbs and bs) on 2oz of american toasted oak chips soaked in Wild Turkey for 6 days was way too much oak. Burbon was spot on, but It's going to take a while for it all to age out.

 

[brewsme]

I got the full mailbox issue fixed - yea!

You're going to need to sanatize the oak chips by soaking them in 180 degree water for 10 minutes or alcohol (whiskey, vodka, etc.) for a few days. I checked my vanilla porter last night as I said I would and the vanilla taste has definitely mellowed after conditioning in the keg for a couple weeks however I think it needs a little more time before full on consumption but it's going to be an excellent beer. Personally I would leave the vanilla out of this batch and only add it to the next one if you find you didn't get enough the first time around from the oak chips.

I'm really glad to hear others are trying to match this recipe as DFH really nailed it with this one! Please let us know how it goes...

Shaun

 

[MoronBrothersBrewery]

You got it! Thanks for all your help.

 

[Chizult]

Any update on this? Do you have a recipe in mind for the for the Old Ale? I'm really wanting to try this myself this spring...

 

[unionrdr]

I've never tried the DFH Burton Baton yet,but it seems more like an omage to the original,rather than a clone of it. The original #1 Burton ale was an English barley wine with a lot of hops.
The version I did was more like a clone of the old #3 Burton ale they say died as a style about 1890. The recipe is in my profile. I could've oaked that one,but I didn't take it that far. It basically has a sweet bite to it with a rusty amber color. Pretty good from those who've tasted it.

 

[Chizult]

I've never tried the DFH Burton Baton yet,but it seems more like an omage to the original,rather than a clone of it. The original #1 Burton ale was an English barley wine with a lot of hops.
The version I did was more like a clone of the old #3 Burton ale they say died as a style about 1890. The recipe is in my profile. I could've oaked that one,but I didn't take it that far. It basically has a sweet bite to it with a rusty amber color. Pretty good from those who've tasted it.

You're correct in it being more of an homage than a clone. If you haven't tried the DFH Burton, I'd highly recommend it. It's fantastic. Thus my wanting to give it a shot. Even if it's not a perfect clone, it should still be highly palatable.

 

[unionrdr]

I'd def like to try the DFH version. I like Sam's beers so far.