ABV Calculation of a Bourbon Beer

Okay math people . . .

I'm brewing an American brown ale this week, and I'm going to divide the [5gal] batch in half--adding oak and bourbon to the latter half to age for later . . .

Can anyone help provide a formula I can use to calculate the ABV of the bourbon-aged 2.5 gallons? I will be monitoring the gravity, of course . . . but I'm not sure how to approach calculating what the bourbon adds to it.

Thanks!

 

((volume of beer * alcohol of beer) + (volume of burbon * alcohol of burbon)) / total volume

 

How much bourbon are you planning on adding? If you're just looking for some flavor additions an ounce or two will be enough. I don't see that small of an amount doing much of anything (or being noticed) to the brew ABV %.

I added 4-6 ounces of bourbon to a brew (about to be bottled) and it really comes through. This is a 5 gallon batch too. Used 3/4 ounce of oak chips later (bourbon was for a vanilla bean) and it's coming out really nice.

Are you planning on fermenting it as a single batch, then splitting it for additional flavor adds, and aging on oak? That's what I would do, so that you get the two as close as possible before you deviate.

What's the recipe??

 

I knowI may be jumping in to this late...Golddiggie I have a few questions for you.

This Sunday I am a double batch of NB's Bourbon Barrel Porter.
I was planning on doing a (double) full boil.
Fermenting in two 5 gallon buckets.

Than dividing the 10 gallons into thirds:
1/3- Maker's Mark
1/3- Cheap bourban
1/3- Captian Morgan's

Then actually having an educated critque of that is best.

Any additional recommendations

***The origian recipe calls for 2oz american oak chips soaked in 1L of MM
I plan on sticking to the correct proportions just changing the flavoring booze

 

I bet the chips are to be soaked in the MM for than a few days.

I have some chips soaking in MM that I started 3 weeks ago and I do not know when I will use them. I just know I will.

 

1L of MM for a 5 gallon batch??? Holy [email protected]#$%^&*()

I hope you plan to age that for a long time unless you plan on making rocket fuel. Even 4-6 ounces in the 5 gallon batch was harsh for 2-3 weeks, mellowing out after about a month, and a couple of weeks with some oak chips (hit with boiling water to sanitize, all of it was pitched in, no point in wasting oak flavoring)...

I would stick with bourbon, not using rum as well... Maybe replace the rum with something like Evan Williams, or Knob Creek bourbon/whiskey... I would dial it down a few levels, if it was me though.

 

Many thanks for the replies . . . and for the formula (MalFet).

@Golddiggie

I do plan on fermenting the beer fully, then adding my oak chips. I don't want to soak the chips in liquor because I'm using Gentleman Jack and that would just be a waste of good whiskey. Instead, I'm going to steam them for 15 minutes over boiling water--and will probably soak them for 3-5 days. I plan on adding the whiskey (I was guessing between 1-2 oz for the 2.5 gallons of beer) directly before bottling or kegging.

Which brings up another thing I'm wondering--would the whiskey inhibit bottle conditioning (and natural carbonation)? I don't think it will, but it's worth wondering--I'd hate to to have a flat, delicious beer.

Recipe follows:

SG: 1.066

10# us 2row pale
1/2# dextrin malt
1/2# crystal 60L
6oz brown malt
3oz chocolate malt

19g simcoe, 11.9%aa, t-60'
28g cluster, t-15'
14g styrian goldings, t-5'
28g cluster, flameout

1056 American Ale in 1qt starter

 

I would add the bourbon to the brew after you get some oak flavor into it. I don't think you'll need to soak the chips for 3-5 days before adding them to the brew. Plan on letting the brew sit on the oak for at least a few weeks. You might even want to plan on adding the bourbon at least a few weeks before you bottle/keg. That way you have more time to let the edge come off the brew before you bottle it. I found that my bourbon addition (4-6 ounces for 5 gallons of brew) took about a month for the hard edge to come off of it. That was including a week on oak. After being on oak for a couple of more weeks, it's become very nice. You still get the flavor of bourbon coming through, just not the harsh burn.

For treating the oak, I would put them into boiled/boiling water, then turn off the heat and let them soak until cooled. Use as little water as possible, and add that into the fermenter as well. That way, you get the flavors extracted from the oak in the hot water, into the brew as well. Boiling water will sanitize/sterilize the oak pretty damned fast (seconds I believe) so no worries then.

I would also taste the brew before bottling so that you can do it when it's the right time. You could leave a little edge on the bourbon flavor, if you wish, and hope that it gets polished while bottle conditioning...

 

You might actually have some difficulty carbing this one up. The problem is that the booze in the bourbon will shift your sugar-alcohol equilibrium (which determines when yeast flocculate) relatively far south, and thus it is difficult to know just how much sugar you'll need to add to get these bottles to carb up properly.

This style of beer tends to be served relatively under-carbed. If you want to get a good fizz going, you're going to need to either do some experimentation or force carb it. Good luck man, let us know what you find. This is somewhat uncharted territory.

 

A 5 gallon batch is 40 pints. If you add 1 pint (16 ozs) of 40% bourbon you will increase the abv by 1% (slightly less, but this is near enough). The SG reading will not be affected, just calculate your abv as normal and then add 1%. 2 ozs in 2.5 gallons is a quarter of this amount, so it would be +0.25%

I usually add liquor at this rate (1 pint/5 gallons), I don't find it harsh, and it has no affect on the ability of the yeast to carb. ....... well if you were pushing the limits of the yeast, it might make a difference, but in this case you are OK.

I usually add it to the bottling bucket with the priming sugar. Prime as normal, with normal amount of sugar, and everything will turn out fine.

 

The OP already mentioned that he was going to be adding a liter of bourbon, so about double what you're describing. I was surprised (but happy) to hear you say that you have no problem carbing with one pint. Do you think he'd be okay with two? I'm curious, because I've had yeast stall out with less.

 

Actually the OP said he was going to use 2 ozs in 2.5 gallons. It was someone else who was going to use a liter in 5 gals.

When I've used liquor, it's been about half a pint in a half batch (rate of 1 pint in 5 gals). Done it about 5 times, never a problem. One of them was placed on oak with rum for 3 weeks and carb'd quicker than the part that was bottled 3 weeks earlier.

Never used a quart in 5 gallons. I would not expect a problem unless you are pushing the limit of the yeast. ....... I've been surprised by a lot less in this hobby!?!

 

Oh, good call. Totally misread that. In that case, LeglessDog, I take back what I was saying. At that volume, I agree that you should be able carbonate more or less like normal.

 

I was the one that posted the liter for a 5 gallon batch...

I double checked and it was a 750mL bottle of MM. It carbed up just fine. (however in this batch I used the carb drops, they look like cow drops) It was FULLY carbed... Actually a little too much for my liking. When I pour one into a glass I have to pour really slow otherwise there as way too much head. I dont drink these out of the bottle because after a drink they fizz out of the bottle.

As far as the taste... It was a little harsh the first month, but that was too early. Now it is VERY nice, rich smooth, and smokie. I have never heard any too strong comments.

 

Great to hear it! Everyone else I talk to has real trouble carbing these, but it seems this is not always the case.