Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Bourbon Vanilla Porter (AG)

[iddqd]

Planning on bottling this weekend. We brewed it five weeks ago, and it was at 1.030 on Oct 25th. Dunno if my dad has done a hydrometer reading since that, but it should be done, right? Might use a little less priming sugar than usual, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

1.030 is a little high, but if it's been that long, it's done. I wouldn't go short on the priming sugar.

 

[Dubcut]

And I was just thinking how much of a pain in the ass it is to bring my mash tun out for large grain bills... eff it, this looks awesome. Ordering the specialty malts online now. Beer tools pro is making this hop bill look overly bitter, as it usually does, hops good where they are though?

Probably going to ferment with s-05 and instead of bourbon I'm gonna use this great rum called Ron del Barrilito. Was looking for a rum porter recipe and couldn't find many for some reason, looks like this is a great base recipe though.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Yeah, if anything the hops may be a tad on the low side. S-05 shoud work fine.

 

[Dubcut]

Spark, you were saying earlier in this thread you like to split the batch cuz some people aren't wild about the bourbon addition. Is there a commercial example of this beer that's like that, with out the bourbon?

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Maybe Breckenridge vanilla porter?

 

[iddqd]

Bottled today. I had a sample and it tasted great. I used 1.25 lbs of chocolate malt and it really had a big impact on the beer. Lots of chocolate, almost as much as a chocolate stout. The bourbon was there as well. Didn't really notice any vanilla, but I suppose I will in a few weeks.

 

[knownikko]

Bottled today. I had a sample and it tasted great. I used 1.25 lbs of chocolate malt and it really had a big impact on the beer. Lots of chocolate, almost as much as a chocolate stout. The bourbon was there as well. Didn't really notice any vanilla, but I suppose I will in a few weeks.

Did you take another hydrometer reading? I noticed above that you said it was at ~1.030. I've got a batch sitting right about there right now, I'm hoping to get a bit more out of it.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

Bottled today. I had a sample and it tasted great. I used 1.25 lbs of chocolate malt and it really had a big impact on the beer. Lots of chocolate, almost as much as a chocolate stout. The bourbon was there as well. Didn't really notice any vanilla, but I suppose I will in a few weeks.

Right. That's kind of what I would expect, and why I've always stuck to the "wrong" recipe that uses less chocolate. 1.25 lbs is A LOT!

 

[zman]

Mine has been in the primary for a bout 3.5 weeks. I have not taken a hydro reading yet. I am going to do it tomorrow when I bottle my double chocolate milk stout. If it is where it needs to be I want to bottle it up. The thing is I have not added the Vanilla extract yet. I am planning on adding 4-6 oz to the batch. Should I secondary it on the Vanilla for a few more weeks or should I just add the Vanilla and 2 cups of Makers Mark Bourbon to the bottling bucket with the priming sugar, rack the porter on top of it and bottle??

 

[mrgstiffler]

Mine has been in the primary for a bout 3.5 weeks. I have not taken a hydro reading yet. I am going to do it tomorrow when I bottle my double chocolate milk stout. If it is where it needs to be I want to bottle it up. The thing is I have not added the Vanilla extract yet. I am planning on adding 4-6 oz to the batch. Should I secondary it on the Vanilla for a few more weeks or should I just add the Vanilla and 2 cups of Makers Mark Bourbon to the bottling bucket with the priming sugar, rack the porter on top of it and bottle??

I would rack to secondary on the vanilla and bourbon. This beer needs to mellow for quite awhile before it really comes into its own. Why not let it sit in secondary for a couple weeks...

 

[zman]

I would rack to secondary on the vanilla and bourbon. This beer needs to mellow for quite awhile before it really comes into its own. Why not let it sit in secondary for a couple weeks...

I agree in part. Think racking the beer onto the Bourbon is a good idea?

 

[mrgstiffler]

I agree in part. Think racking the beer onto the Bourbon is a good idea?

I don't see anything wrong with it. I did it, as have many in this thread.

 

[zman]

I don't see anything wrong with it. I did it, as have many in this thread.

Ok. Sounds good. I am a noob when it comes to adding alcohol to homebrew. The Vanilla extract has alcohol also so I was wondering if the combo of the 2 in the secondary would cause any issues.

 

[Lil' Sparky]

I added both at bottling (except when using beans), but I don't see any problems at secondary if you're certain fermentation is complete. I wouldn't do it if you're racking to secondary after only 2 wks in primary.

 

[Dubcut]

This brew has been continually pushed back due to finals for me, but my plan is when it's completely done fermenting is to split it into two three gallon kegs. From there I would add rum to one, bourbon to another, vanilla in both, and pretty much add to taste. Racking on top would only probably make a difference for the whole v-beans, it would seem that way anyways. The liquor is just going to disperse into concentration like any solution.

 

[bkov]

my 2nd batch came out good but not as ood as the first batch(first was partial match, 2nd was allgrain). I ended up using makers mark this time, theres not much of a difference but i think i like it with the jim beam black better.

mine has no detectable vanilla taste even though i left them in the secondary for 3 weeks. (but i did buy them last year so probably were to old by now). for some reason my partial mash version was much more roasty/coffee character

 

[OldSole]

I've been sampling this recipe here and there for over a month now, having just officially "Tapped" it right before Christmas. Such an interesting beer. Actually had a half-gal of beer that wouldn't get into the keg so I aged it alongside the main batch sans the bourbon and vanilla additions. The base beer alone is delicious, but the vanilla and bourbon have been doing very interesting things.

At first, the vanilla was way overpowering (1 bean for 3 gal for 14 days). It mellows out week after week, and is now less noticeable as vanilla, and adds subtle overtones that play off the bourbon and enhance the chocolatiness of the roasted malts. Judging by how things are going, this beer really would benefit from a solid 6 months to a year. I'll have to start early next year if I want it ready for the holidays again.

One interesting thing is that 3 different friends have all separately described the flavor as "coconuty," which I certainly agree with. Anyone else get "coconut" with this beer?

 

[zman]

I would rack to secondary on the vanilla and bourbon. This beer needs to mellow for quite awhile before it really comes into its own. Why not let it sit in secondary for a couple weeks...

Just bottled it Sunday. It smelled really good. WE will see how it tastes in a month or so

 

[wolfe006]

I had gotten a bunch of parts for christmas to build "The Pol's" E-herms system. This recipe was the third one that I've done on it. They system is awesome, but so is the recpe. Everything smelled so good, I can't wait to try it.... Everything worked great, we hit 95% og. of 1.093 for 6.5 gallons.

 

[mrgstiffler]

Unfortunately, ants got to my latest batch Went to check on it and found them crawling around the airlock. Going to have rethink locations next time.

 

[JayInJersey]

Does the bourbon taste mellow with age?

I made a bourbon porter about 6 months ago that just made its way into my keezer...good porter but no real bourbon taste...i'd venture to say none.

I used a whole 750mL bottle of Makers in the secondary...but now I'm thinking about popping it and adding some more


Does this stuff settle out...or rather since the keg pulls from the bottom "float out"?

 

[Lil' Sparky]

The bourbon does seem to mellow over time. I don't know what effect kegging hasm. I have always bottled this recipe.

 

[ckloecker]

I brewed a recipe last fall inspired by Denny Conn's Vanilla Bourbon Porter receipe posted here.

I am now entering a local home brew contest for the first time. I was able to figure out an appropriate BJCP style for the other three brews I am entering, but I don't know the style guidelines well enough to see where a brew like DC's Vanilla Bourbon Porter Fits.

Any Suggestions?


PS - Thanks in advance and thanks for all that I have learned from everyone at HBT.

 

[damdaman]

I'm brewing this today (made up a recipe using extract with specialty grains based on the other extract recipes posted):

5# light DME (3 at beginning of boil, rest at end)
3# dark DME (added at end)
12oz. crystal 120
12oz. british brown
1# chocolate

1oz. chinook 60
1oz. kent goldings 15
1oz. kent goldings 0

Pitching 2 swollen smack packs Wyeast 1056 American Ale...

Hope this works! It's my first porter.

 

[mad31587]

New to posting on the site, but have done plenty of research. A question for those who've brewed this recipe or just anyone more advanced than me:

I brewed a converted extract version of this recipe and ended up with a OG much higher than the all grain original, I probably went a bit overboard with about 10lbs total extract.

My OG was 1.103 on brewday (Jan 30th)
Current gravity is 1.021 and I'm convinced that the yeast is dead (I used Wyeast 1056 American Ale) from the ~11% ABV. The 1056 yeast is only supposed to have a tolerance of about 10%ABV according to Wyeast's website. All in all, I'm not sure if I should add another yeast strain-to ensure a complete fermentation, or what the exact FG is that I'm looking for... As well, the beer is still a bit sweet, in my opinion so I think there are still some fermentables left, but it could be my imagination.

Beersmith says that with the 10lbs of extract, my OG should have been 1.075, but mine was 1.103.

What should my final gravity be?
Should I add a higher alcohol tolerant yeast strain? Any suggestions as to which one? Will it hurt if I add it regardless of whether I need to or not?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

 

[Lil' Sparky]

First, welcome!

It sounds like maybe you ended up with a porter barleywine.

I think it's probably fermented as much as it will. 1.021 is just barely over what I had with 1.078 OG, so I think you're right on. Carbonation may take a little longer, but that's OK because you want this to have plenty of time to age anyway. Should be "fun" to drink with the ABV so high.

 

[mad31587]

Yeah I guess that's a good classification for the beer. That's a good point that my FG is only slightly over yours.

It'll definitely be fun but not till next fall, or at least I hope I can wait that long. Another month or so in the secondary with the oak (only a small amount) and then bottling and aging until it gets cold again, with a few sneaks of tastes here and there of course.

 

[Beavdowg]

Sparky,

You say to scrape the insides of the vanilla bean and chop up the husk part. Do you put the scrapings from the inside into the secondary or do you discard that and only put in the chopped up husks?

thanks

 

[egurney]

The scrapings is the good stuff. Definitely put it in.