Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Bourbon Vanilla Porter (AG)
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kuips
Well-Known Member
How long have most of you all aged this beer? What is the minimum aging recommendation? Thanks - excited to brew this tomorrow!!!
It is really good after 10 months. I took 2nd place in a homebrew comp with it.
kuips
Well-Known Member
I guess it wont be ready this winter then. How was it after 3-4 months?
it was good after a few months. I think it really depends on how much bourbon you add. I did 15oz for 5.5 gal. I actually entered it a few months after I made it and I got some good scores. i saved a 12 pa ck to taste over time. I am making another batch this weekend but using Mild Malt my base malt
Oldyote
Well-Known Member
Watch the mash temps close. I brewed this a few months ago and my temps were off just a few degrees and I ended up with a very very sweet porter.
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kuips
Well-Known Member
I am still newish to AG brewing, would high or low temps make it sweet? thanks
Oldyote
Well-Known Member
Lower mash temps will result in more fermentable sugar. Higher mash temps will result in less fermentable sugar and more residual sweetness. This grain bill will produce a fair amount of unfermentable sugar no matter how low you mash. Which is OK as a nice sweet porter can be a great thing. I think the final gravity should be around 1.02. Mine ended up around 1.03. It has mellowed a bit over time but still too sweet.
You will find this recipe a lot of places but they are not all the same. The recipe I followed had the mash temps at 153. I think I hit 154 but thought that would be close enough. The original post lists mash in at 150. I would stick as close to that as possible.
This is a great recipe and I will make it again. I soaked my vanilla beans in bourbon and poured the vanilla infused bourbon into the secondary.
You will find this recipe a lot of places but they are not all the same. The recipe I followed had the mash temps at 153. I think I hit 154 but thought that would be close enough. The original post lists mash in at 150. I would stick as close to that as possible.
This is a great recipe and I will make it again. I soaked my vanilla beans in bourbon and poured the vanilla infused bourbon into the secondary.
mojotele
Well-Known Member
I missed my efficiency a bit and ended up with an OG of 1.074. I hit my mash temperature dead on at 150*F and my FG was 1.015. It's actually quite wonderful at that gravity - still full and rich, but not overly sweet at all.
I let mine secondary with two Madagascar vanilla beans for two weeks. I added about 1.25 cups of bourbon at kegging.
It's been in the keg for a month or so now. I chilled it down today and pulled a glass to see how it is coming along. The yeast did its job and carbed it up nicely. It has a wonderful vanilla and bourbon aroma. You can taste the vanilla, but it isn't overpowering at all, and it has a nice bourbon bite to it. This beer is absolutely delightful! Honestly, I think this beer is great right now. The alcohol is still a bit harsh, though. The plan has been to let this sucker age until New Years Eve, and I'm sticking to that. Judging by how it tasted tonight, it'll be absolutely amazing by then.
I let mine secondary with two Madagascar vanilla beans for two weeks. I added about 1.25 cups of bourbon at kegging.
It's been in the keg for a month or so now. I chilled it down today and pulled a glass to see how it is coming along. The yeast did its job and carbed it up nicely. It has a wonderful vanilla and bourbon aroma. You can taste the vanilla, but it isn't overpowering at all, and it has a nice bourbon bite to it. This beer is absolutely delightful! Honestly, I think this beer is great right now. The alcohol is still a bit harsh, though. The plan has been to let this sucker age until New Years Eve, and I'm sticking to that. Judging by how it tasted tonight, it'll be absolutely amazing by then.
erock2112
Well-Known Member
This. Mine finished at 1.030. I dumped a whole lot more bourbon in there. Now it's got kind of a thick bourbon and vanilla coke vibe.
I have to say though, the brew day was a symphony of smells - toasting the malt in the oven, followed by mashing and boiling, then I baked spent grain bread!
Brewed this one today. Got some horrible efficiency for some reason. OG was 1.071. Oh well, I'm sure it will still be beer. 
Been looking for my next brew, and I think this is it. I have some really nice vanilla paste and a variety of French and Hungarian Oak chips to try. I will probably go with a Hungarian medium or heavy toast oak for the vanilla, bittersweet chocolate/coffee flavors. Should be fun!
Just got this kegged over the weekend. This came out really nice and I beleave it will only get better with ageing. I was afrad to add the 2 cups of bourbon because I wanted it ready for Christmas so I added about 1 and 1/4 but for me it's not comeing through enough so I may add another 1/2 cup. Either way this is a great recipe and thanks for posting it
davidisser
Member
Has anyone ever tried adding oak chips (toasted or new) to this brew? I have about 2oz laying around from another beer and I'm tempted to try it on this one.
kryolla
Well-Known Member
Brewing this up tonight and hopefully be ready for New Years Eve about 6 weeks. I'm planning on bottling some without the bourbon and vanilla and the ones with BV in belguim Bottles. I only have a 5 gallon cooler with FB and a regular 5g cooler which I'll add a paint strainer bag so it should be an intersting brew session tonight.
EDIT: Stressful brew session since its the first time I did this dual mash but I hit all my numbers thanks to the new sight glass I got. It smelled good during the mash and boiling my wife mentioned it smelled like coffee. Pitched 2 hydrated s-05 and its sitting in my keezer at 62* with the probe bubble wrap to the glass carboy. 6 hour brew session, good thing I'm only making this once a year. Total cost was $30.72 without bourbon or vanilla, another reason why its only made once a year. Also got to try out my new stainless 25' IC which took about an hour to get to 64*.
EDIT: Stressful brew session since its the first time I did this dual mash but I hit all my numbers thanks to the new sight glass I got. It smelled good during the mash and boiling my wife mentioned it smelled like coffee. Pitched 2 hydrated s-05 and its sitting in my keezer at 62* with the probe bubble wrap to the glass carboy. 6 hour brew session, good thing I'm only making this once a year. Total cost was $30.72 without bourbon or vanilla, another reason why its only made once a year. Also got to try out my new stainless 25' IC which took about an hour to get to 64*.
I skipped the bourbon and just went with just the vanilla on this one, using two Madagascar vanilla beans in the secondary. Had the first glass out of the keg yesterday. It came out really nice. Has a very predominate vanilla flavor. SWMBO says it's dessert in a glass.
I made this by splitting open the two vanilla beans, and letting them soak in 2 cups of Maker's Mark while the beer was in primary. Then I added the soaked vanilla beans for the secondary, and the 2 cups of vanilla infused bourbon at bottling. It was amazing!
I used 1.5 oz medium toast oak chips in a 5 gal batch. Toasted them in a pan to get the oils aromatics going and added to the secondary. I believe the recommended contact time was like a minimum of 4 weeks, it said on the package that I don't have anymore. I left it in contact for approximately 6 weeks while the beer aged.
In fact, it is still aging: bourbon+oak+vanilla+porter+1.103 SG (way overshot conversion from AG to extract) + nearly 1 year bottle ageing=excellent winter warmer.
All in all, I'd recommend the oak if that's your thing. But I'd caution on the low amount, 1.5 oz is good, but I've had extended ageing, so it depends on what you're going for I think.
In fact, it is still aging: bourbon+oak+vanilla+porter+1.103 SG (way overshot conversion from AG to extract) + nearly 1 year bottle ageing=excellent winter warmer.
All in all, I'd recommend the oak if that's your thing. But I'd caution on the low amount, 1.5 oz is good, but I've had extended ageing, so it depends on what you're going for I think.
Going to brew this up on Sunday. Sounds delicious.
brewdiver87
Member
Has this recipe been converted to extract/partial mash? I'm not set up for AG yet but would love to brew this porter.
brewdiver87
Member
Thanks neovox, can't wait to try it!!
kryolla
Well-Known Member
you're missing the brown malt which shouldn't be skipped and its needs some base grains to convert so this can only be done with a partial mash
Good catch. I knew I should have compared the 2 side by side after converting it. I'm going to remove my previous post so no one makes the mistake of brewing it that way. If I get a chance, I'll try--more carefully--converting it to a partial mash this weekend. Unless someone else has a chance to do it sooner.
Has any one changed the hop bill and what were the results. I do not have any Magnum and am thinking about what to sub it out with.
mojotele
Well-Known Member
If you can get your hands on some Briess Munich LME (50% base malt 50% Munich malt) then I think this grain/extract bill will work for a partial mash:
4.25 lbs Light Dry Extract
3.3 lbs Munich Liquid Extract
1.5 lbs Pale Malt 2 Row US
0.25 lbs Munich Malt
1.5 lbs Brown Malt
1 lbs Crystal 120L Malt
0.5 lbs Crystal 40L Malt
0.5 lbs Chocolate Malt
Volume - 5.5 gallons
Efficiency - 71%
OG - 1.078
Estimated color - 31.9
The LME comes in 3.3 lbs cans, so if you are adjusting for volume I'd keep that at 3.3 lbs and adjust the amount of Munich malt in the actual mash. You may be able to eliminate it entirely. Basically, you want 12 gravity points from Munich malt. So, if you use pure LME you'd want 24 gravity points from the LME as it is only 50% Munich.
You could alternatively mash the full amount of the Munich Malt, but that makes for a mash of nearly all grain proportions.
I've edited this post like 8,000 times now, so if you're reading this at the time I'm writing it then I apologize
4.25 lbs Light Dry Extract
3.3 lbs Munich Liquid Extract
1.5 lbs Pale Malt 2 Row US
0.25 lbs Munich Malt
1.5 lbs Brown Malt
1 lbs Crystal 120L Malt
0.5 lbs Crystal 40L Malt
0.5 lbs Chocolate Malt
Volume - 5.5 gallons
Efficiency - 71%
OG - 1.078
Estimated color - 31.9
The LME comes in 3.3 lbs cans, so if you are adjusting for volume I'd keep that at 3.3 lbs and adjust the amount of Munich malt in the actual mash. You may be able to eliminate it entirely. Basically, you want 12 gravity points from Munich malt. So, if you use pure LME you'd want 24 gravity points from the LME as it is only 50% Munich.
You could alternatively mash the full amount of the Munich Malt, but that makes for a mash of nearly all grain proportions.
I've edited this post like 8,000 times now, so if you're reading this at the time I'm writing it then I apologize
brewdiver87
Member
I ran the original recipe through the Beer Smith convert recipe wizard and came up with this. Does this look right? Would you change anything?
7.13 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 49.21 %
2.30 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 15.96 %
2.09 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 14.51 %
1.37 lb Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 8.71 %
0.91 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 5.80 %
0.46 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2.90 %
0.46 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 2.90 %
7.13 lb Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM) Extract 49.21 %
2.30 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 15.96 %
2.09 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 14.51 %
1.37 lb Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 8.71 %
0.91 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 5.80 %
0.46 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2.90 %
0.46 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 2.90 %
kryolla
Well-Known Member
I think the recipe calls for a little bit more than a pound of chocolate malt even though I only used 1lb.
You also want a low cohumulone levels for hops so I think horizon would be a good sub for magnum
You also want a low cohumulone levels for hops so I think horizon would be a good sub for magnum
mojotele
Well-Known Member
I originally came up with something similar, but I thought it was perhaps too much grain to mash for most partial mashers. I mean, that's 7.5 lbs of grain. That's on the low end of some all grain recipes. That's why I opted to include the Munich LME - to lower the total amount of grain.
At the very least I think you can get away with less pale malt. The only grains that really need mashing other than the base are the Munich and Brown malts. Munich can convert itself so you only need to convert the Brown malt. I'd think 1.37 lbs of pale malt would be plenty. Make up for less pale malt with more extract.
