Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Bourbon Vanilla Porter (AG)
- Thread starter Lil' Sparky
- Start date
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Draygon
Well-Known Member
Brewed this one and bottled today, was slightly modified from the recipe, tasted great! Cant wait to see how much better it will get in the bottles.
ABV 8.5%
ABV 8.5%
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Talljake6110
Active Member
I have this beer on tap right now. It comes out nearly black. I ended up with about a 7.4% abv before i added in 300 mL of Buffalo Trace bourbon. When i figured it up, that game out to roughtly 1/4 of a shot of bourbon per pint. It is a great beer and i have had several people give rave compliments on it. I even had one person say that as it warmed up, the flavors came out more and got even better. It is heavy and rich. Definitely not a beer to sit around and drink all night whilst shooting the bull with friends. I could imagine it being great to drink with a cigar.
Was this your first time brewing this? I am more interested in your choice of Bourbon as Buffalo Trace is one of my favorites if not my favorite bourbon and wanted to know how it compares to other brands. I plan on using Buffalo Trace later this year if I can get another bottle at a decent price.
Talljake6110
Active Member
Well, right before I decided to brew this beer, I started drinking a variety of bourbons. I started by drinking old fashioneds, but that was too much work, so i was just drinking bourbon on the rocks. I was just going to the liquor store and picking up a bottle of whatever looked good at the time. I too really began to enjoy Buffalo trace. When it came time to add the bourbon, i had a half a bottle left. There are several other brands that i really enjoy, but that was what I had available, plus it was a fairly reasonably priced bourbon. And yes, it was my first time brewing this beer.
Draygon
Well-Known Member
I too used Buffalo Trace as my bourbon for this beer. May as well use what you like, after all if you dont like what you brew whats the point of doing it? I put in 450+ml so as I said in my thread above, my abv is 8.5% with a really nice bourbon/vanilla taste. Good bourbon flavor in drinking it as well but not too over powering.
A decent price? I can find it here for $23 for a liter bottle. Where do you live? haha
Im going to be using makers mark, its a sweet bourbon so I think it would pare well. I was thinking about using gentleman jack but nah.
Talljake6110
Active Member
couldn't find whole vanilla beans, but did kind pure vanilla extract. Any one know about how much to use. Checked back through the posts and could only find "to taste". Do i still add to the secondary or wait untill bottling and add with the burbon. Gonna check one more place for the beans.
wegz15
Well-Known Member
I've seen then online. There is a store around me called the spice house. They have them for like 1.84a bean.
OK its been about 7 weeks no carbonation in the bottles...but it still tastes awesome...I really dont want to throw it out. Can I open the bottles and throw in some carbonation tablets? Will that ruin the beer? I need help!
Mongoose40
Active Member
I've noticed several people with priming problems here. Is it possibly because the whiskey is killing off the yeast?
What about adding a tiny pinch of new yeast to the bottles like they do for soda? Too risky for bottle bombs?
Can't wait to make this. This is definitely my next brew.
What about adding a tiny pinch of new yeast to the bottles like they do for soda? Too risky for bottle bombs?
Can't wait to make this. This is definitely my next brew.
Mongoose40
Active Member
Just went back and read the old posts. Didn't realize the high alcohol issue was already covered. Feel free to disregard.
uncleben113
Well-Known Member
Quick update: I entered this beer as a Vanilla Porter in the Oregon Homebrew Festival competition and won 1st place in Cat. 21. You can't go wrong with this recipe! People love this beer! Again, I didn't do the bourbon thing, I just called my a vanilla porter. Anyway, thanks to Lil' Sparky for the recipe!!
So I'm seriously considering entering this beer into a few competitions. I'm wondering what style I would call it though. It's listed as a Robust Porter on here but I'm not sure it technically is according to the BJCP guidelines.
The 2008 BJCP guidelines don't mention the use of adjuncts as being acceptable so I'm thinking I should enter it as a Category 23 - Experimental Beer
What do you guys think?
Note:This is hands down the best beer I have brewed to date. In terms of quality of beer and complexity of flavor, it's incredible. I highly recommend this one!
jigidyjim
Well-Known Member
uncleben113 said:
I entered mine in 23A - it gets judged tomorrow...
uncleben113
Well-Known Member
Good luck to you. Let us know how it goes
I was quite concerned after a few weeks myself. I brought all the bottles out of the basement (which was probably in the mid 60's) and brought them up to about the mid 70's. At the same time, I gave each bottle a bit of a gentle shake to bring the yeast back into suspension. Left them there for about a month and then put a few in the fridge for about 2 weeks. They have continually improved over about 3 months and are perfect now. Not sure if it was anything I did... or just the time... but either way, hang in there. They will probably work out just right!
jigidyjim
Well-Known Member
I haven't seen the judging sheets, but the results are up on the website. I got first place in the specialty beer category out of 17 entries :rockin: I'm looking forward to reading the notes and seeing the score!
Took 2nd at BABO with my version of Dennys OAKED BVP for wood aged beers, i blended 4 different types of whiskeys and oaked for a month...
James - I was one of the judges for that competition (I judged Fruit and IPA's). You did VERY well. Your beer was discussed and regarded very highly. I was also a steward at the BOS table. Your BVP, if i remember correctly ALMOST won best of show. It was in the top 4 out of 250 entries, the judging panel was torn. GREAT JOB!
Score sheets go out next week.
James - I was one of the judges for that competition (I judged Fruit and IPA's). You did VERY well. Your beer was discussed and regarded very highly. I was also a steward at the BOS table. Your BVP, if i remember correctly ALMOST won best of show. It was in the top 4 out of 250 entries, the judging panel was torn. GREAT JOB!
Score sheets go out next week.
