Denny Conn's Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter

[brewmasterorr]

I was able to get the mash in a keg....just barley though.

 

[jtkratzer]

I was able to get the mash in a keg....just barley though.

What was your water to grain ratio? I'm guessing it has to be 1.25 qts/lb or less. 1.25 qts/lb puts me at 10 5/8 gallons plus the grain. And that's where I'm wondering if the 34 lbs will fit in below curved rim of the top of the keg.

What was your preboil volume with the 10 gallon batch?

 

[mitchar19]

I have a batch of this brewing now. Only problem is my fermentation got out of hand. It worked itself up to a fermentation temp of 70 degrees around the 24 hour mark. Has anyone had any experience with 1450 fermenting this high? I'm afraid of the final beer having a fusel alcohol presence.

 

[Denny]

It might be on the fruity side, but shouldn't have too many fusels.

 

[mitchar19]

Awesome, thanks Denny! Good to hear from the man himself. I think I can deal with fruity. Next time I will definitely be using my refrigerator to control the beastly fermentation from 1450 and a high gravity wort.

 

[brewmasterorr]

What was your water to grain ratio? I'm guessing it has to be 1.25 qts/lb or less. 1.25 qts/lb puts me at 10 5/8 gallons plus the grain. And that's where I'm wondering if the 34 lbs will fit in below curved rim of the top of the keg.

What was your preboil volume with the 10 gallon batch?

I have a keg flipped and run a herms. I was up to the brim, which for me was above where it starts to curve. I account for loss and about a 15% boil off rate so I was at 14.5 gallons pre-boil on this one. I put 38 pounds in the mash tun for this one and ended up with 12 gallons in the fermentor at 21 plato (1.088).

 

[jtkratzer]

I have a keg flipped and run a herms. I was up to the brim, which for me was above where it starts to curve. I account for loss and about a 15% boil off rate so I was at 14.5 gallons pre-boil on this one. I put 38 pounds in the mash tun for this one and ended up with 12 gallons in the fermentor at 21 plato (1.088).

38 lbs? What's your efficiency? I just ordered this and doubled the 5 gallon recipe to 34 lbs as listed. My system is an old Sabco system I converted to eHERMS and I have the curved portion up top intact. I should be fine. I had it this full for my last batch and it didn't boil over and filled two kegs plus 18 12oz bottles. This is preboil:

 

[brewmasterorr]

38 lbs? What's your efficiency? I just ordered this and doubled the 5 gallon recipe to 34 lbs as listed. My system is an old Sabco system I converted to eHERMS and I have the curved portion up top intact. I should be fine. I had it this full for my last batch and it didn't boil over and filled two kegs plus 18 12oz bottles. This is preboil:

I usually get about 80% I will check my logs. I put the vanilla beans in last night and it was more like 12.5 gallons in the fermenter.

 

[DallasW]

Brewed a triple batch of this as part of our new brew club on Saturday (none of us had done AG, most of us hadn't even brewed). We used the grain bill found on the brew365 site, and mashed at 153 for 60 min. Hit our OG of 1.080 and everything tastes great and seems to be fermenting well (it's in the four along the back wall)

I just had some questions about the vanilla and oak additions. I'm planning on adding 2 split/scraped beans and some medium toast oak chips (both soaked in bourbon for a few days) at around 3 weeks, but can I add these straight into primary, provided fermentation is completed at that point? I'm running low on fermenters and it would make life a whole lot easier, but isn't completely necessary. Also it seems like 1-2 weeks is the norm for vanilla beans, what about oak chips?

Also, how much less do you need to add with oak chips vs oak cubes, I seem to have bought the wrong product...

 

[Denny]

Yes, you can add to primary after fermentation is done. Don't set a time for the vanilla...it will vary with the quality of your beans. Just start tasting after 3-5 days. The vanilla fades quickly, so let it get a bit more vanilla character than you think it needs.

I'm not a big fan of oaked beers.....I don't understand why everyone wants to oak this. Try it without oak.

 

[duboman]

Yes, you can add to primary after fermentation is done. Don't set a time for the vanilla...it will vary with the quality of your beans. Just start tasting after 3-5 days. The vanilla fades quickly, so let it get a bit more vanilla character than you think it needs.

I'm not a big fan of oaked beers.....I don't understand why everyone wants to oak this. Try it without oak.

I asked the same question about oak and am very glad I decided to not use it, this beer turned out fabulous. The bourbon brings just the right element of flavor needed!

I used 3 whole, long vanilla beans, split and scraped all in the secondary and sat for 10 days total. Initially it was quite strong but after 10-12 weeks bottle conditioned everything has mellowed beautifully!

 

[jtkratzer]

I asked the same question about oak and am very glad I decided to not use it, this beer turned out fabulous. The bourbon brings just the right element of flavor needed!

I used 3 whole, long vanilla beans, split and scraped all in the secondary and sat for 10 days total. Initially it was quite strong but after 10-12 weeks bottle conditioned everything has mellowed beautifully!

For the intensity of the vanilla you described, would you use three beans again?

For my 10 gallon batch, I split/scraped/chopped 4 beans and split them by weight - 5 grams for each 5 gallon carboy.

The beans seemed to vary in size, so I took two large and two medium and just split it evenly. Anyone else get a weight on how much vanilla they added?

 

[DallasW]

Yes, you can add to primary after fermentation is done. Don't set a time for the vanilla...it will vary with the quality of your beans. Just start tasting after 3-5 days. The vanilla fades quickly, so let it get a bit more vanilla character than you think it needs.

I'm not a big fan of oaked beers.....I don't understand why everyone wants to oak this. Try it without oak.

Awesome, thanks for the info!

I'll maybe try 1/2 with oak and 1/2 without then, and report my findings.

 

[duboman]

For the intensity of the vanilla you described, would you use three beans again?

For my 10 gallon batch, I split/scraped/chopped 4 beans and split them by weight - 5 grams for each 5 gallon carboy.

The beans seemed to vary in size, so I took two large and two medium and just split it evenly. Anyone else get a weight on how much vanilla they added?

Yes! All 3 were about 3-4", I did not weigh them

 

[jtkratzer]

Yes! All 3 were about 3-4", I did not weigh them

Talking about the vanilla beans here, but mine are 7". So, I might end up with more vanilla flavor if yours are 9-12" total and I put 14" of bean into each 5 gallon carboy.

 

[duboman]

Talking about the vanilla beans here, but mine are 7". So, I might end up with more vanilla flavor if yours are 9-12" total and I put 14" of bean into each 5 gallon carboy.

It's possible, as Denny mentioned it really comes down to what you want and you need to sample the beer as it conditions, trust me, if you sample it you will definitely taste and smell the vanilla!

Start tasting at like 3 days and go from there. Let it get a little stronger than you desire because it will fade. It's a personal thing

IMo this beer is best from 12 weeks from bottle so be patient

 

[jtkratzer]

It's possible, as Denny mentioned it really comes down to what you want and you need to sample the beer as it conditions, trust me, if you sample it you will definitely taste and smell the vanilla!

Start tasting at like 3 days and go from there. Let it get a little stronger than you desire because it will fade. It's a personal thing

IMo this beer is best from 12 weeks from bottle so be patient

Tomorrow is 3 days...I was planning on drinking a couple to enjoy them, but most of these, I was going to stash away until the fall. I believe this is a beer that I've read about doing well with aging.

 

[Denny]

I believe this is a beer that I've read about doing well with aging.

Not IMO. After a couple months the flavors start to fade.

 

[jtkratzer]

Not IMO. After a couple months the flavors start to fade.

Dang. I was hoping to stash these away for the fall months. Make a difference between bottling or kegging?

 

[Denny]

Dang. I was hoping to stash these away for the fall months. Make a difference between bottling or kegging?

I can't recall ever kegging it. I mean, go ahead and see what you think, but I'd recommend you think of drinking the bulk of it before fall. Or brewing another batch later!

 

[jtkratzer]

I can't recall ever kegging it. I mean, go ahead and see what you think, but I'd recommend you think of drinking the bulk of it before fall. Or brewing another batch later!

When the ingredients were pushing close to $120 for 10 gallons, this isn't one I'll be doing often.

 

[Denny]

When the ingredients were pushing close to $120 for 10 gallons, this isn't one I'll be doing often.

Holy crap, that's insane!

 

[jtkratzer]

Holy crap, that's insane!

Should it be less? How do you manage that without buying sacks of grain?

I did pick a pretty decent bourbon in Woodford Reserve. Probably closer to $110 since I used one vial of yeast between two ten gallon batches.

 

[Denny]

Should it be less? How do you manage that without buying sacks of grain?

I did pick a pretty decent bourbon in Woodford Reserve. Probably closer to $110 since I used one vial of yeast between two ten gallon batches.

I really can't answer since I do buy bags of grain (about 12oo lb. currently on hand) and lbs. of hops. You really are wasting money (IMO) by buying expensive bourbon. The bourbon flavor should be so well integrated that you shouldn't be able to really pick out the bourbon. That's why I recommend a decent, but not expensive, bourbon.

 

[jtkratzer]

I really can't answer since I do buy bags of grain (about 12oo lb. currently on hand) and lbs. of hops. You really are wasting money (IMO) by buying expensive bourbon. The bourbon flavor should be so well integrated that you shouldn't be able to really pick out the bourbon. That's why I recommend a decent, but not expensive, bourbon.

If you don't mind, what are some examples of decent bourbon? I'll gladly save the Woodford if it the middle of the road stuff will suffice.

 

[Jukas]

If you don't mind, what are some examples of decent bourbon? I'll gladly save the Woodford if it the middle of the road stuff will suffice.

I made mine with Makers Mark. I can usually find it for right around $20 a bottle and I thought the vanilla notes of the bourbon would mesh well in this beer.

I could distinctly pick out the bourbon the first week or so after it was drinkable, but by three weeks in the keg everything had melded and subtled out well.

As a plus I had leftover Markers Mark to mix with mexican coke

 

[jtkratzer]

I made mine with Makers Mark. I can usually find it for right around $20 a bottle and I thought the vanilla notes of the bourbon would mesh well in this beer.

I could distinctly pick out the bourbon the first week or so after it was drinkable, but by three weeks in the keg everything had melded and subtled out well.

As a plus I had leftover Markers Mark to mix with mexican coke

Mexican coke? Is that a cola or something else?

I love bourbon, probably my favorite out of the spirits, so I really don't mind bourbon flavor sticking out.

I added 75 ml to 3.5 liters of beer that didn't fit in my secondaries with the vanilla and bottled it. The bit that didn't fill a bottle was tasty, no vanilla, but I didn't think the bourbon flavor was too strong and was barely noticeable. I'm wondering if I need to add more than 10ml per pint. I was just going to evenly split a fifth between the two kegs and then rack on top of it. I think I had Maker's 46 in my decanter for the bottled beer.

 

[duboman]

I used Makers Mark as well because I had it on hand

Mexican Coke is Coca Cola but in Mexico they use real cane sugar and IMO it is superior to that made in the good ol USA

 

[Denny]

If you don't mind, what are some examples of decent bourbon? I'll gladly save the Woodford if it the middle of the road stuff will suffice.

I use Jim Beam Black. Agian, I feel that if you can identify the bourbon used, you used too much.

 

[DeToX]

Hello everyone - total noob to the board, not a noob to the brew. I know this thread has been dormant since Feb, but I am looking to get this recipe underway for the fall season. I was hoping I could get a reply from Denny himself on a couple of questions. I have spent the better part of my afternoon reading 27 pages, start to finish, so I will make the questions short.

Denny...

1) According to the original recipe (and according to another post), the mash-in is done with 5.75 gallons of water - correct? Leaving an additional 3.5 gallons (+/-) for sparge?

1.5) Along the lines of water - my home water sucks so these are my 3 options - Distilled, Spring, or Drinking water (all by the gallon). Which would you recommend using as far as keeping Ph balance in check, etc.?

2) You mention HawaiianVanilla.com for the source of your beans. Great site (expensive). Do you ONLY use 2 beans in your conditioning, or have you used 3 (since you can only buy a single, or a 3pk), and if you have used 3 - how were the results as opposed to using 2?

3) Lastly, in your opinion, would it be worth while using the 3rd bean in the keg (seeing as though the vanilla fades over time) to keep some of that vanilla a little more prominent throughout the life of the keg? I know you say that it depends on personal preference, but I was wondering if you (or anyone for that matter) has attempted this daring feat, and what the results were.

Thanks in advance for the response(s). Great recipe, and great board.

Cheers.