NorthernBrewer Bourbon Barrel Porter

[Thakog]

I made this in January 10, and it's still drinking decently. I did have a high final gravity though- I think because dark LME has some unfermentables in it.

 

[gigantor]

I don't get much head at all but tastes pretty good

 

[BeerBrods22]

I don't get much head at all but tastes pretty good

Give it time... How long have you had it bottled?

Mine went from no head, to super foamy after a drink or two , then with enough time it has a perfect carmel-ie head

 

[gigantor]

Not long. A few days shy of two weeks. I just haven't been able to let it sit without trying one every week.

 

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

@ 2 months on bourbon, with 2 weeks oaked and only 6 days on the gas, it still has a strong bourbon taste that I hope will mellow. Used 16oz Makers. Maybe another week or two on the gas and she will start to meld nicely. Most expensive 10Gal batch I have made yet.

 

[saluki_brewer]

Did anyone else have an issue with this beer being undercarbed? I bottled it on March 8 and pulled one from the closet and put it into the fridge on March 24 and drank it last night, March 29. It gave the slightest hint of a pop when I opened the bottle, but had absolutely no head.

I'm not too worried about it since it is early and I plan on saving the bulk of this beer for the fall, but I really just wanted to take an early sample to see where it was in the process.

As far as tasting notes, at this point you really get hit with the bourbon and toasted oak right off the bat. After the first couple drinks, my taste buds got over the shock of the bourbon, you can tell there is a really great porter hiding under there. Should be really great in a couple months when it mellows.

 

[rebeltruce]

I took a few of my batch to a BBQ last Memorial Day, had been in the bottle for a bit longer then yours, but I had the same results..... Allot of Bourbon up front, very little head....but very tasty!!

The batch has been aging for over a year, I haven't touched another bottle. I plan on taking a few to the same BBQ this year and having everyone who tasted it last year taste again. Looking forward to tasting it and hearing what others think after a year of bottle time.

 

[saluki_brewer]

Thanks. Good to hear someone else got the same thing. Luckily I bottled a british mild on the same day so I have something to distract me while I wait for this to mature. I would like to have at least a case left for the holiday season. This will be a real test of patience.

 

[saluki_brewer]

Oh, and let me know how yours turns out after it's had a year to age. Might need a little inspiration to keep me from raiding the pipeline.

 

[BoxofRain]

Anyone oaked in the keg? Was thinking about either dropping the cubes in loose, then re-rack in a few weeks or tossing them in a paint strainer and fishing it out later. Any thoughts? Can't wait to taste this baby during the transfer out of the carboy this weekend.

 

[Joedub]

I just had a bottle of this 3 weeks after bottling. I really hope it mellows out the bourbon is to much. Also it was very under carbonated.

 

[MDRex]

I just racked mine onto the oak and bourbon Sunday night. I used 14 oz. of Jim Beam Black, which is suprisingly good but more robust than the Makers.

 

[FlipMasterFlash]

I just had a bottle of this 3 weeks after bottling. I really hope it mellows out the bourbon is to much. Also it was very under carbonated.

Both were very true of my batch at 3 weeks as well but now 6 months later the bourbon mellowed (used 22 oz.) and the carbonation is right (maybe a touch high actually).

 

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

about 4 months here and the makers mark still shows it's presence. Used 16oz. If this thing will ever mellow, it will be an awesome beer.

 

[MDRex]

Quick question, when I racked mine to secondary it smelled a little bit like banana. It fermented at about 64-66F. Is that smell normal for this beer?

 

[saluki_brewer]

JoeDub...I tried my first bottle at 3 weeks also and it was exactly like you described. I had the second one only a week later and it still had a very strong bourbon and oak flavor, but the flavors seemed to have melded substantially and I got a little bit of brown head. It still has quite a ways to go, but I was very surprised at the difference between week 3 and week 4.

 

[1ratdog]

im gonna order a kit with my next order

 

[sha0056]

Quick question, when I racked mine to secondary it smelled a little bit like banana. It fermented at about 64-66F. Is that smell normal for this beer?

I didn't have any banana aroma with mine (although might be nice with some of the chocolate character of the beer). let us know if it is still there at bottling time

 

[MDRex]

I didn't have any banana aroma with mine (although might be nice with some of the chocolate character of the beer). let us know if it is still there at bottling time

Honestly it could just have been me, sometimes my sense of smell sucks because of my allergies. Now it could have been chocolate aroma that I picked up as banana. I sometimes do that because banana is something I tend to not like in beers. Thinking back, it really was like a chocolate covered banana smell, and that does sound good.

 

[Connman]

Brewed this beer on 2/26/11. Just threw it in the keggerator to chill and carb. Had to taste it. No bananas but i can taste the makers mark but it does not overpower the chocolaty malt porter. Cant wait to try it in a week!

 

[bottlebomber]

I made a batch of BBP about 9 months ago. This is how it went : the wort tasted greeat but overly hoppy which is normal. I let it ferment in primary for three weeks, never did a secondary. About two weeks in I added the "oak cubes". Just before bottling I added my corn sugar and a whole bottle of Makers Mark whiskey, that's right I said a whole bottle.
Opened a bottle after about a month - Bleh! Harsh hop flavor and a very separate and independant booziness from the whiskey.
Two more months go by. Now were getting somewhere. The hop flavor had nicely mellowed (I always add an extra oz or two btw) and the flavor of the whiskey was starting to emulsify with the beer.
Fast forward to six months from bottling date and this beer was showing its true colors. Wow. I took a couple 22s to the brew club meeting and the all-grain boys were huddled in the corner glowering at me from over their delicious fragrant tasters of my Porter. One of them at least had the decency to admit that it was "not bad for a Betty Crocker beer". It stole the show.
DEFINITELY make BBP at least once but don't expect to be impressed until at least three or four months. The only thing I would change was maybe tone down the corn sugar by an ounce or two, the carbonation was almost out of control, maybe from some extra fermentable sugars from the whiskey I added. To make a long story longer, this is one of the best beers you will ever drink.

 

[sivdrinks]

Great read, all 17 pages! Im in between the Imp Stout kit and the Big Honkin Stout kit from NB. I want this to be big and tasty. Just had the Lost Abbey Angels Share on Brandy barrels on tap the other day so... I wanna add coffee, oak chips or spiral, vanilla bean and bourbon ( have some Bookers 124.7 proof waiting ). Any thoughts on the kit, fermentation schedule, yeast, amount of bourbon or type/origin of oak?

 

[MarkyMark80]

Anyone else having trouble getting this to carb up? I bottled this mid March and I have only had 1 12oz bottle carb up properly. I mostly bottled 22oz bottles. The 1 12oz bottle i i did have carb up was AWESOME. I think I'm just going to keep sitting on this and waiting, it would be a shame to dump it.

 

[Joedub]

Anyone else having trouble getting this to carb up? I bottled this mid March and I have only had 1 12oz bottle carb up properly. I mostly bottled 22oz bottles. The 1 12oz bottle i i did have carb up was AWESOME. I think I'm just going to keep sitting on this and waiting, it would be a shame to dump it.

Larger bottles take longer to carb. I bottled with 12oz bottles and it took over a month to carb if I remember correctly.

 

[jamesjensen1068]

Alright, I have a question. I brewed this back on 4/9/11 putting the wort on a yeast cake from a batch of NB Scottish 60 Schilling. Two weeks out I transfered it to secondary and took a reading. It's down to 1.018 and tastes great, everything is nicely melded, all the flavors seem balanced and it has a very "clean" taste, no esters, etc.

Should I really wait two more weeks before I add the Oak/Bourbon? Maybe give it a week a week in secondary then add the oak/bourbon.

What do you guys think?

Cheers

 

[sha0056]

Anyone else having trouble getting this to carb up? I bottled this mid March and I have only had 1 12oz bottle carb up properly. I mostly bottled 22oz bottles. The 1 12oz bottle i i did have carb up was AWESOME. I think I'm just going to keep sitting on this and waiting, it would be a shame to dump it.

Didn't have any trouble with mine but this could be a good thing - wait a month or two before opening the next one and you will likely enjoy an even better brew than the one that was already carbed! My main issue is I only have 2 bottles left and am trying to save these for this winter!

 

[casey914]

just ordered this after reading all of the reviews... probably going to settle on using less(maybe 12oz of makers) after reading all of the "boozy" comments... How does it taste compared to something like a KBS? that is fairly boozy.

 

[sha0056]

How does it taste compared to something like a KBS? that is fairly boozy.

I don't know, but send me some KBS and I'll let you know!

 

[sha0056]

How does it taste compared to something like a KBS? that is fairly boozy.

If you are looking for something more along the lines of a bourbon barrel aged stout (have not had KBS, but love Bourbon County Stout), you may prefer the bourbon and oak (as per bourbon barrel porter kit) in the imperial stout kit - my second batch is bottle conditioning as we speak!

 

[MilwaukeeBrewGuy]

6 months on mine and it has really mellowed and mended good. It doesn't have a real strong oaky presence so maybe that is why the bourbon took a while to mellow. Another month or so and it should be perfect. I am thinking of adding a vanilla bean to my second 5 gallons though. Has anyone done this to this recipe?