NorthernBrewer Bourbon Barrel Porter

[Philip_T]

Yep, but others have reported getting stuck around 1.025 to 1.030. Do a starter if your using liquid yeast.

 

[martialscientist]

I did plan on doing a starter. I'll post my progress with this brew.

 

[Philip_T]

Just added the rum/oak to the secondary. Smelled amazing! Thanksgiving can't get here quick enough...

Total of 2 weeks in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary without rum/oak and will do at least another 2 to 4 weeks in the secondary with the rum/oak.

I'm only 9 batches in so far, but I can already tell that this is my best batch to date. No doubt about it!

 

[drocu]

Update: 8/14/11 OG = 1.058, FG = 1.027 after 2 weeks in primary.

I don't think that increasing the amount of yeast that I pitched would have made much of a difference, especially given a lot of the other posts on here. The hydro sample tasted great on its own. I may make this again without the addition of bourbon and oak.

After so many rave reviews, I decided to pick this up, and it should be here this Saturday.

A quick question, how much yeast are people using? I picked up 2 packs of the Danstar Windsor because I was concerned with a stuck fermentation, as some others have experienced. An OG of 1.065 doesn't seem that high to me, but I've never used this yeast before.

Update: 8/1/11 I made this yesterday and pitched 2 packs of Danstar Windsor (they were really cheap at LHBS). Active fermentation began ~6 hrs later and this morning (~16hrs after pitching), it was blowing through the airlock. I switched to a blowoff tube. One pack probably would've been fine, I'm thinking.

 

[BeerWard]

Finally brewed this beer. I went the all grain route, had a jump in efficiency using the mashout. OG of 1.072 and got about 5.75 gallons. More Beer!! When I move to secondary with the oaked bourbon, i may take any remaining beer and bottle to have a non-bourbon control test

 

[casey914]

What is everyone's recommendation for priming on this one? Do you need all 5oz?

 

[dlm3]

I just went with 3.7 oz corn sugar for priming. I just tried my first one have 3 weeks in the bottle and it was nice. I think this style benefits from lower carbonation. It wasn't flat, but didn't have much of a head. Ultimately it's your preference though.

 

[jghbt]

What is everyone's recommendation for priming on this one? Do you need all 5oz?

I had 17.6 liters to prime and used 111g of corn sugar. I had targetted 2.2 volumes of CO2. It seems to be pretty perfect so far.

 

[Philip_T]

I was thinking of using closer to 4 than 5 myself.
A: I'm below 5 gallons now due to trub loss.
B: I don't want a huge head on my porters. Some, but not a lot.

 

[craig_reed]

What did you guys do for a starter for this beer?

I was just thinking the standard 1/2 cup DME into 4 cups water boil, bring to 70 degrees and pitch the wyeast packet into it.

Will this work? Or what did you guys do? I just smacked the pack for a Saturday brew day

 

[bottlebomber]

This works (or any scaled version), but I prefer to remember the 1-10 rule, 1 gram of DME per 10 ml of water, so 100 grams for a 1 liter starter etc. You have to have a scale for that method though

 

[54BelAir]

What did you guys do for a starter for this beer?

I was just thinking the standard 1/2 cup DME into 4 cups water boil, bring to 70 degrees and pitch the wyeast packet into it.

That's what I did, and I had no problems as all getting fermentation to start when I pitched. Some may suggest a bigger starter.

 

[drocu]

This works (or any scaled version), but I prefer to remember the 1-10 rule, 1 gram of DME per 10 ml of water, so 100 grams for a 1 liter starter etc. You have to have a scale for that method though

It probably doesn't matter for just a 24hr starter, but why the airlock? I've always thought that the whole purpose of a starter is to increase cell numbers and the best way to do that is to oxygenate the yeast culture. You're not trying to cause fermentation, just growth.

I'd say just cover loosely with foil and give it a swirl every now and then to oxygenate.

 

[bottlebomber]

It probably doesn't matter for just a 24hr starter, but why the airlock? I've always thought that the whole purpose of a starter is to increase cell numbers and the best way to do that is to oxygenate the yeast culture. You're not trying to cause fermentation, just growth.

I'd say just cover loosely with foil and give it a swirl every now and then to oxygenate.

Oh missed the airlock part... yeah you don't need to do that I use a foam stopper

 

[Philip_T]

I typically use 4.5 ounces of DME and 6 cups of water in the boil. After evaporation, the whole batch fits nicely in my 1 liter flask. I've read that the ratio you want is something like 6 ounces for every 8 cups, or 3 ounces for every 4 cups.

I also like to let mine ferment for a couple days, then put it in the fridge for 24 hours for the yeast to fall out, then pour off (decant) the excess wort leaving just enough to swirl into the yeast cake before warming it back up to room temp and pitching.

 

[bottlebomber]

I typically use 4.5 ounces of DME and 6 cups of water in the boil. After evaporation, the whole batch fits nicely in my 1 liter flask.

48 ounces of water plus DME fits in your 1 liter flask?

 

[Philip_T]

48 ounces of water plus DME fits in your 1 liter flask?

Well, I'm pretty sure that's the ratio I used last time. And I know my 1 liter flask actually holds more than 1 liter. And taking into account evaporation......but let me double check my notes when I get home.

 

[Puckhead]

I made this last October an split the batch half MM half Spiced Rum both turned out great. I'm now making a batch of each I the next couple weeks.. Def dial down the priming sugar. At 2.5 oz in 3 gallons it poured a very big head. Excellent beer though....

 

[Philip_T]

I'm curious as to how you liked the spiced rum batch Puckhead, as that is basically what I used for mine, but it won't be ready until November.

 

[uncle_jimbo]

I've got this one bubbling away like crazy right now about 48 hours after brewing. Had a nasty blowoff yesterday even though I had a blowoff hose on it. It was just a 1/4" hose in a punched bung. Went and bought a 1.25" hose to stick straight in the hole of the carboy and haven't had any problems with clogging.

The beer in the carboy is a beautiful color right now. I didn't get nearly the starting gravity I wanted, but I bet it'll still be delicious.

I see most people are saying to let it age for a few weeks, at least, and that it will be ready by about Christmas.

How long should I have it in primary/secondary/bottle-aging? I was thinking 2 weeks primary, 4 weeks secondary, and a month bottle aging, but that won't be nearly Christmas, so I'm wondering if maybe I need to do some of those longer....

 

[CompassBrewing]

I've got this one bubbling away like crazy right now about 48 hours after brewing. Had a nasty blowoff yesterday even though I had a blowoff hose on it. It was just a 1/4" hose in a punched bung. Went and bought a 1.25" hose to stick straight in the hole of the carboy and haven't had any problems with clogging.

The beer in the carboy is a beautiful color right now. I didn't get nearly the starting gravity I wanted, but I bet it'll still be delicious.

I see most people are saying to let it age for a few weeks, at least, and that it will be ready by about Christmas.

How long should I have it in primary/secondary/bottle-aging? I was thinking 2 weeks primary, 4 weeks secondary, and a month bottle aging, but that won't be nearly Christmas, so I'm wondering if maybe I need to do some of those longer....

I just brewed mine yesterday and figured 3 week primary (standard for all of my brews), then a month secondary and bottled till christmas

 

[woodenbuick]

I brewed on earlier this year and had one with dinner tonight. It gets better every time i drink one.
Smooths out a bit more every time.
I will make it again.

 

[54BelAir]

Racked to secondary yesterday. It tasted great before adding the bourbon and oak. I think that this one is going to live up to all of the positive press that it has gotten here.

 

[MDRex]

I went 2 months on the oak and I used a more robust bourbon, Jim Beam Black. I was going for more oak and bourbon up front and wanted to be able to let it age for quite a while to see how things blend and mellow. I first tried mine after 6 weeks in the bottle and the oak was super strong, but the beer was very good. I'm not going to try it again until the end of September for a BBQ competition and then drinking everyfew months to see how it ages.

If you want to drink within a few months I would not go nearly as long as I did on the oak.

I also added brett to a gallon and put that in a growler to age for a while.

 

[Philip_T]

Nice guys. Hoping to see a lot of new reviews around October/November from all of the recent batches. Mine goes in the bottle this weekend....I took a whiff of it the other night and the Zaya Rum really added the vanilla/caramel/spice texture that I was looking for. Can't wait to try one of these.

 

[BBFCreatureFM]

Racked to secondary yesterday onto 16 oz of Maker's with double (4oz) of toasted chips that have been marinating together for 3 weeks. The porter itself was great, but just a slight bit thinner than what I'd expected. I'm hoping the bourbon doesn't overwhelm, but I've no doubt that whatever it is I've made, it will be tasty. With all the batches going in this thread, I too will be looking for late Fall/early Winter reviews. I like the idea of rum as well. There are some great small-batch rums that we've got access to down here in S. Fla.

 

[glenn514]

My batch went into secondary today, primarily because I needed my 6 gallon Better Bottle for a batch of Cream Ale I brewed up this morning! I will put the oak chips and bourbon in the wort on Labor Day. My wife and I are then taking a two-week trip on our Honda Gold Wing to see oldest daughter [pregnant with first child] in Dallas, TX and youngest daughter [Ph.D. student at Tulane University] in New Orleans, LA. We plan to return home on or about 20 September, which will give the Porter four weeks in secondary.

Our first grandbaby will be born in early December in Dallas. Wife plans to drive down before Christmas, so she will take the Porter in the car. I'll fly down on Christmas Day with daughters #2 and #3. I sure do hope the Porter is a hit!

glenn514

 

[craig_reed]

Weather has cooperated, finished my deck over the weekend, so I will be brewing this one up tonight!

How long are you leaving it in the primary befor emoving to oak and bourbon? I was thinking 2 weeks, then 4 weeks on the oak chips, then 2 months or so in the bottle before cracking -

 

[Philip_T]

I think most people are fermenting right around 6 weeks between primary and secondary. I did 2 weeks in the primary, then 2 weeks without oak in the secondary, then 2 weeks with oak in the secondary. Planning on at least 2 months in the bottle, but I know that I'll cave and have to open one after a couple weeks just to gauge it and just how much time improves it.

 

[bingc]

Mine has been in the primary for 2 days now with no signs of fermentation :\.
I used Wyeast, it seemed to bloat well in the bag. I keep reading that this recipe has been fermenting like crazy within 24 hours. What did i do wrong?