Too much bourbon?

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user 214470

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Long story short I have Icelandic Doppelbock clone in secondary that failed to reach the desired FG (the beer is really fully fermented but with higher FG so let's omit the fermentation revival options - they've been tried btw). The FG is 1.019 instead of 1.014, ended up a little sweet but what the hell..

So I have 8 gallons of 6% ABV instead of recipe's 6.6%. To boost the ABV to 6.6% I would have to add 18oz of 40% ABV bourbon. That would result in 1.8% of all beer being bourbon. The question is - wouldn't this be too much / overpowering? Maybe 50/50 bourbon/vodka?

I want to add bourbon because the original beer description actually says "whisky/bourbon taste notes", so I thought adding bourbon might be not that bad of an idea, so I can do two kills in one shot.

P.S. The final projected ABV should be around 6.8% as the priming sugar should add another ~0.2%.
 
I personally wouldn't care about the .6 and let it go. But here is another option, you can use 95+% alc, and take the % where you want with no flavor addition. You can get it in most any liquor store. I once had to fix some wine when I didn't catch the low gravity before fermenting.

It dose work, and there are plenty of on line calculators to tell you how much to add.

Im thinking that your 50/50 would work but don't use vodka, use the pure stuff.
 
I personally wouldn't care about the .6 and let it go. But here is another option, you can use 95+% alc, and take the % where you want with no flavor addition. You can get it in most any liquor store. I once had to fix some wine when I didn't catch the low gravity before fermenting.

It dose work, and there are plenty of on line calculators to tell you how much to add.

Im thinking that your 50/50 would work but don't use vodka, use the pure stuff.

I wouldn't care too, but this doppelbock is already on the very low side on ABV for the style, so I want to boost it at least a little... The current 6.2% is a bit low, I would like some "warming" as it really has quite a full and strong malt body.

What's the big difference about vodka? I thought vodka is pretty much neutral anyway, would you really taste vodka flavour in beer?

What about going all bourbon then? Too much?
 
18 ounces of bourbon may give you a stronger taste than you are prepared for. Bear in mind when soaking oak chips 8 ounces of bourbon is used for a 5 gallon batch to get a "taste" in the brew. You are looking at double that much. Just be ready for a bourbon presence due to that much being added.

I know you are looking for an alcohol warmth but can you really tell the difference between 6.2% and 6.6% ? Personally I don't think I could.
 
18 ounces of bourbon may give you a stronger taste than you are prepared for. Bear in mind when soaking oak chips 8 ounces of bourbon is used for a 5 gallon batch to get a "taste" in the brew. You are looking at double that much. Just be ready for a bourbon presence due to that much being added.

I know you are looking for an alcohol warmth but can you really tell the difference between 6.2% and 6.6% ? Personally I don't think I could.
That's why I'm consulting here ;)
I might add less than 18 ounces to be on the safe side.

But... in responce to your post/numbers, some of my calculated thoughts:

You added 8 ounces of bourbon to 5 gallons of beer, and I have 8 gallons of beer, so your EXACT proportion of bourbon would convert to 13 ounces of bourbon in my case (not that close to 18 ounces anymore).
Furthermore - you were soaking oak chips, which would add an even stronger "bourbony" taste/aroma, and I only add bourbon - no chips.

You are right about the distinction between 6.2% and 6.6% - I might go with a compromise and use 13~15 ounces and end up with ~6.5% ABV... :pipe:
 
That's why I'm consulting here ;)
I might add less than 18 ounces to be on the safe side.

But... in responce to your post/numbers, some of my calculated thoughts:

You added 8 ounces of bourbon to 5 gallons of beer, and I have 8 gallons of beer, so your EXACT proportion of bourbon would convert to 13 ounces of bourbon in my case (not that close to 18 ounces anymore).
Furthermore - you were soaking oak chips, which would add an even stronger "bourbony" taste/aroma, and I only add bourbon - no chips.

You are right about the distinction between 6.2% and 6.6% - I might go with a compromise and use 13~15 ounces and end up with ~6.5% ABV... :pipe:



Good luck, hopefully it comes out exactly as you have planned.
 
There are differences in voda's from cheap to high dollar and not necessarily in order of quality. The pure stuff has no taste, most all vodka dose have some base flavor although it may be washed out by the Alc. not so with pure.
 
Take a sample of it in a 16oz glass and start adding bourbon in 1/4 teaspoonfuls till it tastes right to you. It will not have the aged flavor your really wanting but it does add bourbon notes and warmth...as others have hinted a little goes a long way and soon becomes more boozy tasting then beer tasting. 18oz is way to much for 8 gallons IMHO but that's for my taste not yours.
 
I made home made vanilla extract with a half pint of vodka and two vanilla beans for my vanilla porter recipe. I let that sit 10 days before throwing the whole thing in about 2.5 gallons of the porter. When I tasted it right before bottling i could clearly detect the taste of vodka under the vanilla and beer flavors. Vodka has a neutral flavor compared to bourbon, but it does have a flavor to it that you may taste. Just my $.02
 
I would add about 8-10 oz bourbon to 1.5-2 oz light toast oak chips. add the chips to bulk age. if it still needs a little "oomf", add the bourbon at bottling to your taste. but I would have started the soak when I brewed the beer. a little bourbon can go a long way. if you're determined to add it, I would start at 1 ounce/gallon and bump to your taste at bottling.
 
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