Vanilla Bourbon Imperial Porter BJCP Category

[TMannion87]

Hi all,

Quick question, but what category would a Vanilla Bourbon Imperial Porter fall under in the 2015 BJCP guidelines? My first instinct would be to put it under Spice, Herb or Vegetable Beer even though the vanilla is faint. Maybe Baltic Porter? Previously I had entered it in the Specialty category (where it did well) but that category no longer exists. Let me know your thoughts, thanks!

 

[jdauria]

How much is the bourbon present and is it from oak aging or did you just add bourbon? For SHV category, the aroma and taste of the spice should be noticeable and should range from subtle to aggressive in taste.

 

[TMannion87]

Just a quick update on this for anyone interested. I just added straight bourbon and submitted it to the SHV category and took 3rd place. Thanks for the reply!

 

[KyleWolf]

Congrats on taking 3rd! For what it is worth, you can submit this beer under a Baltic Porter category, and many competitions will have a section for "extras" added to the beer. If you put vanilla and bourbon there, the judges will take that into consideration, then certain things like if the additions mask the traditional flavors of the beer or if they play well with the style are taken into account. I would have been interested to see how this beer would have done if you submitted it to both categories.