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Bourbon County Coffee Stout construction help
- Thread starter Shawn
- Start date
I used the second runnings to make a porter that I bottled last week. If the taste and smell of that are any indication, this is going to be a very good/close clone. The stout has been in primary for 7 weeks, will be transferring into secondary this wkd.
A few days after I brewed, I soaked 2oz of medium French oak chips and 2oz of light oak chips in Maker's Mark. I plan on letting this sit in secondary for 2-3 months, but I won't add the chips until a few weeks before I bottle. Probably add 1oz of each for 2-3 weeks, give it a taste and decide if I need to add more.
Just took a gravity reading - it got all the way down to 1.020. Added about 2 oz of light and medium chips and will hopefully be bottling mid-February.
Looks like used motor oil. Good coffee/chocolate smell. Also get a good whiff of booze right up front. Smell is good indicator of how it tastes, coffee and chocolate, good solid malty backbone and a bit boozy. Not as sweet as the real version, but I think it should change a good bit as it ages. Overall, I'm very happy with where it's at and can't wait to take what I'm learning to improve the next batch.
Looks like used motor oil. Good coffee/chocolate smell. Also get a good whiff of booze right up front. Smell is good indicator of how it tastes, coffee and chocolate, good solid malty backbone and a bit boozy. Not as sweet as the real version, but I think it should change a good bit as it ages. Overall, I'm very happy with where it's at and can't wait to take what I'm learning to improve the next batch.
Bottled yesterday. It's a bit different than the original, but it's very good none the less. I think the 2 tweaks that will make the most difference will be mash higher to get more sweetness and reduce the amount of black malt and roasted barley a tiny bit. Once I get my adjustments figured out I'll post them. I'll probably crack one around St. Pats and monthly after that to see how the bottle aging is going. If you're a fan of this beer and/or aren't able to get it, this is a good place to start.
I cracked a bottle just now for St. Pats day. Mixed bag results. On one hand, I'm a little disappointed that it's not quite like BCBS, but on the other, very satisfied that it's a pretty solid RIS. It tastes a bit more like an Imperial version of Founder's Breakfast stout than it does BCBS - I love me some Breakfast stout, so that's not a bad thing.
- The mash temp needs to be higher than what I mashed at. I got a little gun shy by hearing that high mash temps produce more complex sugars that are harder for yeast to break down and got fixated on attenuation problems. I mashed lower and as a result, it dropped my FG significantly. Part of BCBS's charm is the sweetness. That sweetness is critical for balancing the amount of coffee the recipe requires. Those more complex sugars that result from mashing at a high temp are needed to keep the FG up to where it should be and will result in a sweeter final product. Adjustment: mash @ 160F for 90 min
- Not enough Bourbon flavor. Adjustment: 6-7 ounces of light oak chips soaked in Makers for 3 weeks or more. This is a big bastard recipe - it can handle it and probably more.
I'm going to start with those two and leave the grain bill intact for now. Those two adjustments should have a big effect alone. I'm going to probably do a 2.5 gal batch this time in the next few weeks. It's only been in the bottles a little over a month and it already has shown improvement from conditioning. Can't wait to see how it is a year from now.
- The mash temp needs to be higher than what I mashed at. I got a little gun shy by hearing that high mash temps produce more complex sugars that are harder for yeast to break down and got fixated on attenuation problems. I mashed lower and as a result, it dropped my FG significantly. Part of BCBS's charm is the sweetness. That sweetness is critical for balancing the amount of coffee the recipe requires. Those more complex sugars that result from mashing at a high temp are needed to keep the FG up to where it should be and will result in a sweeter final product. Adjustment: mash @ 160F for 90 min
- Not enough Bourbon flavor. Adjustment: 6-7 ounces of light oak chips soaked in Makers for 3 weeks or more. This is a big bastard recipe - it can handle it and probably more.
I'm going to start with those two and leave the grain bill intact for now. Those two adjustments should have a big effect alone. I'm going to probably do a 2.5 gal batch this time in the next few weeks. It's only been in the bottles a little over a month and it already has shown improvement from conditioning. Can't wait to see how it is a year from now.
morticaixavier
Master Brewer
Shawn said:I cracked a bottle just now for St. Pats day. Mixed bag results. On one hand, I'm a little disappointed that it's not quite like BCBS, but on the other, very satisfied that it's a pretty solid RIS. It tastes a bit more like an Imperial version of Founder's Breakfast stout than it does BCBS - I love me some Breakfast stout, so that's not a bad thing.
- The mash temp needs to be higher than what I mashed at. I got a little gun shy by hearing that high mash temps produce more complex sugars that are harder for yeast to break down and got fixated on attenuation problems. I mashed lower and as a result, it dropped my FG significantly. Part of BCBS's charm is the sweetness. That sweetness is critical for balancing the amount of coffee the recipe requires. Those more complex sugars that result from mashing at a high temp are needed to keep the FG up to where it should be and will result in a sweeter final product. Adjustment: mash @ 160F for 90 min
- Not enough Bourbon flavor. Adjustment: 6-7 ounces of light oak chips soaked in Makers for 3 weeks or more. This is a big bastard recipe - it can handle it and probably more.
I'm going to start with those two and leave the grain bill intact for now. Those two adjustments should have a big effect alone. I'm going to probably do a 2.5 gal batch this time in the next few weeks. It's only been in the bottles a little over a month and it already has shown improvement from conditioning. Can't wait to see how it is a year from now.
you don't need 90 minuets at 160, 45 would be just fine. at higher temps conversion happens a lot quicker.
Any know why the OP has C60 listed twice in this recipe? Is it actually 4lbs or 2lbs and it just got entered twice.
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After some further research, I've settled on this:
22 lbs 2-row
5 lbs Munich (10L)
2 lbs Caramel 60L
2 lbs Chocolate malt
2 lbs Caramel 60
1.5 lbs roasted barley
1 lb Caramel 120
1 lb black malt
I'm going to toast 3 lbs of the 2-row and 1 lb of the Munich for 1 hour @ 350*F
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****
After some further research, I've settled on this:
22 lbs 2-row
5 lbs Munich (10L)
2 lbs Caramel 60L
2 lbs Chocolate malt
2 lbs Caramel 60
1.5 lbs roasted barley
1 lb Caramel 120
1 lb black malt
I'm going to toast 3 lbs of the 2-row and 1 lb of the Munich for 1 hour @ 350*F
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