• Welcome to the new forum! We upgraded our forum software with a host of new boards, capabilities and features. It is also more secure.
    Jump in and join the conversation! You can learn more about the upgrade and new features here.

BOURBON BARREL STOUT

BILLY BREW

Grandmaster Brewer
Joined
Dec 25, 2006
Messages
354
Reaction score
7
Location
CHICAGOLAND AREA
Is this going to work?
Made a basic dry stout recipe, with the addition of 4 oz of smoked malt. In 7 days I am going to transfer to a secondary and add 1oz of oak chips that I have had soaking in 2 oz of Jim Beam Honey bourbon for 7 days as well. Figuring to let that sit for 14 days
I want this to have a nice oak barrel flavor, not one that tastes like you are sucking on a mouth full of tooth picks....
Any advice, or cautions from you who are enlightened?
 
Just a few cautions. 

First, oak chips add the oak flavor more quickly than any other method of oaking.  Taste small samples on a regular basis and get it off the oak before it's too late.  If it gets too much oak, the only way to fix it is to brew more and then blend it to reduce the oakiness.

Decide whether to add the Bourbon or not.  If you want just oak flavor and not the bourbon flavor, it's less expensive to use a cheap vodka to sterilize your oak chips, than it is to use more expensive bourbon.  If you want the bourbon, you might want to try taking a small sample of the beer and put some bourbon in it (not your bourbon with the oak soaking in it, because the oak flavor would be overpowering in a small sample), and figure out how much you want to add.  I actually used 2 pints of bourbon on my last oak chipped Russian Imperial Stout for a 5 gallon batch and I thought it was just about right.  You're only using 2 ounces of bourbon, which means you're not going to get too much bourbon flavor for a 5 gallon batch (I'm assuming you're making a 5 gallon batch, but could be making an incorrect assumption).

By the way, 1 pint of bourbon in 5 gallons increases your ABV by 1%!

If this were me, I'd soak my 1 ounce of oak chips in 1 pint of bourbon, then add bourbon at bottling if the bourbon flavor wasn't prominent enough.

Also, I use 2 ounces of oak chips, but I think your choice of 1 ounce is actually a better choice.  My 2 ounces is going into a 10%+ Russian Imperial Stout with intense flavors, and the oakiness needs to be more prominent in that type of beer, in my opinion, or it gets lost in the intense flavors of the RIS.

With 1 ounce, you'll be fine.  It will eventually get as oaky as you need, just will take longer than 2 ounces.
 
I agree with Scott on this one,
First, oak chips add the oak flavor more quickly than any other method of oaking.
, it will get too oakey really quick. The last bb porter I made stayed in secondary on oak chips for 5 days , and that was plenty of oak flavor.

1oz of oak chips that I have had soaking in 2 oz of Jim Beam Honey bourbon for 7 days
In mine I used 1 oz. oak chips soaked in half pint of Jim beam black, for 2 weeks. Then added bourbon and chips when I racked to secondary, for a 5 gallon batch.









 
This is great advise as i am also getting ready to brew a bourbon barrel stout.  but did not know how long to secondary, how much bourbon to add.  Im thinking of also adding 2oz cacoa nibs at end of boil, then soaking 2 oz in same bourbon and chips to add to secondary.  Would you recommend secondary in primary fermentor or secondary to another carboy.
 
Thanks fellas! getting a slight oak finish now. I used Jim Beam vanilla bourbon. I had put this into my stout in the past and the flavor was outstanding, So I am hoping the result will be the same. I also used 4 oz of smoked grains in the bill. I will let you know how it turns out. Should be ready around June.
 
Attempted to transfer, and when I checked gravity, it is still at 1.020. Is this normal for a secondary with bourbon in it? I thought if anything it would go lower.
I am planning of getting the wort off the oak today, the flavor is pretty good right now, but the gravity worries me a bit.
 
Back
Top