Bourbon Barrel Porter

I brewed this beer on March 1st and didn’t keg it until May 5th, it was great but really could have used another month. This is one of the few beers I use a secondary for.

Have you guys used the recommended amount of 16oz of bourbon

I only used 12 oz and thought it needed more so the next time I would add 16oz. But again that’s a personal taste. If your kegging you can always add more but bottling you will need to make a decision .

I used a pint of Makers Mark. BTW did I tell you it was pretty good beer. :slight_smile:

Here’s some good advice as well: I went back to my notes on this one and now I remember this guy needed a blowoff tube. This one ferments like Krakatoa …I would put a blowoff tube in a small bucket about 1’2 full of Starsan.

I made my starter and I’m brewing this one tonight! I had a sample of it at my NB and thought it would make a great addition to my schedule.

Roland

hi guys sort of a late question to add to this subject! My bourbon porter is now in secondary fermentation. My question is after soaking the bourbon oak for 48hrs in bourbon do I just put the bourbon in the carboy? What happens to the bourbon oak do they go in the carboy as well?

Now that’s a matter of opinion. Last year I just put in the bourbon not the chips and kegged. Then bottled off the keg. A few of the bombers I put in one of the bourbon soake chips and I liked it so this year chips and all.

Thanks ya I’m gonna soak em in bourbon for 48hrs? That’s what it says did you soak them longer or will it make a difference?

That sounds about right

Thanks for the help!!!:+1:

Making my second batch of the bourbon barrel. What I read above sounds familiar. Dumped in the chips and bourbon into secondary. Bottled two weeks later. Bottle bombs - lost 5 in 24 hours. This batch going 4 weeks in secondary and plan on just putting soaked chips in for one additional week. (Soaked chips for 1 week in 12 oz Makers Mark). What did the rest of you get for your FG at bottling? First batch was 1.026, seams high and probable contributed to the over carbonation.

Mine recent batch finished at .012. I would say never bottle at .026. What made you think it was done?

Why? Bad day and was not thinking clearly.
Plan on tracking this batch better.

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Hello,
I have been wanting to try this kit. Making a yeast starter is holding me back. I have never made a yeast starter before. Would anyone like to share what they do? or how they make a starter?
Thanks for your help.

I made this kit and used the dry yeast and re-hydrated it. The beer turned out awesome I have it on keg now. I went 2 weeks primary, then I believe 5 weeks secondary I added the bourbon soaked chips + vanilla vodka soaked vanilla beans about 12 days before I racked it to the keg. After seeing some posts I would have waited to add the vanilla until a couple days before racking as the vanilla barely came through, but the beer is still great, best one I have done.
I also have not made a starter yet, only used liquid yeast once so far for a beer with OG of 1.045 so no need for a starter.
Happy brewing!!

Starter Recipe:
The optimal media for cell growth and health require using a malt based media (DME) fortified with nutrients. Gravity should be kept near 1.040 and cultures should be grown at 70°F.

Recipe
0.5 cup DME (100g, 3.5oz)
½ tsp Wyeast Nutrient
1qt.(1L) H2O
Mix DME, nutrient, and water.
Boil 20 minutes to sterilize.
Pour into a sanitized flask or jar with loose lid or foil.
Allow to cool to 70°F.
Shake well and add yeast culture.
Timing of Starter:
Because starters are inoculated at high cell densities, growth is usually maximized within 24-36 hours. The gravity of the starter should always be checked prior to inoculation into wort to assure proper cell growth . Cultures should be used immediately, or refrigerated for up to 1 week before using. Cell viability will decrease rapidly if culture are left at ambient temperatures for extended time.

Stirring and O2:
Agitation aids in removing inhibitive CO2 from suspension as well as possibly adding small amounts of oxygen. Stirring or shaking the starter periodically or using a stir plate will improve cell growth. The use of stir plates has been shown to increase cell growth 25-50% over a non-stirred starter.

Small additions of oxygen periodically throughout the growth of a starter will replenish sterols and improve cell yield.
This is from the Wyeast website. Hope it helps.

You can also refrigerate the finished starter for a day or two until the yeast settles firmly to the bottom, then decant most of the clear wort on top, then swirl around what’s left and pitch into your wort. You don’t have to pour the entire contents of the starter into the wort, just the yeast.

Cheers,

Ron

By the way, this is for liquid yeast. You can do this with dry yeast, but you should rehydrate the dry yeast before pitching to the starter wort.

You can cheat a bit on a starter, too. Northern Brewer sells “Fast Pitch” canned starter. Sanitize a jar, dump in contents of can. Fill empty can with tap water. Dump that in. Stir. Add yeast, cover with sanitized foil. Swirl whenever you think about it. After a day or two, refrigerate, decant, pitch. Quicker than Frenchie’s very good instructions, but not by much.

Haha. Uber, that’s exactly what I did for my last batch. The fast pitch worked great! I should have thought of that. Good catch.

Cheers,

Ron

Here’s how I do it, along with the venerable @denny:
yeast starter

You don’t HAVE to make a starter. You could always buy more yeast and pitch 2 packets.

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