My first attempt at a stout which received a coffee infusion came out great. It was so popular that most of it was consumed by friends so I only have a few bottles remaining. It is a very delicious stout that I’ll rebrew many times again. The second attempt is a very big stout and I am trying to simulate a bourbon barrel in this one and hope that I’ve had some success.
- Brewed on November 26th
- Sampled December 4th and tasting VERY boozy
- Racked to keg on December 27th
- Medium Char oak spirals were soaked in Blanton’s and Vanilla beans for one week
- Then, the spirals and beans were placed in a sanitized mesh bag in the keg for 2 weeks
Today is the 2 week mark of oak and it’s time to sample how things are coming along. Today is about 2 months and a week after the beer was brewed. I intend on letting it age longer in the cellar at around 55-60 Degrees F. I probably could mature it better at room temperature but really the plan is to ignore this keg for as long as possible. This is a big beer and the keg is light and air tight with the O2 purged. Hopefully it can sit for a while.
Top of the keg sample (prior to removing the mesh bag and stirring the contents of the keg):
A – Flat, sort of a mahogany edged appearance on the edges of the glass. Nearly pitch black
S – Some Burnt / Smoked oak followed by vanilla and bourbon with a touch of molasses
T – Lots of oak, very dominant and aggressive oak that’s a big turn off. Followed by some chocolate and espresso beans with a finish of vanilla bean that sticks around
Sample from keg after removing mesh bag and stirring the beer gently:
A – Much darker, a hint of carbonation, pitch black
S – Move vanilla and chocolate and just a hint of oak
T – Still a dominating oak character, move vanilla, less coffee bean and slightly less bourbon than I was hoping for
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One thing I was expecting was that the oak was entirely too aggressive. This should fade as the beer matures a bit and sits around a tiny big longer. The vanilla is right where I want it but I’m going to add 4 more ounces of bourbon bringing the total to around 14-15 ounces total of Blanton’s.
Then purge O2 again and stick this sucker in the basement.
