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
====
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.
Discover more from Adam Chandler's Blog
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.