Doc's Imperial Vanilla Bourbon Porter

[Doc]

I'd go with the Jack Daniels.
Wild Turkey was fantastic, and I'd imaging JD to be not far behind.

Beers,
Doc

 

[AndrewQLD]

Doc,

Just put a vanilla mocha porter (alc 8.2%) into secondary - haven't got any bourbon, but was toying wwith adding some vsop brandy in similar quantity's. How does anyone reckon this would go? Otherwise I've got some Jack Daniels I could add...

cheers Ross

[post="110153"][/post]​

I think the Brandy would be very nice Ross, JD might be a bit much with its sour mash flavour. Try some in a couple of pints before you do the keg, should give you an idea.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Ross]

I was leaning towards the brandy also Andrew, but Doc has done the taste test - So guess, as you suggest, I'll keg it & have fun trying different additions to the glass before commiting... :chug:

Edit: Recipe here for anyone interested

Vanilla Mocha VSOP Porter

Type: All Grain
Date: 8/02/2006
Batch Size: 22.00 L
Brewer: Ross
Boil Time: 90 min

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 63.6 %
0.84 kg Munich, Dark (Joe White) (29.6 EBC) Grain 10.7 %
0.70 kg Brown Malt (128.1 EBC) Grain 8.9 %
0.50 kg Caramalt (Joe White) (49.3 EBC) Grain 6.4 %
0.40 kg Amber Malt (Joe White) (45.3 EBC) Grain 5.1 %
0.21 kg Carafa II (811.6 EBC) Grain 2.7 %
0.21 kg Chocolate Malt (Joe White) (800.0 EBC) Grain 2.7 %
25.00 gm Warrior [14.80%] (80 min) Hops 38.6 IBU
25.00 gm Williamette [4.30%] (80 min) Hops 11.2 IBU
28.00 gm EKG [5.00%] (10 min) Hops 4.6 IBU
20.00 gm Williamette [4.30%] (10 min) Hops 3.1 IBU
28.00 gm Fuggles [5.00%] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.00 tsp Table Salt (Boil 90.0 min) Misc
1.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
1.50 items Vanilla (Extract keg addition) Misc
3.00 tbsp Coffee (Ground beans) (Secondary 7.0 days) Misc
300ml VSOP Brandy (keg addition)
1 Pkgs British Ale (Wyeast Labs #1098) [Starter 125 ml] Yeast-Ale
1 Pkgs Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084) Yeast-Ale
1 Pkgs London Ale (Wyeast Labs #1028) Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile
Measured Original Gravity: 1.084 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.021 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 8.2 % - before spirit additions
Bitterness: 57.5 IBU Calories: 822 cal/l
Est Color: 70.0 EBC Color: Color



cheers Ross

 

[Duff]

Ross,

I've done a batch once and filled 6 bottles with Wild Turkey, 6 with Jack Daniels, 6 with Jim Beam Bonded, and 6 with Bundaberg Black Rum. The rum was awesome, and for my taste a little ahead of the JD and Wild Turkey. Rum and chocolate milk go very well together, hence the try out. If not go the JD.

Cheers.

 

[bindi]

Ross,

I've done a batch once and filled 6 bottles with Wild Turkey, 6 with Jack Daniels, 6 with Jim Beam Bonded, and 6 with Bundaberg Black Rum. The rum was awesome, and for my taste a little ahead of the JD and Wild Turkey. Rum and chocolate milk go very well together, hence the try out. If not go the JD.

Cheers.

[post="110183"][/post]​

Rum I would have gone the JD, must try that, thanks Duff

 

[Ross]

Ross,

I've done a batch once and filled 6 bottles with Wild Turkey, 6 with Jack Daniels, 6 with Jim Beam Bonded, and 6 with Bundaberg Black Rum. The rum was awesome, and for my taste a little ahead of the JD and Wild Turkey. Rum and chocolate milk go very well together, hence the try out. If not go the JD.

Cheers.

[post="110183"][/post]​

Mmmm - another one to try - got a bottle of Bundy as well - Might have to get a few "guinea pigs" over, to help me pick the best combo...

Edit: I can see this ending up as 2 x 12L kegs with a different blend in each :chug:

Cheers Ross

 

[Snow]

Well, I finally got around to brewing this last month and have started drinking the keg this week. OMFG this is an awesome beer! I copied Doc's recipe word for word and I am blown away. Big rich and flavourful. Hints of roasty mocha and vanilla with a touch of oak make this a perfect dessert beer.

I do have a question, though. I added about 250ml of wild turkey (43.4% alc) to a full 23L of the porter which was already at 8% alcohol. Anyone out there willing to hazard a guess as to the final alcohol level I've ended up with? It certainly felt like more than 8% :huh:

Thanks for the great recipe, Doc!

Cheers - Snow.

 

[Jye]

You have added an extra 0.47%.

Ive brewed DC's original version (well as close as you can get with local ingredients) and it was fantastic. Ive got and imperial porter (1.100) lined up and Im using DC's base porter recipe just scaled up :icon_drool2:

 

[Barramundi]

reading this gives me an idea of what to do with a stout im not completely happy with turned out a bit too hoppy and a touch dry at the finsh ,, into the keg with a bottle of beam it shall be ...

 

[Doc]

Hey Snow,

Glad you like it. Mine was an adaption from Denny's recipe.
I finished a keg of it recently too. An awesome beer. Will be doing it again this coming winter.

Doc

 

[Snow]

You have added an extra 0.47%.

Ive brewed DC's original version (well as close as you can get with local ingredients) and it was fantastic. Ive got and imperial porter (1.100) lined up and Im using DC's base porter recipe just scaled up :icon_drool2:

Thanks Jye - I knew there was someone out there better at maths than me

Doc, you've got the right idea - this would be a great winter warmer. I actually did mine now so I can age it through the year for comps later on.

Cheers - Snow

 

[jayse]

Excuse me, pulling up a six year old thread here.

Have not brewed for sometime, could pull out some excuses such as we really are spoilt for choice for really great beer nowadays but really its more I have been way too slack.

Anyway inspired by what I would call one of the countrys finest beers Steam Exchange truffles I am gunna put this one down.
I came across one thread on the northern brewer forum which denny is involved in which goes for 74 pages, only half way through the thread and found some tid bits.

Firstly the recipe which was first posted all over the net is wrong, this recipe in which doc and TDA used here was intially posted as using .5lbs of choc, now many people have brewed it this way and many have said it was the best beer they have brewed but denny came out sometime ago and said sorry that should read 1.25lbs. Another mix up on his part seems to be he mentions the brown malt is a must in this beer but later in the thread states he can't be sure which malt he actualy used wether it was an american brown malt or the bairds, he also states that it may have in fact been bairds amber :unsure:
Bairds have both amber and brown but in the same thread it is mentioned by some that sometimes bairds is sold over there as bairds brown malt with amber in brackets, getting confused yet?

by Denny Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:33 am



Thanks for the memory jog, Kris. I think maybe the "brown" I used would have been Baird amber. I just wish my notes were better back in those days.

Damn...this is interesting...

It appears the correct amount of chocolate malt for the BVIP IS 1.25 lb. for 5 gal.

The recipe that's been posted on the internet came from a Promash file on my computer here at the studio. I've checked the file and indeed it says .5 lb. But I also keep notes in a spiral notebook for every batch, so I went over them last night. Every single batch I've made used chocolate malt at a rate of 1.25 lb. for 5 gal.! So, for those who used .5 lb., I'm glad it turned out well and you liked it. For those that haven't brewed it yet and want the "original recipe", go with 1.25 lb. per 5 gal.

I may end up half and half brown and amber, we will see. There is proberly more info to come on that matter in the 74 pages of posts on northern brewer.

Anyway that part is no drama, what is of concern is the crystal malt. Most very light -light crystal malt here is quite a different beast to that used in these big american microbrewed beers and I am left thinking I don't really care much for the JWM caramalt being I have found it overly cloying even used at only half as much as this recipe calls for, I disliked that malt so much I actually threw out what I had left after I brewed a beer with it so I am not to sure about giving it another chance. But being doc and TDA used it and were more then happy with the beer I may be talked into it.

Anyway being someone who does not brew with this much crystal malt at all ussually I thought I'd ask the question here, what light crystal malts for a imperial porter you think?
My intial thoughts are use a medium at a lesser amount but thought I might aswell come here and chat about it.
Carared maybe an option but has anyone used it up around 10% in such a big beer?

Secondly anyone brewed this beer lately or at all?

thirdly I have gained some ideas about how gareth does it at steam exchange but he has been a little protective of his recipe which is fair enough, I have a feeling he uses oak aswell but ussually I end up too pissed to remember anything everytime I have spoken to gareth about his recipes.

The bourbon in his is well balanced and you could be forgiven for not picking it but I will say the vanilla flavour is the best vanilla flavour I have found in anything ever and is fairly pronounced, more so then I expect the intended slight vanilla oak barrel style subtleness that maybe was originally intended by denny but I find it an obsolutely fantastic beer, its not just a beer its a experience that stays with you for days/weeks after drinking it.

So yeah umm!

Cheers
Jayse

 

[AndrewQLD]

I'm with you on the caramalt Jayse, how about Thomas Fawcett Crystal malt 60l it doesn't have that buttery flavour/aroma that the caramalt seems to have.
Sadly I haven't tried this beer but it sounds like a great drop and is one I have always thought about brewing.
French Oak chips are really nice and have a smooth oakiness that isn't harsh.
When you finalise your recipe could you post it up? I'd be keen to have a crack at this too.

Andrew

 

[jayse]

I just realised I had a complete brain fade last night and this morning getting my lovibond to ebc conversion arse about, halfing instead of doubling. Thats what happens when you smoke to much drugs. So its actually 3% MEDIUM and 6% DARK crystal no light crystal.

Thats makes the question similar to the shakespeare stout in which DARK crystal to use or which you can use in large amounts in big beers like this.
Kai mentioned trying the simspons dark crystal, you could possibly gather from that there might be some in the rabbit and they are happy with it. Also mentioned good attenuation, but I am not sure if I can get that malt, can't find it listed. Might have to be bairds simply because thats what I can get.

Do vanilla beans cost much? don't imagine half a bottle of beam is cheap either.


heres the actuall recipe

Recipe : Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (GAL): 5.50 Wort Size (GAL): 5.50
Total Grain (LBS): 17.00
Anticipated OG: 1.087 Plato: 20.9
Anticipated SRM: 33.4
Anticipated IBU: 34.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73 %
Wort Boil Time: 75 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
64.7 11.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
8.8 1.50 lbs. Brown Malt Great Britain 1.032 70
14.7 2.50 lbs. Munich Malt(2-row) America 1.035 10
5.9 1.00 lbs. Crystal 120L America 1.034 120
2.9 0.50 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40
2.9 1.25 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.80 oz. Magnum Whole 14.60 32.0 60 min.
0.50 oz. Goldings - E.K. Whole 4.75 2.4 10 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 Tsp Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

WYeast 1056 Amercan Ale/Chico

Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Name :
WYeast 1056 Amercan Ale/Chico

Total Grain LBS : 17.00
Grain Temp : 63.00 F
Total Water QTS : 23.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Total Water GAL : 5.75
Tun Thermal Mass : 0.00


Step Rest Start Stop Direct/ Infuse Infuse Infuse
Step Name Time Time Temp Temp Infuse Temp Amount Ratio
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sacc 0 60 154 154 Infuse 167 23.00 1.35


Total Water QTS : 23.00 - After Additional Infusions
Total Water GAL : 5.75 - After Additional Infusions


All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
All infusion amounts are in quarts.


Notes
-----

After primary, slit open 2 vanilla beans. Scrape the insides, chop the pods into quarters, add to secondary fermenter, rack beer onto vanilla. Taste periodically for the correct balance. I left the beer in secondary for 11 days. Rack to bottling bucket and add 10 ml. per pint of Jim Beam Black Bourbon (or to your taste). Bottle, enjoy!

 

[dicko]

Hi Jayse,

My missus just bought two vanilla beans in a pack at Woolworths for $7.99.

As usuall the packaging would cost as much as the product as they come in a heavy plastic vial
similar to a White Labs Yeast container.

My beans are going into a dry stout that I have made and I am going to add some Wild Turkey to give it a kick.

Cheers

 

[jayse]

I spot another mistake in the recipe, this can't be, they can't both be 2.9%

2.9 0.50 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40
2.9 1.25 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350

 

[jayse]

Hi Jayse,

My missus just bought two vanilla beans in a pack at Woolworths for $7.99.

As usuall the packaging would cost as much as the product as they come in a heavy plastic vial
similar to a White Labs Yeast container.

My beans are going into a dry stout that I have made and I am going to add some Wild Turkey to give it a kick.

Cheers

Wicked
I should beable to find them cheaper then that here then I guess, its a expensive excerise when you start adding bourbon and vanilla. But saying that as Tayla says I am a cheap scate but then have no problems spending that much on a couple of pints of beer.

 

[raven19]

My missus just bought two vanilla beans in a pack at Woolworths for $7.99.

I bought some vanilla beans from Woolies last weekend Jayse.

3 Pods for $10.

Or singularly they were around $5 each. Both located in the spice section.

I thought it was a massive rip off personally. But then again we are all tight ass brewers.

I did a small batch on the RIMS on sunday (10L ish), and added 1 vanilla bean plus the inners scraped out into the end of the boil.

Planning on racking onto another bean inner's in secondary similar to the original recipe in this thread.

I am looking forward to drinking this one when ready.

 

[raven19]

...but ussually I end up too pissed to remember anything everytime I have spoken to gareth about his recipes.

Thats what happens when you smoke to much drugs.

Is it just me or am a seeing a theme emerge here... :lol:

 

[bum]

SWMBO recently bought some vanilla pods from an international seller on eBay. Cheap, good quality and no issues with customs. Worth considering if you want more than a couple.