Bourbon/Whiskey Flavor to your Brew

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Oneinchaway, Mar 5, 2013.

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  1. Oneinchaway

    Oneinchaway Initiate (0) Jun 12, 2011 California
    Trader

    I've fermented beer with whiskey soaked oak chips but do not get much, if any, whiskey flavor in the beer but I do get a ton of oak. Any ideas for imparting more whiskey/bourbon flavor to a beer on a homebrew scale?
     
  2. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,331) Jul 5, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Add whiskey/bourbon.
     
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  3. Oneinchaway

    Oneinchaway Initiate (0) Jun 12, 2011 California
    Trader

    Ha! Tried it with Rum....didn't work out too well.
     
  4. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,853) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Society

    What didnt work out about it? Any flavor additions to your beer are all about balance. Start small, wait a couple days taste, then add more if need be.
     
  5. Oneinchaway

    Oneinchaway Initiate (0) Jun 12, 2011 California
    Trader

    I added rum to the secondary of a chocolate pumpkin porter I made. True about the balance, I have to experiment more with this type of brewing more I'm sure to get it right.
     
  6. sarcastro

    sarcastro Savant (1,097) Sep 20, 2006 Michigan

    It is odd that you didnt get any whiskey/bourbon flavor by adding rum.
     
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  7. Oneinchaway

    Oneinchaway Initiate (0) Jun 12, 2011 California
    Trader

    Very odd right?
     
  8. HerbMeowing

    HerbMeowing Maven (1,271) Nov 10, 2010 Virginia
    Trader

    For me annual barley wine...soaked oak chips in Maker's Mark® bourbon using enough go-juice to cover. Chips absorbed some of the bourbon after a week...so go-juice was added to cover again...rested another week...then pitched.

    Wunderbarfully boozy flavor and aroma when young (~6 mo.).
    After a year in bottle...not so much.
     
  9. PangaeaBeerFood

    PangaeaBeerFood Initiate (0) Nov 30, 2008 New York

    Perhaps you aren't soaking your wood long enough in the whiskey for it to really saturate? Particularly if you're using chips, as opposed to cubes or spirals or whatever, those things are so ridiculously porous. If you can't get a whiskey flavor into your beer from them, there is something off in your process.
     
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