Recipe Fail: Bourbon Porter w/ Cherries. Thoughts?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Rob_in_Chicago, Dec 11, 2014.

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  1. koopa

    koopa Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2008 New Jersey

    How much sugar did you prime with?
     
    #21 koopa, Dec 12, 2014
  2. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,647) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    Balaton cherries are a sweet+tart cherry, not as tart as Montmorency. They are really flavorful and are favorite of some mead makers.

    They were introduced by Michigan State. The Prof in charge of the program there has been hunting for tart cherries from Turkey to Poland, where there are many varieties. In the US it was almost all Montmorency until Balaton was introduced.
    http://www.hrt.msu.edu/Balaton.html
     
    #22 hopfenunmaltz, Dec 12, 2014
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  3. mugs1789

    mugs1789 Zealot (611) Dec 6, 2005 Maryland

    This is a great Michigan answer.
     
    #23 mugs1789, Dec 12, 2014
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  4. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    Was in Traverse City, MI in September and all we did was drink beer and eat fried walleye (no cherries :slight_frown:)
     
    #24 GreenKrusty101, Dec 12, 2014
  5. MLucky

    MLucky Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2010 California

    I think we need to hear from some of the brewers who work with one gallon batches. But to me, 3 oz bourbon and 2 pounds of dried cherries seems way too much from one gallon of beer. That sounds like the amounts some people would use for a five gallon batch. Maybe what happened is that the additional alcohol and sugar overwhelmed the yeast and it was unable to finish fermentation or carbonate the beer.
     
    #25 MLucky, Dec 12, 2014
  6. ChrisMyhre

    ChrisMyhre Initiate (0) Sep 15, 2013 Massachusetts

    2lbs per gallon of fruit is about right for a sour at least, but that does seem like way too much bourbon.
     
    #26 ChrisMyhre, Dec 13, 2014
  7. machalel

    machalel Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2012 Australia

    It may be a lot of bourbon taste wise, but by my calculations, it would only bump up the ABV by <1%. That shouldn't be enough to overwhelm the yeast, should it?

    I think it's more an issue that it was transfered to secondary before it was finished fermenting, and you've left most of your active yeast behind.
     
    #27 machalel, Dec 15, 2014
  8. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    No cherries in Traverse is sad, but you gotta admit that the beers and walleye were probably great.
     
    #28 MrOH, Dec 15, 2014
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  9. Rob_in_Chicago

    Rob_in_Chicago Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2014 Illinois

    So just to circle back around on some of the comments...

    I took a reading -- 1.16. There was a slight carbonation in the bottle I opened -- I stress slight. But more than when I opened the original bottle. Both the primary and the secondary were two weeks each. I bought the cherries from a company called Cherry Republic in Traverse City. Customer service there said all they add in is a slight amount of sugar and sunflower oil. I did a quick Google search on whether sunflower oil had sulfites, but couldn't find anything definitive. As for the amount of priming sugar I used, I dropped in one fizzy drop per bottle. I usually don't use the drops, but that is what came in the kit.

    I would add, I did a taste test when I did the reading and the syrupy test has backed off a bit. But when I do this recipe again I think I would add less fruit, maybe 1 pound to 1.25 pounds per gallon.
     
    #29 Rob_in_Chicago, Dec 15, 2014
  10. machalel

    machalel Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2012 Australia

    Wait... do you mean 1.160 or 1.016?

    If the former, then you've either somehow either added a massive load of sugar, or have some sugars that havent dissolved properly messing up your reading.
     
    #30 machalel, Dec 15, 2014
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  11. Rob_in_Chicago

    Rob_in_Chicago Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2014 Illinois

    sorry....typo...1.016
     
    #31 Rob_in_Chicago, Dec 15, 2014
  12. machalel

    machalel Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2012 Australia

    Ah ok, phew!

    That's not overly high at all for a Porter, so I think the syrupy taste is coming from the combination of Bourbon & Cherries, rather than from any sugar present. My recommendation is to try to be patient and give it another 2 weeks before opening the next bottle :slight_smile:


    Oh, and make sure you stash a few bottles to open in 6-12 months or so to see how it has progressed
     
    #32 machalel, Dec 17, 2014
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  13. GreenKrusty101

    GreenKrusty101 Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2008 Nevada

    "the syrupy taste is coming from the combination of Bourbon & Cherries"

    I am reminded of childhood dreams where visions of Robitussin danced in my head :slight_smile:
     
    #33 GreenKrusty101, Dec 17, 2014
  14. machalel

    machalel Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2012 Australia

    I wish my cough-syrup was made of bourbon and cherries. I got vanilla & grape flavoured ones (trust me, it was worse than artificial cherry...)
     
    #34 machalel, Dec 17, 2014
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  15. Rob_in_Chicago

    Rob_in_Chicago Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2014 Illinois

    Will do...thanks for all the comments. They were a big help.
     
    #35 Rob_in_Chicago, Dec 17, 2014
  16. machalel

    machalel Initiate (0) Jan 19, 2012 Australia

    Make sure you update the thread :wink:
     
    #36 machalel, Dec 18, 2014
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