Adding Bourbon Shot for Pseudo Barrel-Aging

Maybe that's not the greatest way to go about calculating the amount of bourbon. Perhaps the base beer is upped in the alcohol content to better stand up to the barrel-aging. Or maybe, the bugs in the barrels drive the FG further down, thus creating more alcohol. I would not think the difference in ABV is just the bourbon.

 

Have tried it before, not a fan. IMO a beer is brewed specifically to taste the way it tastes, but I suppose it's a case of 'different strokes for different folks'

 

I've had good experiences adding vanilla to stouts...Never tried Bourbon cause I own none.

 

Done it with Breakfast Stout, and never did it again. It wasn't horrible, but the base beers for barrel aging are much different than beers that get bottled. I used Makers Mark, if it matters. I wouldn't pour any expensive liquor in a beer.

 

A liitle goes a long way with this experiment. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. I really like putting a dash of Makers in with some old chub. Experiment away but remember that barrels will have very little residual bourbon compared to the large volume of beer.

 

Boilermakers....a shot of Jim Beam dropped into a Bud

I waved goodbye to that many years ago.

 

I am not sure about the oxydation in a bourbon barrel*. My understanding is that brewers leave the beer in barrels for a month or two. I don't think this is long enough to show a fair amount of oxydation. I might be wrong but I belive it's really just to suck the bourbon out of the wood of the barrel. Though the bourbon that's in the wood may have more tannins and be more oxydized that the one that was inside the barrel.

I thought that for this example it's really the same orignal beer in both cases. I could be wrong though.
I don't think 1-2 months is long enough to have bugs from the barrel fermenting residual sugar in the beer. I don't see bugs uping alcohol up to a couple points in a couple month. Beer sometimes gets infected from a barrel (I had several BBA beers with lots of acetaldehyde, AKA green apple smell), but if it was enough to create further fermentation it would not be done after bottling and they would be bottling grenades. Especialy since we usualy barrel aged beers with a lot of residual sugars (Think about what a wild yeast could eat could eat in an imperial stout or a barley wine...)

*I have also read several times that the oxygen exchange in a barrel is similar to the one in a small plastic bucket used in homebrew (the porosity of the plastic may be lower than the one of wood, but the small size of the bucket gives a big surface/volume ratio). And I have never seen signs of oxydation after a month

 

Some friends and I were sharing an Olde Hickory Seven Devils, already aged in bourbon barrels, and we weren't feeling it too much. Added some bourbon and it really helped the beer.

 

While it may be a poor imitation of what a true BA beer is like, it still is quite delicious when done in the right amount to the right beer. Evan Williams is my favorite to add, especially to a a thick stout.

 

TOTALLY agree about AVBBS lacking in body and depth. It is very mild and kinda bland. I'll have to try this mix.

 

I did Velvet Merlin + Buffalo Trace... good but I'de rather drink them separate

 

Me too, I tried some Makers Mark with FBS and it was a miss, nothing close to KBS.

 

I used my Randell Jr to add Bourbon BA favor to my stouts.

I got a Used Whisky Stave from Buffalo Trace and cut it into strips. Put it into the Randell JR with a stout and it adds alot of favor to it.

The stave.


See whisk soaked into the wood.


Bootlegged Founders BA RIS.


I did this on Sat and I think it works pretty well cause the wood was used and charred already.

 

So, lately I've been experimenting with adding different bourbons (my personal favorites begin Watkins and Buffalo Trace) to my favorite stouts (this the season) and it can be pretty damn tasty : )

Anyone else do this as well? And if so, what are some good mixes you've come up with?

 

I don't, but I've heard it can be good to bad, depending. I know a lot of people do it though. I'd like to try it sometime, but I'd need to find a bourbon I like first.

 

Lots of folks have described their experiences in the earlier threads on this topic. Lots of people point out that part of what makes bourbon barrel aging a good thing is the flavors from the oak as well as from the bourbon. By just adding bourbon you don't get the oak.

 

That is true, it is a bit lacking in the oakiness, but I'm not really going for the exact feel of a bba stout. The title might've been misleading, I'm just mixing things to see if they taste good and a lot of the time it does, seems to add a new dimension to an already awesome beverage, cheers : )

 

What sort of ratio (bourbon to stout) are people usually using?

 

Buy a Randall Jr. Soak oak chips in bourbon for a day or two. Add chips and your favorite stout to Randall. Let sit for 20 minutes. Enjoy.

 

Please dont abuse PsuedoSue by dumping bourbon into it! In my experience with doing this in stout and barleywines, you will get a bourbon bomb even if you put a very small amount of bourbon into the beer. And with that said...if you want to try it out; you should experiment because its your beer and your bourbon! Also a barrel aged IPA is a hard beer style to pull off. A barrel aged APA is unheard of as far as I know... Good luck beer scientist!