Help me choose a bourbon

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by JebediahScooter, Jun 20, 2012.

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  1. JebediahScooter

    JebediahScooter Initiate (0) Sep 5, 2010 Vermont

    I'm brewing Denny Conn's Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter (with a couple of tiny adjustments) tomorrow to have ready for when the weather turns cool.

    Boil Size: 8.41 gal
    Post Boil Volume: 7.28 gal
    Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal Estimated
    OG: 1.079 SG
    Estimated Color: 40.0 SRM
    Estimated IBU: 37.2 IBUs
    Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.00 %
    Est Mash Efficiency: 78.2 %
    Boil Time: 60 Minutes

    12 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) 60.8 %
    2 lbs 8.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) 12.7 %
    1 lbs 8.0 oz Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) 7.6 %
    1 lbs 4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) 6.3 %
    1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt-120L (120.0 SRM) 5.1 %
    1 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) 5.1 %
    8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) 2.5 %
    1.00 oz Warrior- Boil 60.0 min
    1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent- Boil 10.0 min
    1.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) - 3L starter

    I plan to leave this in primary for 3 weeks or so before racking onto two Madagascar vanilla beans, a light toast American White Oak spiral, and some bourbon. So, I'm going to start soaking the spiral in bourbon when I brew, and I need some help picking a bourbon for when I go shopping tomorrow. I like bourbon but am by no means an aficianado. My first thought was a wheated bourbon for a smoother, sweeter profile tha will accentuate the vanilla and add notes of toffee/caramel. Something like Makers? I want to stay under $40 for the bottle, so PVW is out. I don't want a bourbon bomb, but rather something that will meld nicely with the oak, roasted flavors, and vanilla.

    Any bourbon drinkers or folks with experience using bourbon in beers have any thoughts?

    Thanks.
     
    #1 JebediahScooter, Jun 20, 2012
  2. jmich24

    jmich24 Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2010 Michigan

    If you are looking for a smooth, sweet caramel profile I would lean towards the "newish" Makers Mark 46. Woodford Reserve would also be a great choice. Your recipe look great, good luck!
     
    #2 jmich24, Jun 20, 2012
  3. Thickfreakness

    Thickfreakness Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2010 New York

    Something by Tuthilltown (Hudson), Knob Creek, Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace
     
    #3 Thickfreakness, Jun 20, 2012
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  4. MrOH

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

    For about the same cost as a bottle of Maker's, you can get a bottle of Elijah Craig 12 year, which is the far superior whiskey.
     
    #4 MrOH, Jun 20, 2012
  5. tewaris

    tewaris Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2009 Minnesota

    I'll vote for Eagle Rare 10. Having had a few Town Hall beers aged Eagle Rare barrels (from tap) and having sampled the bourbon itself (thanks dc55110), I believe it's very solid. Under 30 bucks too.
     
    #5 tewaris, Jun 20, 2012
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  6. antlerwrestler19

    antlerwrestler19 Initiate (0) Nov 24, 2010 Nebraska

    Buffalo Trace is my go to for pretty much everything....sippin', brewing, and even cooking (mostly desserts). It's reasonably priced as well so it's a winner for me. I've actually got vanilla imperial stout that's been aging for a few months in a small oak barrel that I soaked with Buffalo Trace prior to transferring it. Just added some coffe so it should be done here soon and is tasting perty good so far! Good luck!
     
    #6 antlerwrestler19, Jun 20, 2012
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  7. cmmcdonn

    cmmcdonn Initiate (0) Jun 21, 2009 Virginia

    I'll repeat what what said to me when I asked the same question a while back. "Use what you like drinking." Overly simple, but makes sense.

    On top of that I would say avoid Makers 46 only because you're adding more oak anyway. Save the money and use regular Makers if that's what you're leaning towards.
     
    #7 cmmcdonn, Jun 20, 2012
  8. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,915) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    Denny has a very strong opinion on this that the type of bourbon does not matter (as long as it is not complete crap) because if you can taste the difference in the type of bourbon then you have used too much for this particular recipe. I kept going back and forth for a while on this one too and believe I also started a similar thread over it. I was going to use Buffalo Trace but I think when I brew this same beer later on this year I will use Wild Turkey - tastes good on its own and is very cost efficient.
     
    #8 OddNotion, Jun 20, 2012
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  9. MarcatGSB

    MarcatGSB Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2011 Michigan

    Agree with this wholeheartedly. The Elijah Craig suggestion is a good one as well, in fact the 18 year old E.C. is still less than $40.
     
    #9 MarcatGSB, Jun 20, 2012
  10. Thickfreakness

    Thickfreakness Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2010 New York

    I'll send ya the $4 xtra for the good stuff!... Good Lord, just don't call your brew Wild Turkey BBA V.I.P.!!! Sounds like a sexual disease from a wanna-be-rapper!
     
    #10 Thickfreakness, Jun 20, 2012
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  11. freewheelinbob

    freewheelinbob Aspirant (295) Nov 6, 2010 Minnesota

    I've actually been happy with the results I've gotten using Kirkland's Signature (Costco's house brand). By itself it isn't as good as Woodford, Makers, Elijah, etc, but for this purpose - and considering the price point - I find it altogether satisfactory.
     
    #11 freewheelinbob, Jun 20, 2012
  12. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,915) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    I have plenty of good bourbon on hand, the point is that the bourbon is to add to the complexity rather than stand out. If the bourbon isn't going to stand out and you wont be able to tell what type you have in there anyway what purpose does the extra $10 to $15 serve?
     
    #12 OddNotion, Jun 20, 2012
  13. geocool

    geocool Savant (1,233) Jun 21, 2006 Massachusetts

    When I brewed this recipe I used Four Roses bourbon, and it came out great. It was recommended to me because it has some oak flavors to it (I didn't add the oak spiral like you're doing). And it's less than $20 for a bottle so it's a good choice IMHO.
     
    #13 geocool, Jun 20, 2012
  14. Thickfreakness

    Thickfreakness Initiate (0) Oct 2, 2010 New York

    I would think a decernable palate could tell the difference. People seem to be able to tell the difference between which barrels GI BCBS was aged in. Just my .02
     
    #14 Thickfreakness, Jun 20, 2012
  15. cmmcdonn

    cmmcdonn Initiate (0) Jun 21, 2009 Virginia

    I call BS on 99% of those people. I would love to watch some of these people do a true double blind taste test and embarrass themselves.
     
    #15 cmmcdonn, Jun 20, 2012
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  16. HappyHourHero

    HappyHourHero Initiate (0) Jul 8, 2003 Indiana

    Bulleit Rye is absolutely delicious. I bought a bottle for hot scotchies and ended up drinking half of it before my second brew session. I had good luck with Evan Williams as well.
     
    #16 HappyHourHero, Jun 20, 2012
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  17. beerinNV

    beerinNV Initiate (0) Jan 3, 2012 Nevada

    A lot of good suggestions already. If you were considering PVW but the price point is too high, I would recommend to take a look at the Old Weller products. They are distilled and stored in the same BT warehouse where PVW now lives and is much much less expensive and more accessible. As a matter of fact, my understanding is that the only difference between the old weller and the pvw 12 year lot b is where it is stored in the same warehouse (heat exposure etc). Good Luck
     
    #17 beerinNV, Jun 20, 2012
  18. JebediahScooter

    JebediahScooter Initiate (0) Sep 5, 2010 Vermont

    Thanks for all of the suggestions. I ended up getting Maker's Mark, because 1) it's what I drink occasionally (it's what my parents keep) and I enjoy it, and 2) I believe Denny Conn recommended Maker's for this brew.

    I'm not sure if I totally buy this. I like BA beers and drink a fair number of them, but as I said before, I am by no means a bourbon aficionado. That said, I recently had an interesting experience that illustrated why I don't totally buy this. When Foothills BBA People's Porter (PVW 23 barrels) came out, I drank a fair amount of it from bottles and on tap because I really enjoyed it. Several weeks later, I saw that my beer bar of choice had it on tap again. I went in and had a glass, but I was immediately able to tell that it was not the same beer.

    After talking to the bartender, I learned that it was one of the bar's "exclusive one-offs." They find barrels and give them to regional breweries to fill, age, and keg for them, and in this case, they had given the barrel (don't remember what it was) to Foothills to fill at the same time they were doing their BBA People's Porter. So it was the same batch of base beer aged in the same conditions for the same amount of time but in a different barrel.

    Now, I would not be able to identify which bourbon barrels by brand had been used for each in a blind taste test, but I was certainly able to identify that the two beers came from different barrels and that I had a clear favorite (the PVW 23). What's more, I didn't know that the second version was not the same beer when I ordered it, so my preference, which I was immediately able to establish on first sip, was not dictated by the brand-name hype. This beer was not a bourbon bomb, by the way...there was a nice prominence, but it was not overbearing.
     
    #18 JebediahScooter, Jun 20, 2012
  19. daryk77

    daryk77 Pundit (925) Jun 16, 2005 District of Columbia

    I know previously they had knob creek barrels that they were sending out to be filled. Interesting that there was a noticeable difference. I had some maple syrup aged from one of those bad boys that was out of control, though that was over a year ago now.
     
    #19 daryk77, Jun 20, 2012
  20. Pnell316

    Pnell316 Initiate (0) Aug 16, 2010 Pennsylvania

    Anyone ever use any Islay whiskey? Would love to get some of the smokey qualities out of it.
     
    #20 Pnell316, Jun 20, 2012
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