Bourbon thread tangent.....

brewmonkey · 07-19-2004, 08:06

I did not want to threadjack it so I will post it here. This is just some of the things we have done with bourbon barrles in the brewery. Leave it to American craft brewers to come up with and try new and crazy twists with beers.

In the past at the brewery I have made a Bourbon Stout. Kind of sad that we drank it all know as it was wonderful.

I would make an oatmeal stout with some extra body in it and then rack it to a bourbon barrel we got from the McCormick distillery in Weston. While they do not make a great bourbon the barrel is what we need. I aged the beer in the barrel for a total of 13 months, keeping a constant layer of CO2 on it to prevent the complete oxidation of it. The stout picked up all the flavors from the barrel like vanillin (from the oak), the bourbon in the aroma and flavor profile etc... The stout had also aged nicely. As it was a bigger beer it ended up with some awesome flavors like caramel, plums, etc... from the generous use of crystal malts in the grain bill.

There is a barrel aged beer festival in Chicago coming up. I will try to dig out some of the information on when and where. In the meantime here is some stuff on what brewers are doing with old bourbon and whiskey barrels.

http://www.michiganbeerguide.com/news.asp?articleid=63

Right now it looks like they are planning the festival for the November time frame. I will get with the planners and see if they have anything more concrete. If there is anyone who would like to attned maybe we could put together a weekend in Chicago, hit the festival and then some of the local craft breweries.

Gypsy · 07-19-2004, 09:56

I'm in! My apartment is not super large, but if somone needs lodging I can put up a few.

brewmonkey · 07-19-2004, 10:05

Here is the website with more info on it.

http://www.illinoisbeer.com/

**Roguish Lawyer** · 07-19-2004, 11:48

Quote:

Originally posted by brewmonkey
In the past at the brewery I have made a Bourbon Stout. Kind of sad that we drank it all know as it was wonderful.

How do I commission another batch?

BTW, I use Jack Daniel's barrel chips in my grill to add smoke.

brewmonkey · 07-19-2004, 14:04

Let me talk to some of my fellow brewers in the area. I am sure that some of them will be doing this again as the fall approaches. In the meantime you might look for McTarnahan's Blackwatch Cream Porter. Double check the label though as they have a regular one and one aged in a Bourbon Barrel. If you cannot locate one in your area let me know as I have seen it around here before. If that is the case I would gladly ship it out. Porter's are the stout of yesteryear and also do well in bourbon casks. Actually some of those located in the Oregon area should have easy access to this one. http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/rat...lts/127/11202/

As I currently do not have access to my old toys it would not be cost effective for me to do it at home. While it is possible we would be looking at several hundred dollars start to finish. The barrels alone run $75 now.

**Roguish Lawyer** · 07-19-2004, 15:13

Quote:

Originally posted by brewmonkey
Porter's are the stout of yesteryear and also do well in bourbon casks.

Yep, I like the Samuel Smith's Taddy.

brewmonkey · 07-19-2004, 15:37

Funny thing here. I called one of my brewing buddies to see what he was up to this week and I caught him while he was actually at the distillery grabbing some bourbon barrels for his version of a bourbon stout. He is the head brewer for both 75th Street breweries (one in KCMO and the other is in Lawrence KS) so my guess is he will have 2 versions of this in the coming months. I will see if I can get him to let me bottle a few of them.

**Roguish Lawyer** · 07-19-2004, 16:10

Quote:

Originally posted by brewmonkey
Funny thing here. I called one of my brewing buddies to see what he was up to this week and I caught him while he was actually at the distillery grabbing some bourbon barrels for his version of a bourbon stout. He is the head brewer for both 75th Street breweries (one in KCMO and the other is in Lawrence KS) so my guess is he will have 2 versions of this in the coming months. I will see if I can get him to let me bottle a few of them.

You da man!