BoitAHL
Well-Known Member
Hello all,
I am preparing to brew a Goose Island Bourbon Brand County Stout clone and have questions on soaking my oak cubes in Bourbon. I know there is a lot of advice out in the cyber world on this subject. But I could not find an answer to my specific question(s).
First, I have brewed “Bourbon Barrel Aged” beers in the past with soaked oak cubes and successfully created a beer with an oaky Bourbon flavor. Was the flavor enjoyable? Yes. Was it perfect? Maybe not. FYI- All of the beers I brew are clones or kits and I normally follow the recipe exactly.
The question for me is what “type”, not distillery, of Bourbon is best for brewing and soaking? Here are some observations from previous searches. Keep in mind I am not or have ever been a Bourbon drinker or even a straight liquor drinker.
My research has discovered the majority of advice is “don’t buy expensive Bourbon”. I would certainly agree but some people actually recommend you buy the cheapest bottom shelf you can find because you are trying for a generic “Bourbon Oak Barrel” flavor in your beer and the slight amount of actual Bourbon is not significant? I think I disagree. Does Goose Island and other high quality brewers of barrel aged beers use barrels of the cheapest Bourbon they can find? Don’t think so.
I understand that soaking cubes in Bourbon, adding the cubes to your beer, and aging for a Bourbon Barrel flavor is much different than a neat sip of strait Bourbon.
Long story short. I picked up a couple of reasonably priced (to me) bottles of Bourbon at Total Wine today. Winchester Double Oak and Four Roses Small Batch. For what it’s worth the Winchester was highly rated by WineEnthusiast. My impressions of the Bourbon are as follows. To my uneducated nose and palette they both seemed similar in aroma and taste with one big difference. Four Roses really burned and Winchester seemed much smoother going down. For me when adding ingredients for cooking I always choose something I enjoy. Like adding New Hollands Dragons Milk to chili.
So, if I want to impart Bourbon Barrel flavors into this beer should I go with a Bourbon that is smooth and enjoyable to me neat or one that for me seems much stronger and might give it a stronger/better Bourbon Barrel flavor? Should I go with the Bourbon that the brewer used for barrels if that information is available?
Thanks and yes I have been sampling the Bourbon for a couple hours!
I am preparing to brew a Goose Island Bourbon Brand County Stout clone and have questions on soaking my oak cubes in Bourbon. I know there is a lot of advice out in the cyber world on this subject. But I could not find an answer to my specific question(s).
First, I have brewed “Bourbon Barrel Aged” beers in the past with soaked oak cubes and successfully created a beer with an oaky Bourbon flavor. Was the flavor enjoyable? Yes. Was it perfect? Maybe not. FYI- All of the beers I brew are clones or kits and I normally follow the recipe exactly.
The question for me is what “type”, not distillery, of Bourbon is best for brewing and soaking? Here are some observations from previous searches. Keep in mind I am not or have ever been a Bourbon drinker or even a straight liquor drinker.
My research has discovered the majority of advice is “don’t buy expensive Bourbon”. I would certainly agree but some people actually recommend you buy the cheapest bottom shelf you can find because you are trying for a generic “Bourbon Oak Barrel” flavor in your beer and the slight amount of actual Bourbon is not significant? I think I disagree. Does Goose Island and other high quality brewers of barrel aged beers use barrels of the cheapest Bourbon they can find? Don’t think so.
I understand that soaking cubes in Bourbon, adding the cubes to your beer, and aging for a Bourbon Barrel flavor is much different than a neat sip of strait Bourbon.
Long story short. I picked up a couple of reasonably priced (to me) bottles of Bourbon at Total Wine today. Winchester Double Oak and Four Roses Small Batch. For what it’s worth the Winchester was highly rated by WineEnthusiast. My impressions of the Bourbon are as follows. To my uneducated nose and palette they both seemed similar in aroma and taste with one big difference. Four Roses really burned and Winchester seemed much smoother going down. For me when adding ingredients for cooking I always choose something I enjoy. Like adding New Hollands Dragons Milk to chili.
So, if I want to impart Bourbon Barrel flavors into this beer should I go with a Bourbon that is smooth and enjoyable to me neat or one that for me seems much stronger and might give it a stronger/better Bourbon Barrel flavor? Should I go with the Bourbon that the brewer used for barrels if that information is available?
Thanks and yes I have been sampling the Bourbon for a couple hours!