I brewed one of these up last weekend using the following grainbill:
- 12 oz Debittered Black Malt
This was for a 6 gal batch that I assumed 58% efficiency on. I based this on the
Grit and Grain video on the Making of BCBS (see min 27:58). I had to do 2 mashes and a 4 hr boil to reach the desired OG. I ended up getting better than expected efficiency and overshot the target OG to 1.140 - I added some spring water to get down to 1.130. It is still bubbling away in the fermenter 6 days later. You can read about my 8+ hr brew day on
my blog if interested.
I've aged a number of beers on bourbon soaked medium toast oak cubes and have consistently gotten oak flavors much more reminiscent of a wine than a proper bourbon barrel stout. For this batch I've made up some DIY charred oak which I'm very excited about (having control of the level of toast and the dimensions/end grain of the oak cubes seems like a potential advantage for this approach):
- Bought a couple board feet of white oak from a local wood working shop
- Cut this into 6x0.75x0.75 inch pieces
- Toasted these in the oven at 450 F for 2 hours wrapped in foil (based on some research into the flavor contributions). The oak really gave off a wonderful vanilla aroma during this toasting
Toasted vs Untoasted
- Charred these with a propane torch. Put the fire out with a spray bottle
- Put the wood into a jar of Makers Mark Bourbon to take on some whiskey character and soften the wood character. Let this age for several months prior to brewday
I will let the beer primary for 4 weeks and then I will cold crash it to drop the yeast. I'm going to age this in a secondary fermenter (likely a bucket) with 1 or 2 sticks of oak for 6-8 months