Homebrew Recipe
Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter
- Method:
- Partial Mash
- Style:
- American Porter
- Boil Time:
- 70 min.
- Batch Size:
- 5 gal.
- Boil Size:
- 6 gal.
- Efficiency:
- 65
- Rating:
- Source:
- Brew Your Own
- Source Notes:
- October 2019, Vol. 25, No. 6 page 101.
- Notes:
- Place the crushed Munich and brown malts in a large muslin bag. Mash at 155 F using 9 quarts of water for 45 minutes. Add crushed chocolate and crystal malts to a separate muslin bag. After the 45-minute mash is complete, add the specialty grains. Steep for 15 minutes. Remove both grain bags and rinse with hot water. Top off kettle to about 6 gallons. While the heat is off, stir in the dried malt extract, stir until all the extract is dissolved. Bring the wort to a boil. Total boil time is 70 minutes with the first hop addition 10 minutes into the boil and the second hop addition during the final 10 minutes. Add the Whirfloc with 5 minutes remaining. Chill the wort down to yeast pitching temperature, aerate heavily, and pitch a sufficient starter (or 2 packets) of yeast. Ferment around 66 F. When fermentation is complete, split 2 vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape all the seeds and "gunk" from them and add it to the fermenter. Chop the beans into 2-3 inch long pieces and add them too. Leave in secondary for 10-14 days, then taste. You want the vanilla to be a bit on the strong side since it will fade. If the vanilla flavor is adequate, rack to bottling bucket or keg and add approximately 1.6 cups of Jim Beam Black Bourbon. You don't need to use an expensive Bourbon, and you don't want to add a lot. The beer shouldn't scream "BOURBON!" at you. You should have an integrated flavor of the chocolatey porter, vanilla, and Bourbon. This beer does not benefit from extended aging. I prefer it within a few months of brewing. The FG should be in the mid-high 20s, so don't worry about trying to get it lower.
Brew Numbers
| OG | FG | ABV | SRM | IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.086 | 1.028 | 7.8 | 45 | 32 |
Fermentables
| Name | Amount | % Grain Bill |
|---|---|---|
| Light Dry Malt Extract | 6.25 lbs. | 48.08 |
| Munich Malt | 2.5 lbs. | 19.23 |
| Notes: German Munich malt 10 L | ||
| Brown Malt | 1.5 lbs. | 11.54 |
| Chocolate Malt | 1.25 lbs. | 9.62 |
| Notes: 350 L | ||
| Crystal Malt 120 | 1 lbs. | 7.69 |
| Crystal Malt 40 | 0.5 lbs. | 3.85 |
| Total: | 13.00 lbs. | |
Hops
| Name | Amount | Boil Time | Use | AA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum (US) | 0.65 oz. | 60 | Boil | 15 |
| Notes: 9.8 AAU | ||||
| East Kent Golding | 0.4 oz. | 10 | Boil | 6 |
| Name | Amount |
|---|---|
| East Kent Golding | 0.4 oz. |
| Magnum (US) | 0.65 oz. |
Yeast
| Name | Lab | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Denny's Favorite 50 Ale | Wyeast | 1450 |
| SafAle | Fermentis | US-05 |
Other Ingredients
| Name | Amount | Time | Use | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whirfloc | 0.5 tablet | 5 minutes | Boil | Clarifying |
| Jim Beam Black Bourbon | 1.6 cups | 3 months | Secondary | Flavor |
| Notes: Add to bottling bucket or keg | ||||
| Vanilla Bean | 2 beans | 10-14 days | Secondary | Flavor |
Mash Steps
| Step | Name | Temp | Time | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Partial Mash | 155 | 45 | Partial |
| Notes: Munich and brown malts | ||||
| 2 | Specialty Grains | 155 | 15 | Partial |
| Notes: Chocolate and crystal malts (plus Munich and brown malts) | ||||