Beer Forum

I am brewing a Robust Porter tomorrow and usually split my 5 gal batches at some point to add variety.

I am thinking of splitting a gallon off and adding some bourbon soaked oak. Any recommendations from experience on how much bourbon to use for 1 gallon? I don't want it to be too powerful (< Goose Island BCS). The plan is to split and add after primary fermentation is done or mostly done and sit for a week or longer. Should I add the bourbon only after soaking oak or add the oak also?

Also thinking of taking another gallon and adding some coffee. I have made a coffee stout years ago and added brewed and cooled coffee. It ended up with some flavor I don't want in my porter. I was thinking of either adding fresh whole beans to the beer (same time frame as the bourbon) or cold steeping the coffee and adding the liquid. Suggestions? And how much for 1 gal or beer?

Thanks!

I've never used bourbon soaked oak so can't help you there. I did however just do a RIS and added 12g/gal of whole bean to some of the finished beer for 24 hours. Worked great and is a good balanced amount. It was a medium roast (Backyard Beans Costa Rica). You can always add more. I also added jalapeno to some which is really awesome. Used 1 fresh pepper/gal for a week, destemmed and cut in half. It was a little too much, I find that blending in 1/4 - 1/3 straight RIS is about perfect for my taste. Really great combination of flavors.
Nate

Wow! A jalapeño RIS, huh? Sounds really intense. Maybe decrease the time and amount of pepper to get that right balance. I would like to try one of those. Did the bitterness clash at all with the spice/heat?

This RIS is balanced toward roasted malts but still has 83 IBU bittering for a 1.095 OG. The standard version has a lingering black malt/roast/dark chocolate flavor that melds very well with the tingly hot pepper flavor in the finish. It makes this great RIS better IMO...at the right blend with the standard.

So, this is what I ended up doing with 5 gal of porter:

I had a nicer bottle of bourbon but my wife and I could not find it (we moved this past summer and didn't bother unpacking everything). So after a couple hours of searching, went with the coffee varieties.

1 gal porter + 12 g locally roasted medium roast.
1 gal porter + 12 g locally roasted medium roast + 8 g oak chips.
Both sat for ~30 hrs before bottling.

I will update after bottles have carbonated.