Abysmal Stout (Bourbon “Barrel” Aged)

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.096  FG = 1.020 IBU =  40  SRM = 66  ABV = 11.5%

Ingredients

15 lbs. (6.8 kg) Golden Promise^TM malt
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) kiln coffee malt (150 °L)
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Briess Midnight Wheat malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) crystal rye malt (75 °L)
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) Victory® malt
2 lbs. (0.9 kg) extra dark candi syrup (primary)
6.5 AAU Nugget hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 13% alpha acids)
6.5 AAU Nugget hops (30 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 13% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) licorice root (15 min.)
1 vanilla bean (primary)
2 oz. (57 g) Bourbon-soaked American white oak cubes Imperial A10 (Darkness) or Wyeast 1084 (Irish Ale) or Lallemand Nottingham yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step

Soak the charred cubes starting on brew day in Bourbon or rye of your choosing (mid-shelf). Mash in the grains with 6.2 gallons (23.4 L) of 164 °F (73 °C) strike water to achieve a mash temperature of 150 °F (66 °C). Hold this temperature for at least 60 minutes, then begin mashout process. Collect 7.5 gallons (28 L) of wort. Total boil time is 2 hours. Add hops and licorice root as indicated. You may want to add a yeast nutrient as well to give the yeast an extra boost to help finish fermentation.

Chill the wort, aerate, and pitch the yeast. Try to hold fermentation at around 68 °F (20 °C) but be careful that internal fermentation temperatures may be quite a bit higher than ambient temperature. Once fermentation begins to die down, add the candi syrup and chopped vanilla bean.

When your beer is ready for transferring into secondary (about 3–4 weeks), pour the liquor off the oak cubes (reserving for cocktails!) and place cubes into the vessel. Rack the beer on top of the cubes. Big stouts like this are often best with considerable age, after many months (minimum of 2 months) of aging to allow the oak and intense flavors to meld together, while the sometimes hot alcohol character of a fresh beer smooths out. Consider a January brew day for a Christmas beer release. If time does not allow for such a long aging, decrease the quantity of oak used or switch to an oak alternative with a shorter extraction time.

Abysmal Stout (Bourbon “Barrel” Aged)

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash) OG = 1.096  FG = 1.020 IBU =  40  SRM = 66  ABV = 11.5%

Ingredients

Replace the Golden Promise^TM malt from the all-grain recipe with 6.6 lbs. (3 kg) Maris Otter liquid malt extract, 2 lbs. (0.9 kg) extra light dried malt extract, and 2 lbs. (0.9 kg) Golden Promise^TM malt. The remainder of the ingredients remain the same as the all-grain version.

Step by Step

Soak the charred cubes starting on brew day in Bourbon or rye of your choosing (mid-shelf). Starting with 2 gallons (8 L) of water, bring temperature to 160 °F (71 °C). In a large grain bag, submerge the crushed Golden Promise^TM, the kiln coffee and Victory® malts into the water. Hold the mash temperature at 150 °F (66 °C) for 45 minutes, then stir in the remaining crushed grains while bringing the temperature back to 150 °F (66 °C). Hold this temperature for at least 15 minutes, then wash grains with 1.5 gallons (5.7 L) of hot water.

Top off the kettle to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) and stir in malt extracts while off heat until fully dissolved. Return to heat and bring wort to a boil for 60 minutes. Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe.