Brooklyn Brew Shop | Bourbon Dubble
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 6:09PM I received a brew mix from my friend as a housewarming gift that was from the Brooklyn Brew Shop. I hadn't heard of this company before but they cator to 1 gallon batches of experimental beers. The mix he got me was the Bourbon Dubble, a belgin strong ale. Here is how Brooklyn Brew Shop describes it.
Bourbon Dubbel7.0% ABV
We love the vanilla and smoky charred notes bourbon gets from aging in oak barrels. To get the same effect in small-batch beer, we soak dark oak chips in bourbon overnight, then add them to the boil. Most commercial bourbon beers are super-heavy stouts that can knock you out after the first sip, but we chose a lighter style of Belgian dubbel for the base, more spice and plum than syrup.
This is the first all grain recipe that I've tried and I like that it's a one gallon mix so I have less chance to screw things up. Brooklyn Brew Shop provides instructions on thier website in a nice .pdf that is well written and clear. My only problem is the lack of specific amounts of grains or hops so I had to guess things as I entered the batch into Beer Alchemy. The instructions also do not account for any gravity readings and mearly have you wait a specific amount of time for each stage of fermentation. While not as scientific as I might want this would work great for the begining home brewer.
The Mash
It was my first time doing a Mash so I tried my best to do everything by the book. I used a Single Step Infusion resting at 154° F for sixty minutes and then Mashing out at 170° F for 10 minutes.
The Sparge
There was a little lag in getting my water for the Sparge up to the right temperature but it didn't take too long. After the Sparge I started my boil and added the hops per the 60/30/5 schedule.
The Wort
Styrian Golding Hops
The Boil
At the end of the boil I dissolved the Candi Sugar and added the Bourbon Soaked Oak Chips.
Bourbon Soaked Oak Chips
After the boil I opted to use an ice bath instead of my wort chiller since I thought the small amount would cool quickly and save a little water. It probably took about the same amount of time but I was also concerned with dissolving the sugar and adding the bourbon oak chips with the wort chiller in the pot. In the end I probably would use the chiller the next time around.
Ice Bath
My OG was 1.054, which is a little low for this style, but not bad for my first all grain brew. I'm not sure where it missed out on some gravity but it was probably from some flaw in the mash which I hope will get better with practice.
I set up my fermentor bucket with a blow off tube, even though I doubt I'll overflow a 6.5 bucket with a 1 gallon mix but I'll see how things go.
Anthony Skelton
I sent an email asking Brooklyn Brew Shop what amounts of the different grains were in the kit that I recieved so I could enter them into Beer Alchemy, and they politely told me I should buy their book. I'm not that surprised since if they are already selling their recipes and don't want to just give them away. The book actually looks quite interesting and they have variations for 1 or 5 gallon brews so I might be picking it up anyway.
