I like big (11% to 14% abv) bourbon-barrel imperial stouts. I gave up home brewing for a number of years, but I'm getting back into it on a limited basis - to brew (big) imperial stouts. I've had these questions for years. I've done countless hours of searches and have come up with a wide variety of answers. The problem is; if you ask 10 people the same question and get 10 completely different answers, you really haven't gotten an answer. 1 of those 10 might be the correct answer... but if you don't know the correct answer, then how do you know which of the 10 answers is correct - if any?
So my questions.
I haven't been able to find any clear cut way to know how much, (if any), aging in a bourbon barrel adds to abv. I'm assuming it's not much. I realize there are a billion factors involved. But assuming the barrel is relatively dry after the bourbon is dumped, and no additional bourbon is actually added to the beer???
The bigger question I had was the high gravity. As an example, Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout is usually around 14% abv.
1. Does that mean the beer they are putting into the barrel is 14% abv?
2. What yeast, or what techniques are commonly used to get a RIS to 14% abv?
Thank you in advance for responding. I haven't done (extensive) research on this. Whenever I do sit down and try to research it I end up getting frustrated with so much (seemingly) different information. I tried to brew a couple of 12% beers back in the day, and neither one of them turned out. The final gravity never dropped to where it needed to be. I know there could have been a million reasons that contributed to that also.
So my questions.
I haven't been able to find any clear cut way to know how much, (if any), aging in a bourbon barrel adds to abv. I'm assuming it's not much. I realize there are a billion factors involved. But assuming the barrel is relatively dry after the bourbon is dumped, and no additional bourbon is actually added to the beer???
The bigger question I had was the high gravity. As an example, Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout is usually around 14% abv.
1. Does that mean the beer they are putting into the barrel is 14% abv?
2. What yeast, or what techniques are commonly used to get a RIS to 14% abv?
Thank you in advance for responding. I haven't done (extensive) research on this. Whenever I do sit down and try to research it I end up getting frustrated with so much (seemingly) different information. I tried to brew a couple of 12% beers back in the day, and neither one of them turned out. The final gravity never dropped to where it needed to be. I know there could have been a million reasons that contributed to that also.