Arachna Negra Bourbon Vanilla Porter

Well, it’s been a while since I posted on my beer blog so let me start by saying...Oh well! I have been a little busy with other things but I am having more time now to brew more beer so I thought I would post my latest...Arachna Negra (Black Widow) Bourbon Vanilla Porter. Here is a brief on the recipe:

Grain Bill:
9lb 8oz German 2-row Pilsner malt
2lb 4oz Munich Malt 10L
2lb Chrystal Malt 20L
5oz Chocolate Malt
2oz Black Patent Malt

Hops: 1.5oz Kent Goldings 5.3% Alpha 60min
1oz Fuggle 6.3% Alpha 15min
5oz Kent Goldings 5.3% Alpha at flame out

Yeast:
Fermentis #5 dry ale yesat

Adjuncts:
2 Vanilla Beans (split in half, scraped and quartered)
20 smoked oak cubes
1 cup Wild Turkey Bourbon

Step-by-Step: The usual single infusion mash process; 5gal 164F water to attain mash temp of 153F for 60 min. Approx 2.5gal near boiling water to mash out at 168F. Run wart back to mash until clear then runout to boiling pot. Batch sparge with 170F water (approx. 1.25gal) while gently stirring grains to release attached sugars. Run wart back to mash until clear then runout to attain 7gal kettle volume. Boil 15min then add yeast according to schedule above. Boil 60min then rapid cool to 90F and runout to sanitized carboy.  Let stand 2 hours then rack off lees then pitch yeast and aerate well.

While wart is fermenting make your bourbon extract by adding the adjuncts into a 16oz kerr jar so you can shake it often to saturate the oak. Keep shaking each day until fermentation is complete.

When fermentation is complete (bubbling over a minute) rack wart to sanitized carboy, strain the oak cubes and vanilla beans but keep the extract. Place the solids into a small hop bag and suspend the bad into the carboy and add 1/4 the extract.  Occasionally stir the beer for a week then taste and add up to al the extract to taste. Spritz the carboy with CO2 once in a while to keep the O2 out.  After one more week, rack to sanitized carboy (spritz with CO2) and set in keg-orator to cold condition. Depending on taste, you can keep the oak and vanilla solids suspended in the carboy or remove them all together...your choice. Bottle as usual.

As of today, the beer is fermenting and will continue for a couple more days. I will post again as the adventure progresses.

dB