In an attempt to make a deep and rich beer which will age well, and be pleasant drink, and a bit of a meal in a glass too. The starting kit was the brewer’s best whiskey barrel stout from the local brew store, to which a whole passel of grains were added. Though I recycled the list of grains and amounts, it was about 8 additional pounds, and included some chocolate malt, and 120L, as well as some 60, and some additional 2-row. Common theme: go big or go home. This wasn’t intended to be a beer for casual consumption, but should be one which puts hair on your chest, and might just lay you out flat if not treated with respect.
The original gravity (OG) was a gratifying 1.094 @ 68F. After 2 weeks in primary, it was transferred to secondary, with a gravity of 1.037, for an ABV of 7.5 thus far. We can assume this will increase a bit, as when it was moved to secondary, half a bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey was added along with the smoked oak chips which had been soaking in it. This was left in secondary for a bit over a month, to allow the smoke flavor to leech into the beer and blend. The whiskey will likely add about 1% to the final ABV as well.
FG: to come