If you have brewed a few batches already and want to try Vanilla Bourbon Stout, this is a straightforward, all-grain route to it. The backbone is Pale malt, with Northern Brewer 8% doing most of the work in the boil.
Recipe at a Glance
Recipe at a Glance
| Style | Vanilla Bourbon Stout |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.044-1.060 |
| Final Gravity | 1.010-1.016 |
| ABV | 4.5-6.0% |
| IBU | 30-45 |
| SRM | 30-40 (opaque black) |
| Difficulty | Intermediate (all-grain) |
Brew Day, Step by Step
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1
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Mash · ~60 min Mash the grain bill, led by Pale malt, at a steady temperature to build the fermentable sugars this style needs. Sparge slowly so you do not lose efficiency. |
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2
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Boil · ~60-90 min Bring the wort to a boil and work through the hop schedule, starting with Northern Brewer 8% . This is also where you will add any fining agent for a clearer finished beer. |
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3
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Ferment · 20C (68F) Pitch Wyeast 1028 London Ale once the wort has cooled to fermentation temperature and hold it steady. Primary fermentation is the most active week, do not rush it. |
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4
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Condition · 15 weeks at 12C (54F) Rack to secondary (or leave in primary if your recipe calls for it) and let the beer round out at a cool, steady temperature. This step does more for the final flavor than people expect. |
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5
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Package · 1 day, then wait Bottle or keg once gravity has held steady for a few days in a row. Give it time to carbonate and, for bigger styles, additional time to mellow before your first taste. |
That’s the shape of brew day and the weeks after it. For the exact grain bill, hop schedule, and full step-by-step instructions with amounts, use the recipe card below.
What You Will Need
Sourcing your own ingredients locally is always fine, but if you want to skip a homebrew store trip, here is what’s in stock in our shop right now:
- Base and specialty grain: Grains & Adjuncts (e.g. My Brew Supply Flaked Maize Premium Beer Making Grain)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Amarillo Hop Pellets 1 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. Craft A Brew – Safale S-04 Dry Yeast – Fermentis)
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. Carboy Caps 4 Pk Silicone Caps)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Dextrose 50 Lb)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Kit w/Equipment, Chinook IPA)
- Pour it right when it’s ready: a tulip glass shows off the color and holds the aroma better than a straight pint glass
Serve It Right
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A Vanilla Bourbon Stout is best served in a pint or tulip, it fits the body and carbonation of this style better than a straight pint glass. Here is one from our shop: |
Ingredients & Gear for This Batch
Grain / Adjuncts Brewmaster-42147-MB Flaked Corn (Maize) – 1 Lb Bag (Pack of 10) |
Hops |
Yeast LalBrew Verdant IPA Brewing Yeast (2 Pack) – Make Beer at Home |
Fermenter |
Priming Sugar |
Equipment |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Vanilla Bourbon Stout
Equipment
- 1 Large pot or mash tun
- 1 Strainer or colander
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Fermentation vessel (e.g. carboy or bucket)
- 1 Airlock and stopper
- 1 Hydrometer
- 1 Sanitizer (e.g. StarSan)
- 1 Bottles or kegging equipment
- 1 Bottle capper or kegging system
- 1 Bottle caps or keg coupler and tubing
- 1 CO2 tank and regulator (if kegging)
- 1 Bottle brush or keg cleaning kit
- 1 Brewing spoon or paddle
- 1 Scale for weighing ingredients
- 1 Hop bag (optional)
- 1 Racking cane and tubing (for transferring beer)
- 1 Funnel (for bottling)
Ingredients
For the Mash – Liquor 17.5 Litres (30¾ Pints) – Mash Time 1 hr – Temperature 65°c/149 °F
- 10.13 oz Pale malt Quantity 4.9kg
- 2½ oz Vienna malt Quantity 1.1kg
- 1.2 oz Brown malt Quantity 500g
- 12 oz Chocolate malt Quantity 350g
- 7 oz Medium crystal malt Quantity 200g
For the Boil – 27 Litres (47½ Pints) – Boil Time 1 hr – 15 mins
- 1¼ oz (Hops) Northern Brewer 8% When to add – At start of boil (IBU 26.6)
- ½ oz (Hops) Challenger 7% When to add – For last 10 mins of boil (IBU 3.6)
- 1 1 tsp Protofloc Other – When to add – For last 15 mins of boil
To Ferment – 20°C (68°F) – Conditioning 15 weeks at 12°C (54°F)
- 1 Wyeast 1028 London Ale
- 2 pods Vanilla pods Other – Add after 4 days, leave for
- 14 fl Bourbon Other – Just before bottling
Instructions
Mash:
- Heat 17.5 litres of water to 65°C/149°F in a large pot or mash tun.
- Add the grains (Pale malt, Vienna malt, Brown malt, Chocolate malt, and Medium crystal malt) and stir to combine.
- Mash for 1 hour at 65°C/149°F, stirring occasionally.
- After the mash is complete, strain the liquid (wort) into another pot or container, leaving behind the spent grains.
Boil:
- Heat the 27 litres of wort to a boil in a large pot.
- Once the wort is boiling, add 1.25oz of Northern Brewer hops and stir.
- Boil the wort for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- After 50 minutes of boiling, add 0.5oz of Challenger hops and 1tsp of Protofloc to the pot.
- Continue boiling for the remaining 10 minutes.
- After 1 hour and 15 minutes of boiling, turn off the heat and allow the wort to cool to 20°C/68°F.
Fermentation:
- Pour the cooled wort into a clean and sanitized fermentation vessel.
- Pitch 1 pack of Wyeast 1028 London Ale yeast into the wort and stir to combine.
- Seal the vessel with an airlock and let the beer ferment for 4 days at 20°C/68°F.
- After 4 days, split 2 vanilla pods lengthwise and add them to the beer. Leave the vanilla pods in the beer for 14 days.
- After the vanilla has steeped for 14 days, add 14fl oz of bourbon to the beer.
- Allow the beer to condition for 15 weeks at 12°C/54°F.
- After conditioning, bottle or keg the beer and enjoy!
Get the fermentation temperature right on Vanilla Bourbon Stout and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Vanilla Bourbon Stout the Style It Is
Vanilla Bourbon Stout sits in a well-established style family, and the version most homebrewers land on today reflects decades of small adjustments by brewers chasing balance rather than novelty.
Expect a beer that leans on pale malt and northern brewer 8% once it is finished conditioning. Wyeast 1028 London Ale is the yeast strain behind that profile, so keep an eye on your fermentation temperature.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 4.5-6.0%
- Bitterness: 30-45 IBU
- Color: 30-40 (opaque black)
- Serving temp: 50-55F (10-13C)
- Glassware: a pint or tulip
- Food pairings: oysters, red meat stews, chocolate desserts
Common Questions
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, the grain bill and hop schedule scale linearly with batch size. Just make sure your equipment, mash tun and boil kettle both, can actually handle the volume you are scaling to.
What is the biggest mistake homebrewers make with this style?
Rushing the schedule. Pulling a beer off yeast too early or skipping conditioning time is the most common way to shortchange a recipe like this one.
Can I substitute a different yeast strain?
You can, but expect the flavor profile to shift. Stick close to the same yeast family (English ale, American ale, Belgian, lager, etc.) if you want a result close to what this recipe is aiming for.
Keep Exploring
Once you have this one down, here are a few more homebrew recipes worth trying next:
Browse the full homebrew recipe collection for more styles, or if you are just getting into the hobby, start with one of our homebrewing starter kits for new brewers.
This recipe is for adults of legal drinking age. Please brew and drink responsibly, and always sanitize your equipment thoroughly to avoid infection.
