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Recipe idea is to create a strong (stout) porter to be aged on bourbon in a well used and acidifying barrel with plenty of alcohol and hops to retard the bugs. Grist based upon my considerable stock and what would work avoiding a harsh roasty flavor. Also looking for considerable thickness and mouthfeel provided by considerable oat inclusion. This will also feed any bugs that do withstand the alcohol and IBUs. I considered using the Blonde RoastOats from Briess but felt that their effect would just be lost in here - better to include them in my next Mild. Using both SafAle S-04 (English Ale) and Mangrove Jack Empire yeasts. Empire has some interesting fruity yeast character but doesn’t attenuate well. Hopefully the S-04 will complete the fermentation along with the barrel bugs that survive the ABV and IBUs. 2020-02-05: We started around 0800 needing to get everything configured from a H/W perspective. We have maybe our largest grist load today with a lot of oats and stuck mash issues are causing stuck circulation and no temp rise. I keep reseting the timer so that the mash has effectively stayed barely above 140°F for half an hour or so after 20 minute mash in. Expect a thin mash potentially. That might integrate well with the Magrove Jack Empire yeast that attentuates poorly. We unfortunately missed our target OG by over 0.01 and came in at 1.092 at 64°F. Not sure why. End of lautering gravity was certainly still high t 1.043 and gravity of the rinse liquor on top of the mash was at roughly 1.0. Hmph. Time for cleanup a 1627. 2020-02-06: Steady bubbling early but wort was blowing out the blowoff by late morning. Temps this morning stayed around ambient at 68°F but shot up to 72°F by night so I dropped ambient to 64°F. 2020-02-07: Darn! It pushed roughly a quarter gallon out the blowoff! Temp is still 72°F even with the room at 64°F. I’m lowering it another 2°F. I am going to be very short in the barrel. :-( Maybe I will make it up from the Club Barrel stout that comes home tomorrow. Better yet, I should add it after I get back from Virginia in a couple of weeks when active fermentation has really ended. (Nothing added for make up.) 2020-02-08: Krausen has subsuded and bubbling to about once eery 10 seconds. I can put it in the barrel. Carboy temp is 64°F and the level is at roughly 4.8G. The Refractometer was very hard to read but I will call it 12.2 Brix. That results in a current gravity of 1.022 - not bad. The flavor is deeper and more burnt than intended but it will work well with the bourbon. Hopping is a bit harsh at this point but that will work out with the aging. …So it’s now in the barrel. Some barrel notes: The barrel was kept wet for a while with a cup of vodka. A quantity, maybe roughly a couple of cups - just what was left in the bottle - of Jim Bean bourbon was added to the barrel just a short time before filling. 2020-09-06: Refractometer reads 12.8 for FG of 1.026. That’s a rise possibly due to evaporation. Racking to keg #15 (first use) for serving at the house. My taste was only a CC or so but it was good - mellowed.