Rye Porter to enter into BJCP 12B. Robust Porter ?

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sirsloop

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I have about a month until I have a club only competition....I was thinking about squeezing a small-ish porter in. I have a couple pounds of rye and was thinking about making up a rye porter recipe for the robust porter category. I have a bunch of roasted barley, black patent, and chocolate malt I can use to darken it up, fuggles for hops, and nottinghams. I'll be using extract...

Any opinion on if a rye porter fits the criteria? Any recipe ideas?




fyi:
12B. Robust Porter
Aroma: Roasty aroma (often with a lightly burnt, black malt character) should be noticeable and may be moderately strong. Optionally may also show some additional malt character in support (grainy, bready, toffee-like, caramelly, chocolate, coffee, rich, and/or sweet). Hop aroma low to high (US or UK varieties). Some American versions may be dry-hopped. Fruity esters are moderate to none. Diacetyl low to none.
Appearance: Medium brown to very dark brown, often with ruby- or garnet-like highlights. Can approach black in color. Clarity may be difficult to discern in such a dark beer, but when not opaque will be clear (particularly when held up to the light). Full, tan-colored head with moderately good head retention.
Flavor: Moderately strong malt flavor usually features a lightly burnt, black malt character (and sometimes chocolate and/or coffee flavors) with a bit of roasty dryness in the finish. Overall flavor may finish from dry to medium-sweet, depending on grist composition, hop bittering level, and attenuation. May have a sharp character from dark roasted grains, although should not be overly acrid, burnt or harsh. Medium to high bitterness, which can be accentuated by the roasted malt. Hop flavor can vary from low to moderately high (US or UK varieties, typically), and balances the roasted malt flavors. Diacetyl low to none. Fruity esters moderate to none.
Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full body. Moderately low to moderately high carbonation. Stronger versions may have a slight alcohol warmth. May have a slight astringency from roasted grains, although this character should not be strong.
Overall Impression: A substantial, malty dark ale with a complex and flavorful roasty character.
History: Stronger, hoppier and/or roastier version of porter designed as either a historical throwback or an American interpretation of the style. Traditional versions will have a more subtle hop character (often English), while modern versions may be considerably more aggressive. Both types are equally valid.
Comments: Although a rather broad style open to brewer interpretation, it may be distinguished from Stout as lacking a strong roasted barley character. It differs from a brown porter in that a black patent or roasted grain character is usually present, and it can be stronger in alcohol. Roast intensity and malt flavors can also vary significantly. May or may not have a strong hop character, and may or may not have significant fermentation by-products; thus may seem to have an “American” or “English” character.
Ingredients: May contain several malts, prominently dark roasted malts and grains, which often include black patent malt (chocolate malt and/or roasted barley may also be used in some versions). Hops are used for bittering, flavor and/or aroma, and are frequently UK or US varieties. Water with moderate to high carbonate hardness is typical. Ale yeast can either be clean US versions or characterful English varieties.
Vital Statistics: OG: 1.048 – 1.065
IBUs: 25 – 50+ FG: 1.012 – 1.016
SRM: 22 – 35+ ABV: 4.8 – 6%
Commercial Examples: Anchor Porter, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Sierra Nevada Porter, Bell’s Porter, Thirsty Dog Old Leghumper, Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter, Portland Haystack Black Porter, Avery New World Porter, Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Redhook Blackhook Porter
 
How's that look? :confused:

rye_robust_porter.jpg
 
I don't have any crystal malts on hand so I'm going to replace 3.3lbs of the pale lme with amber lme. I'm bumping the rye to 1lbs and going for it. Even if it doesn't meet a diehard accurate BJCP robust porter, i'm sure it will make great beer.

I'll enter the beer in both robust porter and 23a, along with my buzz beer coffee stout that has no home in the BJCP but is great! ;)
 
Go by taste, like the previous poster said. If it is a predominant flavor, 23a, if it is subtle and in the background, 12b.
 
This is what I ended up making. I hit 1.060 dead on, fuggles smelled great, color looks good... pitched Nottinghams at around 60°F. It will be a little young for the first competition I have in ~4 weeks. Its pretty dark so it should not need extra time to clear. The 2nd and third competition I'm planning this for should be a lot better with the extra time to age.


rye_robust_porter_2.jpg
 
I think you are right about the age thing. My 1.060 RP was passable after a month in the bottle but exceptional after about 3. Everything just smoothed out. I know it gets mentioned here frequently but probably not emphasized enough - patience and time will improve many beers.

GT
 
man... I've had the porter on gas carbing for the last couple days. I just pulled off a pint... WOWOOW!!! Its CRAZY smooth and tastes EXCELLENT!! I can't really taste the rye much so I think it will do VERY well in the BJCP competition. I'm like shocked at how smooth it is for being so young! This recipe will end up being a regular I think!!
 
I just caught this, but it looks like a good recipe. I'm not surprised that you do not pick up much rye, after only using a pound. That will just give you a tiny bit of spice which actually can help smooth a green beer out earlier. Nice work! :mug:


TL
 

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