Green Mountain Porter (AG)
 

This recipe is an homage to the Catamount Porter, and the years I spent in Vermont. I'm reluctant to call it a clone, only because there is very little solid info left on this brew. I've pieced it together primarily from old Beeradvocate reviews, the few write-ups still remaining online, and my personal experience (both as someone who's had it, and as a homebrewer in general).

One ancient article, which more or less formed the backbone of this recipe, had info from the Catamount brewery itself (OG, FG, hop varieties used, and hints as to what the grain bill contained). Long story short, the Green Mountain Porter is a Catamount in spirit, if not also in taste.


All Grain

OG: 1.060
FG: 1.015
IBU: ~35
Color: 40+ SRM
Boil: 6.5 Gallons
Final: 5.25 Gallons (before trub/transfer loss)

~75% Mash Efficiency, adjust as required.

7 lb Maris Otter
4 oz Briess Light DME, 43 ppg (used to make the starter; adjust as required)

1 lb British Chocolate
12 oz Brown Malt
12 oz Crystal 40L
8 oz Crystal 120L
8 oz Golden Naked Oats
8 oz CaraPils

.75 oz Nugget (12%, whole/leaf) @ 60 min
1 oz Kent Goldings (4.8%, pellet) @ 5 min

*Additions*

1 Whirlfloc @ 10 min
1/2 tsp. Wyeast Nutrient @ 10 min

*Yeast*

1335 British Ale II. One could also use 1028 London Ale with similar results.

A stir plate is strongly recommended. Otherwise, two smack packs will probably suffice.

Notes:

Mash at approx. 150*F for 60 min.

As far as hops, you can substitute Yakima Goldings for Kent Goldings. Yakima Goldings would even be preferable if they could be found whole/leaf (as opposed to the pellet/plug form Kent Goldings typically assumes).

This looks interesting, please do post the tasting results! I am about to take off the training wheels and go AG and porter is my choice of brew. I've been kit brewing for years so know my way around pretty well so I don't think I'm going to scrape my knees up too bad..yea like falling off a bike for the first time!
I may go with your recipe once you post the results.

Brew day is tomorrow for this one, so by all accounts it's going to be a number of weeks before I can report in. I generally resist posting recipes until I'm well into them and know what to expect, but there was a request for a Catamount Porter clone a while back. I did a lot of research and kinda ran with it, eventually resulting in Green Mountain Porter.

From the article I read, Catamount's Porter was approximately OG 1.060 and FG 1.014, 30 IBU, and 5.8% ABV -- info taken directly from the brewery. Here's an excerpt:

Using this and the few surviving reviews and tastings, I've developed the above recipe. As mentioned, it's going to be somewhat of a challenge to clone the Catamount, because it's no longer out there to compare side to side. My own memories of this brew are years old and fleeting at best, so I'm at somewhat of a loss in that regard.

Nevertheless, drawing from all the write-ups still available, I think it's a fairly easy task to come up with something in the same vein, if not something very close (hence, the Green Mountain Porter).

Decided to compile a list of the Catamount's attributes, so that I can compare it to the Green Mountain Porter at tasting time. The following is an amalgam of the most common descriptions attached to this brew in the surviving beer advocate reviews:

Appearance: Foamy tan head of about one finger. Generally described as a fairly "low" head, although not so much as to be off-putting. Despite this frequently being lumped into the brown porter style -- even by the bros themselves -- this was a decidedly black beer. I distinctly remember this from my own experiences, and pretty much all the BA write-ups describe it as such.

Aroma: Coffee and baker's chocolate are the dominating scents. Carmel is also noted in several reviews. Hints of dark fruit possible.

Taste: Goes along with the aroma. Complex, dominated by coffee/chocolate and roastiness. Carmel and dark fruit again in the flanks. Hops detectable. Generally described as well balanced.

Mouth Feel: Smooth is the general consensus. Some describe it as creamy.

Drinkability: Universally described as the benchmark of a sessionable porter.

So in addition to reviewing this beer as a beer in general, I'll also be holding it to the above standard.

Sample aged five weeks (4 weeks bottles/1 week fridge). Give this beer time before you judge it. At three weeks + 1 day in the fridge it was not ready (sharp). The high proportion of chocolate requires smoothing time. The longer you let it age at ambient/celler temps, the less fridge time is required.

Appearance: Exactly as I remember/as it's described. Foamy tan head of about one finger, then down to a half within about a minute. Black with some ruby highlights. Clear and bright (as far as a robust porter can be). (The second picture is slightly out of focus; the brew isn't hazy.)

4 of 5

Aroma: I'm getting the baker's chocolate/coffee/roastiness. Hops notes blend in very well, forming an awsome synergy.

4.5 of 5

Taste: Really, really good. Got the coffee/chocolate/roastiness in aplomb, but not to the point of being off-putting. Getting some hops, a hint of dark fruit. Among the best brews I've ever done, and matches up well with the description of Catamount. Reminiscent of Sierra Nevada Stout on a basic level, if you're looking for a current commercial analogue.

5 of 5

Mouth Feel: Perfect. Not too heavy, not too light. A hint of bite from the roasted grain, and some hop bitterness.

5 of 5

Drinkability: I was setting out to brew a super-sessionable porter, and hit the mark 100%.

5 of 5

So, so good, and so drinkable.

23.5 out of 25 = 94%

Just wanted to follow up. I'm getting down to the last of my GMP stash, and this beer just keeps getting better. What was fantastic at five weeks is verging on award winning at 3 months (it was just as good at around 2ish months). This stuff just reaches a sweet spot and sticks there. Very full and creamy, reminds me a lot of Young's Double Chocolate. This will definitely be added to my permanent rotation.

Just wanted to follow up. This is probably the best recipe I've come up with. It really needs to age a few weeks to come into itself, but after that it's fantastic.

Pelikan, congratulations on finding nirvana. What would you say is the key ingredient in your recipe? I brewed a similar porter but without the golden naked oats. I'm interested on your take about adding them. Thanks!

In this particular recipe, the chocolate is probably the most important (in particular, the amount of it). That said, I think Golden Naked Oats adds a unique twist...a certain nutty sweetness in the background.

With recipes, I think all ingredients are equally important for the synergy they create.

This sounds great! I decided to try it out this winter. I build the recipe on BMW and shared it in case anyone else wants to order it easily:

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/recipe/5c673512/