Robust Porter - 531 Brew Haus- 1st Place 2009 HBT BJCP Comp

**midfielder5** · 10-11-2009, 09:26 PM

"Dark & Stormy & Yummy" Porter

Recipe Type: All Grain (*Partial Mash follows in post # 6*).
Yeast: Wyeast European Ale (1338)
Yeast Starter: Yes
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.065 - 1.063
Final Gravity: 1.016 - 1.018
IBU: 40 IBU
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: ~40 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 22 @ 66* (YMMV- see brewing note #4)
Bulk aging in secondary: 21 - 28 days @ 66*; then bottled and aged for another 2 months.
1st Place 2009 HBT BJCP Comp for Porters (BJCP # 12A-C) [37/50]

Grain bill
9# 2 Row
1# Choc. Malt
1# Crystal 40L or Caramel 40L
8 oz. Flaked Barley
4 oz. Black Patent
1 oz. Roasted Barley
4 oz. brown sugar (optional)

Mash at 150 degrees for 60 minutes. Batch sparge to get 6.5 gallons at start of boil.

Add 1 tsp of gyp to start of boil (60 min.).
Add 8 oz. of Malto Dextrin to boil at 20 minutes.
Add 4 ounces brown sugar to boil at 10 minutes.
Add 1 tsp of Irish moss to boil at 10 minutes.

Hops:

0.5 oz. Cascade (leaf, 7.2AA) at 60 min.
0.75 oz. Galena (leaf, 14.2AA) at 60 min.
0.75 oz Tettnang (pellet, 5.1AA) at 15 min.

Brewing notes:
1) Grain bill based on EdWort's RP.
2) Can sub out Galena hop for Northern Brewer or Nugget.
3) BJCP Judges scorecards mentioned mashing higher (152*-154*) for more body;
4) Aeration, pitching rates & fermentation temps vary amongst each brewer. For best results, please don't move beer off yeast unless & until you hit FG or thereabouts (a few points). Check w/ a hydrometer first. It could take 2-3+ weeks for bigger beers like this one, and with a slower yeast (OG above 1.050; WY # 1338). The yeasts are done when they decide.

DavidSteel · 10-16-2009, 08:40 PM

I'm a noob and the site I am ordering my grains from doesn't have Caramel Crystal 40L. Is a 2 Row Caramel 40 similar or the same thing as this? It isn't crystal. The other selection they have is:
Simpsons Dark Crystal
Simpsons Extra Dark Crystal
Simpsons Medium Crystal
Would any of these work?

**midfielder5** · 10-16-2009, 08:52 PM

Try the "2 Row Caramel 40". (40 refers to the color in the lovibond scale; w/ a caramel-like flavor).
http://brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0101445/briess-2-row-caramel-40

The Simpsons ones you listed are too dark.

DavidSteel · 10-16-2009, 08:57 PM

Thanks, will try this out!

**midfielder5** · 12-07-2009, 12:56 AM

Hydrometer shot of Porter.
mmmmmm delicious.

**midfielder5** · 12-31-2009, 06:16 PM

Partial Mash version for 5 gallons.

9# of LME or less of DME (or a blend, to get the OG right).

Steep the specialty grains:
1# Choc. Malt
1# Crystal/caramel 40L
8 oz. Flaked Barley
2 to 4 oz. Black Patent (depends how roasty you want it).

Steep grains at 155 degrees for 30-45 minutes in ~2 gallons of water.

Standard Partial Mash technique from then on out....
If it were me, I would take wort from PM, add water to ~ 6.5 gallons [if you can't boil that much water you will need to adjust the hopping schedule].

then add first addition of extract (utilizing the late addition technique for LME), and bring to a boil.
Hops & Malto-Dextrin powder are same.
Add the last extract w/ ten min left in the boil.

I boil down to 5.5G and get 5G in the fermenter (leaving trub in kettle).

**Newbeerguy** · 06-23-2010, 02:58 AM

I'd just like to add that this is one fantastic recipe! I just cracked my first bottle and WOW I am blown away. I can see why this took first place. I tried to stay as close to the original recipe as I could, the only modifications I made were:
1. I used Notty yeast
2. Mashed at 154

I made the all-grain version and had a stuck sparge from hell! I suggest using some rice hulls in the mash to help with all the flaked barley. I couldn't for the life of me get it unstuck, so I had to add all the sparge water before I drained the first runnings to thin it out enough to flow. I got bad eff. to say the least... I had to add a 1lb of Light DME to bump the O.G. to 1.068. Even with all that it turned out amazing! This will be a staple at my house.

Not that it matters but the only thing that was way off from the original recipe was the color. Beersmith estimated mine at 38.5 and the original was 20. Mine was pretty dark. Here is a pic

**midfielder5** · 06-23-2010, 06:11 PM

Thanks for the comments NewBeerGuy.
Sorry to hear about your stuck sparge. I mash in a SS 10G pot with a bazooka screen and haven't had any problems.

About the SRM, I double-checked my brew program [a freebie, hopville.com] and yep, it said 20 SRM. But my hydro sample picture (Post # 5) and your pic look nearly identical, so I will update the original post.

Cheers!
Wendy

ShorelineThomas · 10-20-2010, 03:56 PM

Midfielder5 / Wendy,

I liked the sound of your Dark & Stormy porter recipe, so I brewed it about a week ago. It was the first time I got to use my new 9-gallon brewpot and wort chiller (this is only my third brew). It was a great experience...thank you!

The OG was 1.068, as I was using your partial mash version, and had some extra LME, about 1/3 pound left over, that the LHBS guy advised to just add to the brew.

Eagerly awaiting the result, at about Xmastime. Cheers!

**midfielder5** · 10-20-2010, 06:02 PM

good luck with it Thomas!
I am making another batch of the Dark & Stormy & Tasty this weekend.

cheers,
Wendy