Goat Scrotum Ale flavor question

On 12/17 I brewed Papazian's GSA based a bit on a tweak by 2pugbrew on the recipe forum:

6# dark malt extract
1# crystal malt
1/4# black patent
1/4# roasted barley
1 1/2 oz Challenger Brewer - boiling hops
1/4 oz Willamette - finishing
1 c brown sugar
1 c molasses
1 t gypsum
Danstar Nottingham dry yeast
4 oz ginger root
8 oz Baker's chocolate

I opened the fermenter to take a SG reading (1.014 by the way) and tasted the sample pulled for the test. It is very dry with a pronounced alcohol taste. The flavor is very clean with a little bitterness and a faint chocolate aftertaste. I can't detect any ginger. Overall, it's actually rather bland. I was hoping for something with a bit more flavor, but I've heard that porters improve with age.

Is what I'm experiencing thus far normal for a porter? I was thinking about racking to a secondary for a week or so, until I can get more bottles. If this batch isn't progressing normally, is there something I can do to improve it in secondary?

I just got done doing a Porter this afternoon and I think this style has always been kind of a malty, subtle ale. I've never put ginger or chocolate into my Porters and I'm not sure if you do this it is still technically a "Porter". Anyway, it should become less "bland" with age I'm sure. You are tasting awfully early right out of the fermenter too if I understood your post correctly...I don't put brown sugar or molasses in mine either. But an interesting recipe. I would think it should be anything but bland...Give it time. Like a month or two. Could be a really kick **s good beer. Let us know how it turns out.

I tasted mine when I racked it the other day and I had the same impression. It tasted clean but was a bit on the bland side. I'm pretty sure the flavors come out when it is carbonated and the beer conditions.
At 1.014 you should have a malty beer with plenty of flavor. Time will tell.

Thanks for the input! The disturbance to the primary kick-started a bit of fermentation; the lock is bubbling every so often.

Would this type of brew benefit from racking to a secondary?

I don't see what the surprise is... Goat scrotums shouldn't be very flavorful. I would expect dry cotton flavor, sweat with a hint of dirt at the finish. The alcohol taste is probably residual from the vet doing a cleaning before the neuter...

MariaAZ said:

Thanks for the input! The disturbance to the primary kick-started a bit of fermentation; the lock is bubbling every so often.

Would this type of brew benefit from racking to a secondary?

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I think it would. Get it off the primary trub and let it clear in the secondary before you bottle.

MariaAZ said:

Danstar Nottingham dry yeast

I opened the fermenter to take a SG reading (1.014 by the way) and tasted the sample pulled for the test. It is very dry with a pronounced alcohol taste. The flavor is very clean with a little bitterness and a faint chocolate aftertaste.

If this batch isn't progressing normally, is there something I can do to improve it in secondary?

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From More beers description of Nottingham yeast;

"Highly flocculant with full attenuation resulting in dryer beers."

Porters take some time. Getting it off the trub and letting it clear in a secondary should get rid of the alcohol flavors.

Just out of curiousity, what water did you use? Porters are typically brewed with soft water. Pale ales with hard water. It's kinda like soft water produces lots of subs from soap, and hard water doesn't.

I used bottled water; we have hard water with lots of chlorine. I could probably get an analysis from the company I get the water from though.

MariaAZ said:

I used bottled water; we have hard water with lots of chlorine. I could probably get an analysis from the company I get the water from though.

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If they have a web site, it's probably online. Bottled water should be fine, usually pretty neutral water.

Just out of curiousity - how does one know how a "goats scrotum" taste?