Cream Porter

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adrphij

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Yesterday I started my 3rd batch....I took a Grain/Extract Porter kit from my Home Brew store...upped the Dark Crystal..added flaked barley and Malto Dextrine....My question is...it tasted VERY sweet...how much will ferment out?...and I added the barley & Malto to get a nice mouth feel...is there enough?...here are the ingredients

3.3 lbs amber liquid extract
3 lbs amber DME
1 lb Dark Crystal
4 oz Black
4 oz roasted
8 oz malto dextrine
4 ox flaked barley
1 oz Northern hops
1 oz Fuggles hops
Irish Moss

steeped grains in 2 gallons at 160 degrees for 30 minute
boiled malts, barley & malto for 30 min
Northern 25 min
Irish Moss 10 min
Fuggles 5 min
total boil 55 min

OG 1.052
very sweet taste
 
its should be sweet prior to fermentation. taste it again after a week, or whenever you drop it to the secondary, and it should be way more beer-like. remember the more fermentables in the wort (aka sugar) the stronger the beer. your recipe looks good, and an o.g. og 1.052 is normal, depending on the yeast it will probably end up at 1.010+. which will give you a relatively strong beer.(strong for an english ale)
 
thanks...I wanted it to be a little on the sweet side....what do you think about mouth feel...will the barley & malto be enough to give it a nice creamy feel?
 
adrphij said:
thanks...I wanted it to be a little on the sweet side....what do you think about mouth feel...will the barley & malto be enough to give it a nice creamy feel?

i dont know much about creamy porters...i like mine bitter like anchor porter, it sounds more like a stout to me, i dont think porter's have raosted barley, but its all acedemic...youll know soon enough how creamy your mouth feel is...
 
cgravier said:
i dont know much about creamy porters...i like mine bitter like anchor porter, it sounds more like a stout to me, i dont think porter's have raosted barley, but its all acedemic...youll know soon enough how creamy your mouth feel is...

Yeah. no roasted barley in a cream porter.....creamy mouth feel will come from dextrine or something like flaked oats so with what you added it will be fine.

If you want it slightly sweet you might consider adding a little bit of lactose too, .25 - .5 lb. would give it a hint of sweet. The lactose will also add mouthfeel.
 
I am going from memory, so I may be wrong about the roasted....I was thinking of adding a vanilla bean to the secondary...depending on how sweet it is when I rack....
 
Brew date was Sunday 1/22/06 @ 10:00pm....good action in the airlock Monday but no activity today Tuesday....is that too quick?
 
adrphij said:
Brew date was Sunday 1/22/06 @ 10:00pm....good action in the airlock Monday but no activity today Tuesday....is that too quick?

did you use a starter? what yeast are you using? im assuming you had some bubbling monday morning, alot of bubbling monday night, and teusday no bubbling? that sounds rather fast, i usually get a good 2-3 days of very active bubbling and 2 more of progressively slower bubbling. ive never had a batch ferment in 1 day...
 
adrphij said:
Brew date was Sunday 1/22/06 @ 10:00pm....good action in the airlock Monday but no activity today Tuesday....is that too quick?
That's quick, but it happens. I brewed one Saturday (pitched on a yeast cake) that started in 2 hours, was going 240 BPM at 12 hours and by 24 hours was down to 4 BPM and the krauzen was gone.
 
adrphij said:
Brew date was Sunday 1/22/06 @ 10:00pm....good action in the airlock Monday but no activity today Tuesday....is that too quick?

I'm guessing you used 1084 which is a quick finisher. It probably still has some left to go--but it is probably near done.
 
I don't remember the name of the yeast but it was dry yeast...I put it in a cup of warm ewater for about 25 min...and pitched in the primary at @ 82 degrees....good action Monay morning & night....almost none Tuesday morning
 
I haven't taken the Gravity yet....didn't want to open the primary (plastic bucket from Basci kit) it can be a little difficult with some sloshing around...zero activity in airlock....I will take reading tonigh...what target should I look for?
 
I would guess if you're done it will be in the upper teens. The idea behind taking a gravity reading is to see if your fermentation has stalled, finished, or is ongoing. When you crack the lid look for kraeusen...if you have that it would indicate fermentation is probably continuing. In that case, put the lid back on and check for leaks. If there's no foam whatsoever on the beer, take a gravity reading and see where you're at.
 
just took Gravity reading...1.024...a small kraeusen ring about 1/8 inch...light kraeusen on surface....very malty taste and slight creaminess ...should add more yeast?
 
adrphij said:
just took Gravity reading...1.024...a small kraeusen ring about 1/8 inch...light kraeusen on surface....very malty taste and slight creaminess ...should add more yeast?

Nahhh...swirl it gently once a day for 3-4 more days, take another reading.

What did it start at?
 
last night I rocked the primary gently...still not airlock activity Gravity went form 1.052 to 1.024....I plan on leaving in until at least Sat before another reading...if it hasn't moved off the 1.024 reading should I add some yeast to the secondary?...while the taste was very malty sweet..it was very good as well... no funky flavors....
 
The only reason to add yeast is if your fermentation is stuck...we don't know that it's stuck yet. You say you have faint signs of kraeusen which would indicate fermentation, and you've gently rocked the fermenter. The idea now is to wait and see if fermentation continues which you'll know by a gravity reading this weekend. If it's still on 24 this weekend, then it's time to consider possible alternate measures.
 
BeeGee said:
The only reason to add yeast is if your fermentation is stuck...we don't know that it's stuck yet. You say you have faint signs of kraeusen which would indicate fermentation, and you've gently rocked the fermenter. The idea now is to wait and see if fermentation continues which you'll know by a gravity reading this weekend. If it's still on 24 this weekend, then it's time to consider possible alternate measures.

Well said. :D
 
the SG on Sat was 1.022..down slightly from the 1.024 when airlock activity stopped...so I racked to the secondary...any thoughts on if is OK?....
 
I don't have a good idea what your FG should really be with that grain bill. 1022 might be in line, or perhaps more around 1018. It's going to be a little bit high due to the malto-dex which won't ferment. If the FG is 1022 the effect would be the opposite of a low FG...more sweetness, more body, less alcohol.
 
UPDATE----
Gravity has held steady at 1.016....not as much body & mouth feel as I had hoped....is ther anything that can be added to increase the body and/or mouth fell...also is it too late to add some additional grains steeped?...would it cause another fermentation or cause off flavors?...
 
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