English Porter Black Pearl Porter (AG)

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BierMuncher

...My Junk is Ugly...
HBT Supporter
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
12,440
Reaction score
952
Location
St. Louis, MO
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
London Ale (Wyeast Labs #1028)
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.065
Final Gravity
1.015
Boiling Time (Minutes)
75
IBU
7.5
Color
31
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
7 Days at 60 degrees
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10 Days at 60 Degrees
ALL GRAIN - 5 Gallons
8.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
2.00 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (30.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM)

0.50 oz Fuggles [4.52%] (60 min)
0.50 oz Fuggles [4.20%] (2 min)

0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)

1.00 cup Malto-Dextrine (Boil 20.0 min)
4.00 oz Lactose (Boil 15.0 min)

1 Pkgs London Ale (Wyeast Labs #1028)


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 13.00 lb
Mash In Add 4.06 gal of water at 170.5 F 158.0 F 45 min
Mash Out Add 2.50 gal of water at 206.7 F 175.0 F 15 min

Primary 1 Week (60 Degrees)
Secondary 10 Days (60 Degrees)
Kegged and Force Carbed or Primed and Bottled

This was a very good, very rich Porter. Nice sweetness and great mouthfeel. Friends who shy away from Stout loved this milder (but creamier) dark beer.
 
I've brewed a couple of batches of this with a couple of minor changes...

.5oz Northern Brewer for bittering @ 7.8aau , i like thier "minty" flavor in dark beers...

Wyermen CarafaIII instead of the chocolate malt. It's dehusked & is supposed to be smoother than regular Choc. malt.

I also left out the Malto-dextrin & lactose, 'cause thats just the way timmy rolls.

The first batch my eff. sucked, I made a 1.050-1.013 beer, but it had a really nice finish with pretty noticeable fuggleness.

This batch was 1.061-1.019, big smooth & chocolatey, but less hoppy, perhaps next time I'll up the fuggles just a touch.
 
somecallmetim said:
I've brewed a couple of batches of this with a couple of minor changes...

.5oz Northern Brewer for bittering @ 7.8aau , i like thier "minty" flavor in dark beers...

Wyermen CarafaIII instead of the chocolate malt. It's dehusked & is supposed to be smoother than regular Choc. malt.

I also left out the Malto-dextrin & lactose, 'cause thats just the way timmy rolls.

The first batch my eff. sucked, I made a 1.050-1.013 beer, but it had a really nice finish with pretty noticeable fuggleness.

This batch was 1.061-1.019, big smooth & chocolatey, but less hoppy, perhaps next time I'll up the fuggles just a touch.
I was just revisiting this recipe yesterday and ordered some stuff to do again.

Tis a nice one on a cold winter night.
 
I'm on this 2.5 gallon stovetop AG kick right now, it started out for an article I was writing, but I'm just having a blast doing these small batches. I was looking for a porter to do and stumbled upon yours, (and since I trust and respect you, I figured it would be good, and it looked tasty) so I brewed it today....It was probably the smoothest brew I've ever done, and hit my numbers perfectly. It smells wonderful and I can't wait to taste it....

I'm also doing a mini batch of your centennial blonde this week....I've never brewed anything so close to a BMC in terms of color, etc so I'm looking forward to the challenge. Thanks for posting these!

:mug:
 
I'm on this 2.5 gallon stovetop AG kick right now, it started out for an article I was writing, but I'm just having a blast doing these small batches. I was looking for a porter to do and stumbled upon yours, (and since I trust and respect you, I figured it would be good, and it looked tasty) so I brewed it today....It was probably the smoothest brew I've ever done, and hit my numbers perfectly. It smells wonderful and I can't wait to taste it....

I'm also doing a mini batch of your centennial blonde this week....I've never brewed anything so close to a BMC in terms of color, etc so I'm looking forward to the challenge. Thanks for posting these!

:mug:

This might be a stupid question, but on those mini batches what do you ferment in? A regular 5 gallon carboy? Also, is it easy to convert those small batches back to a 5 gallon batches? I am trying to find ways to perfect my recipes so it doesn't hit the pocket so hard and so if I do need to keep replicating it and tweaking it, I have 1 case and not 2 cases every time. Sounds silly but it works out somehow.....
 
This might be a stupid question, but on those mini batches what do you ferment in? A regular 5 gallon carboy? Also, is it easy to convert those small batches back to a 5 gallon batches? I am trying to find ways to perfect my recipes so it doesn't hit the pocket so hard and so if I do need to keep replicating it and tweaking it, I have 1 case and not 2 cases every time. Sounds silly but it works out somehow.....

Well, I'm working on an article blowing the dust off your old Mr Beer and doing small batch AG on a stovetop and fermenting in that, but you can also use 3 gallon betterbottles also a lot more 3 gallon spring water jusgs are showing up as <1> and <2> nowadays, so if you look around you can use them as well...I found one yesterday at a grocery store for 5.99 with three gallons of water, that of course became my brewing water.
 
Well, I'm working on an article blowing the dust off your old Mr Beer and doing small batch AG on a stovetop and fermenting in that, but you can also use 3 gallon betterbottles also a lot more 3 gallon spring water jusgs are showing up as <1> and <2> nowadays, so if you look around you can use them as well...I found one yesterday at a grocery store for 5.99 with three gallons of water, that of course became my brewing water.

Cool! Thanks! I've seen those plastic water jugs about the grocery stores.
 
Well I cracked my first one today. i kind of lost track of when I bottled it, but I believe it is exactly 3 weeks...and...

It is exquisite...it is quite silky while at the same time being chewy from the oats. It poured with a nice head that dissolved into a nice lacing on the surface as I drink it...It almost has a liccorice-ness like in some of those historical porters, probably from all the chocolate, yet the lactose gives it a nice sweetness to balance it.

I can't pay this enough compliments, BM..It is an awesome Porter at only 3 weeks in the bottle...I can't wait to taste it in a couple months!

Thanks for posting it!!!
 
Hey BierMuncher, I'm thinking of brewing this in a couple of weeks in order to have to drink during those cold Kansas winter days and nights. I'd like to go as cheap as possible and use some dry yeast. Which would you recommend, US-04 or US-05? Or would you recommend sticking with the Wyeast?

Jake
 
Hey BierMuncher, I'm thinking of brewing this in a couple of weeks in order to have to drink during those cold Kansas winter days and nights. I'd like to go as cheap as possible and use some dry yeast. Which would you recommend, US-04 or US-05? Or would you recommend sticking with the Wyeast?

Jake

I'd go with the Safale-04. It should work just fine. If I were brewing this again right now...that's what I'd use.

You'll love this beer.
 
I brewed this one up Sunday, used White Labs 041 (Pacific Ale Yeast) and Yakima hops as that was what I had, other than that it was all the same, did size it up to 5.5 gallons. Was pleased with the smell and taste going into fermenter, can't wait to try this one in a few weeks.
 
I'm contemplating brewing up a batch of Black Pearl this weekend and have a few questions for you BierMuncher.

1) What are your thoughts on first wort hopping with the fuggles rather than adding it at 60 minutes?
2) Would Nottingham be comparable to S-04 or The Wyeast 1028?
3) Any advantage to adding some dextrine malt or is this just totally nuts for this style of beer?

Thanks,
ChemE
 
I'm contemplating brewing up a batch of Black Pearl this weekend and have a few questions for you BierMuncher.

1) What are your thoughts on first wort hopping with the fuggles rather than adding it at 60 minutes?
2) Would Nottingham be comparable to S-04 or The Wyeast 1028?
3) Any advantage to adding some dextrine malt or is this just totally nuts for this style of beer?

Thanks,
ChemE
The IBU's are low enough on this beer that it won't really matter. With adding maltodextrin and lactose I wouldn't add additional dextrine malt. It's already a very rich bodied beer.
 
This beer turned out very well for me as well. I smoked a boston butt last weekend and had several friends over for the tapping of this keg and it was well received, even by those not crazy about dark beers. Using WLP041 gave me a slightly higher FG than what was listed but it is extremely drinkable. Good thing I bottled a sixer out of secondary to save as the keg won't last much longer.

Nice one BierMuncher, this one belongs in your tried and true list as well.
 
This beer turned out very well for me as well. I smoked a boston butt last weekend and had several friends over for the tapping of this keg and it was well received, even by those not crazy about dark beers. Using WLP041 gave me a slightly higher FG than what was listed but it is extremely drinkable. Good thing I bottled a sixer out of secondary to save as the keg won't last much longer.

Nice one BierMuncher, this one belongs in your tried and true list as well.

It's always good to hear. This is one of my all time favorites. Especially this time of year.
 
I sure am glad to hear that since I just pitched some Notty about an hour ago! I did finally make one slight change though; I swapped out the MD for a pound of Carapils. I also got my best efficiency yet; 91.5% brewhouse! All that reading and planning before doing the first AG paid off!
 
I tried out my pump with a new brewpot etc. today with this recipe. I had some difficulties... going to get a new pump i think. Anyway my OG is 1.060 instead of 1.068, should I calculate and add some DME to up the recipe?

I think my dip tube in my keggle left too much wort in there, I also put about 5.5 gallons into the fermenter instead of 5, which would also be why my OG is lower.

Edit: calculated efficiency, looks like around 68% which is not bad for a new process, just should have hit my volume and I'd be in better shape, still wondering if I should add DME.
 
This looks like a great recipe.. I've been meaning to brew up a good, sweet porter..

is there any easy way to convert this to a Partial Mash?
 
pst! look two posts above.

I am about to keg this tomorrow. I CANNOT WAIT! I am sooo excited about this beer
 
SWMBO has declared this beer "better than every other porter or stout except Barney Flats". The bottles are disappearing rapidly. Thanks for the killer recipe BierMuncher!
 
I've got a carboy fermenting now.

Man I've missed this beer. :mug:

If you want to drive it northeast 2.5 hours when its done my feelings wouldn't be hurt. I'm going to tinker a little bit on the next batch (coming up very soon) because my efficiency was ridiculous (92%) and I massively overshot the OG and wound up at 7.4% abv. Also, I'd like to work some Special B into the recipe. I did wind up first wort hopping with the fuggles rather than sticking to your hop schedule and the bitterness is totally imperceptible and now I'm wondering what would happen if I shifted the 2 minute addition to 20 minutes to cut the aroma pick up some flavor and move the IBU's up a titch. Again, prost on the killer recipe! :mug:
 
I just made a batch of this today. It is only my third all grain batch and my first try with fly sparging, my first two were batch sparges. If the OG sample is any indication (and I'm sure it is) this beer is going to be delicious. I did make one change and added an ounce of Galena bittering hops at the beginning of the boil instead of the 1/2 ounce of fuggles to make it a little more hoppy. Thanks for the great recipe I'll update when the beer is ready to drink. :ban::ban::ban:
 
...If the OG sample is any indication (and I'm sure it is) this beer is going to be delicious. I did make one change and added an ounce of Galena bittering hops at the beginning of the boil instead of the 1/2 ounce of fuggles to make it a little more hoppy. ...

That's just fine. This recipe is low on IBU's as far as BJCP standards go so upping the bitterness will be okay.
 
What style of porter is this in the BJCP guidelines? I know it has the alcohol content of a baltic, but I don't think it has the other attributes, I may enter it as a robust. I'm still working on developing a good beer palate. Entering my modified version of this and Hobgoblin(II) into my first competition.
 
I suppose in the end I should break open a bottle of mine since no one can brew it exactly the same as someone else. Just will need to sit with the guidelines and see where it fits.
 
I'm going to take this grain bill out for a spin in a couple of days, bought the grain today. I'm still playing around with hop schedule.

I'm going to skip the malto and lactose.

pacman yeast

I've got centenniel, cascade, liberty, perle, tradition and glacier on hand for hops

thinking perle for bittering, not sure where i'm going from there.
 
I just wanted to say that I brewed this recently and it is fantastic. Best mouthfeel of anything I have brewed so far.
 
Well, I brewed this just over two weeks ago as my first all grain batch, and while that SEEMED to go well, I think my mash temps may have been off or something. It's been stuck at 1.030 for 10 days... I've repitched yeast, shook the hell out of it, etc etc... no dice. The hydrometer won't budge off 1.030.

It tastes good, so I'll drink it... but it sucks that the attenuation was so low! It started at 1.065, so my apparent attenuation is only like 54%. I used S04, didn't rehydrate. Re-pitched a packet of munton's since it was all I had sitting around.
 
Well, I brewed this just over two weeks ago as my first all grain batch, and while that SEEMED to go well, I think my mash temps may have been off or something. It's been stuck at 1.030 for 10 days... I've repitched yeast, shook the hell out of it, etc etc... no dice. The hydrometer won't budge off 1.030.

It tastes good, so I'll drink it... but it sucks that the attenuation was so low! It started at 1.065, so my apparent attenuation is only like 54%. I used S04, didn't rehydrate. Re-pitched a packet of munton's since it was all I had sitting around.

The malto and lactose will hold your gravities higher than normal.

Sounds like you have a nice, rich 4.6% porter to enjoy. :D
 
Thinking about brewing this next and have a few questions:

My LHBS seems to only carry 20L & 40L on the crystal malt not 30L.Which way should I go?
Also I don't have the means to ferment this any lower than room temp at the moment which would be about 70-72 degrees.Is that to warm?
 
Thinking about brewing this next and have a few questions:

My LHBS seems to only carry 20L & 40L on the crystal malt not 30L.Which way should I go?
Also I don't have the means to ferment this any lower than room temp at the moment which would be about 70-72 degrees.Is that to warm?

Ferment temp is fine.

Go with the 40. You can never go wrong with adding 10 lovibonds to a porter. :D
 
Back
Top