Robust Porter recipe critique?

is the .25 lb black patent enough to keep it from being too mellow? I wouldn't want it too roasty either

for 5 gallons post boil:

9.5 lbs US 2 row or pale ale malt
1 lb crystal 80l malt
.75 lb chocolate malt
.25 lb black patent malt
.5 lb carapils
.5 lb table sugar (to knock up the gravity a little bit more)

1 oz Northern Brewer [8.5%] - 60 min

mash at 155
London Ale III

OG: 1.064 (70% efficiency assumed)
Target FG: 1.015
IBUs: 31.6

and I was thinking about adding an ounce of heavy toast American oak chips. good/bad idea?

i would crank the black malt up to .75# if I were you.

I dunno the level of roastiness can vary a bit in a robust porter. I would consider it more a matter of preference, although .25 lbs might be on the light side. And, I think that the more black patent you use you end up with a more astringent quality which I personally don't find appealing.

If you are looking for more roast flavor you might try .25 lbs black patent and maybe 0.25 - 0.5 lbs carafa special II or III, which will give you a great color and roast flavor, without the associated tannic harshness.

looks good but, I would increase your base grain and not add table sugar...remove the carapils and add flaked barley or oats (smoother mouthfeel ...my 2 cents).. and use a debittered black malt so as to not add an acrid taste but add some roasty undertones.

IBU's are right on....mash temp of 155 will give you a more dextrinous wort...so match with a higher attentuating yeast. The London Ale III ranges between 70-75% Att and lends a sweeter finish to the beer so I would decrease the mash temp to 153*F.

As for the oak chips, they will add to the dryness of the beer. Soak'em in whiskey maannn.

Everybody likes something different, I like my porters to have burnt/charred flavor from black malt in them. I am dissapointed if they do not.

I'm not really looking for a big burnt/charred flavor with this one

I like the idea of adding some carafa special. should I keep the chocolate malt, reduce it, or take it out completely? I recently made a brown ale with .5 lb chocolate malt and the sample I had didn't show much roast. so I maybe I can get away with the .75 lb of chocolate in addition to the other dark malts

I also like the oats. I've gotten some mouthfeel from them in the past from using .5 lbs, maybe .75-1 lb might be more appropriate here?

These are the ratio's I would try out:

9.5 Base = 75%
1# Crystal 80L = 7%
1# Flaked Oats = 7%
.75# Chocolate malt = 6%
.60# Carafa Special III = 5%

This should give you a real good start... then tweak after your first tasting... if need be.

A good scientific approach would be to brew this batch, then the next two consequtive batches just change the Carafa Special from II and I. Keep everything else the same.

GOOD LUCK!

placed the order on BWM earlier.

10 lbs 2 row
1 lb crystal 80
1 lb flaked oats
12 oz chocolate malt
10 oz carafa special III

and Northern Brewer (may adjust amounts depending on efficiency)

I'll also be picking up some oak chips to soak in Maker's Mark

thanks for the help! I'll let you know how it turns out

AWESOME:rockin:

This beer took me a while. I had to deal with a stuck fermentation (probably had to do with the amount of blowoff that happened). Once I was able to figure that out, I put .5 oz of oak chips that had been soaked in (I believe) 3 oz of Eagle Rare bourbon in it for just under 2 weeks. Now it's carbonated

It tastes really good. Next time I make this, I'm going to pick a different yeast (maybe just an American ale, or American ale II, as it wouldn't hurt to have something that finishes a little less sweet) and try and add some more roast character. Perhaps 4 ounces of black malt would be a good addition? Or could I take out the carafa and replace that with 8 ounces of black malt without getting a noticeably burnt character?

And I'll probably switch the US 2 Row for a pale ale malt around 3-4 SRM for a little more malt character

I agree with switching 2 row for some pale malt... i really like to add munich malt to my porters and stouts... I just split my base 50/50 with some munich. If you want to add some more roast, try 4-5oz of roasted barley added to your existing grain bill. As far as the sweetness, what was your FG as you had a stuck ferm?

it was stuck at 1.022 for a while (which is around where it was stuck last time I used that yeast), but I was able to get it down to 1.015 (which is what I was shooting for) with some Nottingham dry yeast (just rehydrated and pitched).

is there any reason to go with the roasted barley over the black malt?

edit: on second thought, it might give it some more complexity

black malt provides a harsh...burnt... dry...charcoal taste, as roasted barley provides more of a roasty...coffee warmth. RB also adds complexity to the beer due to its available starch from not being malted. I like roasted barley personally. Its all in what YOU want your beer to taste like. As far as the yeast...make sure you are pitching a fair amount for proper fermentation. I always use liquid yeast w/ a 2l starter min. You will be suprised the difference it makes.

finally got my scoresheets back from the Mayfaire competition

http://darwinanity.org/homebrew/porterscoresheets.pdf

got a 30/50 both times. not bad, but I do agree with the comments