Add molasse or not in a Robust Porter?

Hey guys, so I'm planning to brew my 2nd beer, which is gonna be a Robust Porter. I'm almost done making up my list of ingredients but I'm not sure if I should add molasse or not to my recipe. I'm sort of scared it turns out bland if I only use the base malts.

Here's it without molasse :

Style: Robust Porter
OG: 1.058
Type: BIAB
ABV: 5.4 %
Batch Size: 3.00 Gal
Boil Time: 60 minutes

Grains & Adjuncts

4,96 lbs Pale Malt (2 row)
0,52 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
0,50 lbs Chocolate Malt
0,50 lbs Black Malt

Hops
0.7 oz Northern Brewer 60 mins
0.4 oz Willamette 25 mins
0.4 oz Willamette 10 mins

Yeasts
Pacific ale (White Labs)

I would add 0,3 lbs of molasse to the recipe which would bring the OG to 1,063 and the ABV to 6,1%. I don't mind much.

Should I do it?

I probably won't use the molasses. A robust porter should be fairly full bodied and have a nice dry roasty character. I'd worry that the molasses would thin your beer out.

By the way - you're not using all base malts. Your recipe has 3 character grains (C60, chocolate, and black malt).

I also advise against the molasses. You have plenty of flavors in you grain bill.

I'm not much of a molasses fan anyway, but think about how fermented molasses would taste in that. Once the sugar in molasses is fermented, it's even worse tasting than with the sugar in it.

Really, for recipes, "less is more". There are already 3 specialty grains in there, and about 100% more black malt than I could stand.

I'd cut the black malt down, (I use a pound in 10 gallons of stout!) and increase the base grain. It looks like now you have 10% crystal (that's ok), 10% chocolate malt, and 10% black malt, leaving only 70% basemalt.

Yooper said:

I'm not much of a molasses fan anyway, but think about how fermented molasses would taste in that. Once the sugar in molasses is fermented, it's even worse tasting than with the sugar in it.

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Well said. It is a background taste that some people do not like and is the burnt sugar bitterness in some stouts that I have tried.

I sometimes use a small amount ( 2-4 ounces ) in 5-6 gallons of brown ale for an added touch of bitterness with a treacle like flavor.

Just like treacle or some other throwback candies it is not everyone's cup of tea.

bosco

Thanks for the answers guys, I will take your advice and will not add molasse in my recipe.

Tho, what I might do is boil molasse in a pan, split my 3 gal batch in 2 carboys and add the molasse to one of them. Could be an experimental way for me to learn.

I brewed a Porter a couple weeks ago that kind of straddles the line between a brown and a robust. I added a half cup of molasses at the end of the boil. Samuel Smith Taddy Porter seems to have a bit of treacle/molasses in the finish and I kind of like that. I guess I will find out if a half cup is too much or not. It smelled really good when it was fermenting, but then again don't they all?