Porter recipe - questions

Hey guys,

So I just finished my first PM by recking to a secondary, and I was thinking about going for a porter next. I am looking for a good porter recipe, either PM or extract with specialty grains, and here are two I have come across. If anyone has another great porter (or stout) recipe that they LOVE, please share! I want to do AG, but won't have that capability until after Xmas, so PM or extract it is! Here are the recipes:

6 oz. chocolate malt
2 oz. black patent malt
0.5 lb. crystal malt, 120° Lovibond
0.5 lb. wheat malt
0.5 lb. victory malt
7 lbs. Alexander's pale malt extract
1 oz. Chinook hops (13% alpha acid), for 60 min.
1 oz. Cascade hops (5.5% alpha acid), for 10 min.
1 oz. Strissal Spalt hops (4% alpha acid), for 2 min.
1/2 tsp. Irish moss, for 20 min.
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast

OR

Ingredients
6.6 lbs. Telford’s amber malt extract syrup
1 lb. Muntons amber dry malt extract
0.5 lb chocolate malt
.75 lb. roasted black barley
8.7 AAU Magnum hops (0.67 oz. of 13% alpha acid) (bittering)
3.7 AAU Kent Golding hops (1.0 oz. of 3.7% alpha acid) (aroma)
California V Ale yeast (White Labs WLP051) or London Ale III (Wyeast 1318)
3/4 cup of corn sugar for priming.

Also, since these are very dark beers, is a secondary necessary? Will it hurt it if I use one? Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Jason

This is an Anchor Porter Clone out of "Beer Captured" by Tess and Mark Szamatulski.Mine has been in the bottle now for a little over 3 weeks, and I can say that it is a GREAT BEER.

13 oz British Chocolate Malt
12 0z 60L Crystal Malt
4 oz US Black Malt
1 oz Roasted Barley

4 lbs Pale Malt Extract Syrup
4 lbs Extra Light DME
12 oz Malto Dextrin

3/4 oz Northern Brewer (Bittering)
3/4 oz Cascade (Bittering)

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Thanks! Do I steep the grains at 150? and for how long? Also, is maltodextrin the same as cara-pils? And lastly, for the hops, only a 60 min addition?

Jason

Malto-dextrine is a non-fermentable sugar that is used to increase body (very few people perceive it as being sweet by itself). It does the same thing, in effect, as carapils in all-grain or PM brewing, that is, it adds long-chain, non-fermentable dextrines to curb attentuation.

I like your first recipe, although I'd have to plug some numbers in to see the IBUs; that seems like a pretty high amount of Chinook, which can lend itself to harshness.

Thanks! If no Chinook, what else could I use to make it more smooth?

I agree with the_bird. I think that the first one is better, but I'd lower the Chinook to 1/2 ounce. With a porter, you want to taste the body, maltiness, residual sweetness, etc., not the bitterness. I'd even bump up the chocolate to maybe 10 ounces, or even a pound. I made a fantastic porter with 1# chocolate.

AG recipe:
7# 2 row
3# munich
1# wheat
1# victory
1# chocolate
2 oz black patent
8 oz special b
wyeast 1028
3/4 oz East Kent Goldings (about 4%, flavor)
3/4 oz Willamette (about 4.6%, bittering)

Good Luck!

In porters, I like chocolate malt over BP. The first recipe is more of an Americanized porter than an English one. You could use some more Cascade at 60 minutes, or use a modest amount of something like a Warrior or a Perle or a Magnum (something that's known for being pretty clean). Alternatively, drop those hops and go with East Kent Goldings and Fuggles (50/50) for more of an English flavor. In any case, it seems like a pretty good starting point.

Jayfro21 said:

Thanks! If no Chinook, what else could I use to make it more smooth?

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Perle, EKG, or fuggles will work just fine.

I'm brewing the Anchor Porter clone mentioned above. It's been in the primary for almost 3 days now. I'd also be interested in any response as to the usefullness of a secondary for such a dark beer.

Craig311 said:

I'm brewing the Anchor Porter clone mentioned above. It's been in the primary for almost 3 days now. I'd also be interested in any response as to the usefullness of a secondary for such a dark beer.

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My Anchor Poter sat in the secondary for almost 4 weeks(I was preoccupied with Brewing, and not Bottling ), and I can say that it did not imapct the final flavor of the beer. I am sipping on one right now, and as I look at the beer, it is clear, clear, clear, and yes, YUMMIE!!!:rockin:

Craig311 said:

I'm brewing the Anchor Porter clone mentioned above. It's been in the primary for almost 3 days now. I'd also be interested in any response as to the usefullness of a secondary for such a dark beer.

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Unecessary in my opinion. I have stopped using a secondary vessel for anything but bigger beers. I leave in the primary 3-4 weeks and then rack into my bottling bucket.

GT

The recipe from Beer Captured by Tess and Mark Szamatulski (they actually own my LHBS in CT) calls for 3 weeks in the secondary. I'll stick with the 3 weeks and see how it works out. It tasted great when I racked over to my secondary last weekend.

I tend to like using Cascade in my American porters, but I'd stay away from Chinook. It's harsh.