I know it's getting a little warm for this one but I've brewed a lot of APAs and such lately. Going to do. 2.5 gallon batch. Where is everyone getting the lactose and maltodextrine? Can you pick these up at the grocery if not at the LHBS? Also this will be my first half batch. How much yeast should I pitch? Entire smack pack or dry? Thanks and really looking forward to brewing this.
English Porter Black Pearl Porter (AG)
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Groner
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mmcouch said:
You should be able to get those at any LHBS. The grocery store? Probably not so much...
Also, I would just pitch the whole packet of yeast, wet or dry.
I probably needed a starter (but didn't make one) for the 5 gallon version of this and the fermentation stopped early. One packet should be fine for 2.5 gals.
Yea I found everything at the LHBS. This turned out really great. The white labs London ale yeast worked great, too...most compact yeast cake I've ever seen. Will brew another AG 2.5 gallon batch soon and throw in some coffee beans after primary.
Any thoughts on using Northern Brewer or Perle for hops instead of Fuggles. Looking to get a little mint aroma/flavor into this? How many of either of those hops would anybody suggest. I would prefer the mintyness from the hops to be prevalent but not overpowering, I would also prefer not to use mint extracts, or have to worry about putting mint in the secondary as it doesn't seek like results are consistent with those methods.
I'm looking at this for the holidays so many non craft beer drinkers would try it so if you do truly get mint from those hops, I have yet to use either, it can be a little more pronounced as these people won't have the palet's to pick up on it if it's subtle.
I'm looking at this for the holidays so many non craft beer drinkers would try it so if you do truly get mint from those hops, I have yet to use either, it can be a little more pronounced as these people won't have the palet's to pick up on it if it's subtle.
Does anyone know if this beer is a slow starter for fermentation? I followed the recipe to the "T" and it just started slowly bubbling this morning over 48 hours later. Curious if this is normal for this beer?
Not stressed about it, just curious what others experiences are with how quickly this starts fermenting.
Not stressed about it, just curious what others experiences are with how quickly this starts fermenting.
Yeah it is normal I've had some yeasts take up to 72 hours to take off.
My gravity at pitching was 1.074. I had a little less than 5 gallon of wort, maybe 4.8. I feel like maybe I should pitch more yeast... I got a pack of dry Nottingham, HBS guy said it is similar enough to #1028.
Think I should pitch it?
Think I should pitch it?
Quick question(maybe). I am confused about the amount of water used for sparging. I see that 4.06 gal. of 170* water is added to the full grain bill to bring it to 158*. Then, after 45 min, I will add 2.5 gal 206* water to bring the total to 6.56 gal of 175* water. However, doesn't my grain retain its weight in water? If so, when I drain this out of my mash tun, won't I be missing 13 lbs of wort? And don't I want to start at 7gal preboil to end at 5 gal of wort? Am I missing something or am I supposed to just keep rinsing the grain until I have reached my 7 gal mark?
gcdowd
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I've found that in my system, the grain absorption is about 0.12 gallons per pound of grain, YMMV of course. So for a 10 pound grain bill, that would be 1.2 gallons of water lost to absorption. If my pre-boil volume is 7 gallons, then I would start with 8.2 total gallons of water, split between mash water and sparge water.
dhadley said:
I've never had more absorption than .32 gal per pound.
I think I got confused between no sparge and batch sparge. Am I draining after each addition of water?
So, I will toss in the grains, add 4 gal of water, wait 45 min vorlauf and drain?. Then I add the 2.5 gal vorlauf and drain again? How do I get to 7 gal then? I feel like I'm missing a step.
So, I will toss in the grains, add 4 gal of water, wait 45 min vorlauf and drain?. Then I add the 2.5 gal vorlauf and drain again? How do I get to 7 gal then? I feel like I'm missing a step.
gcdowd
Well-Known Member
Skip the mash out and just batch sparge with enough water to get you to your pre boil volume.
thekage
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Notes from brewing, 8 gallon batch
Brewed 7/28/13
Sg 1.060
Dark in color, like very dark tea to med roast coffee, tastes very sweet, earthy, coffee chocolate and tea
Split batch into 2 four gallon batches, pitched one with 1272, one us05
9/24/13
1272, fg 1.014 - smells of coffee with slight hoppy resin and sulfur, medium brown in color, slight transpance, tastes of coffee, earthy roastiness, slight sweetness, not much hop presence, very light body, dry
Us05, fg 1.018 -earthy fungus smell, almost soy sauce, much less roast on the nose, slightly darker, no hop taste with balanced sweetness with a soy sauce umami, more body
Blended half and half, nice toasty umami with good mouthfeel and balanced sweetness
Can't wait to get this carbed up
Brewed 7/28/13
Sg 1.060
Dark in color, like very dark tea to med roast coffee, tastes very sweet, earthy, coffee chocolate and tea
Split batch into 2 four gallon batches, pitched one with 1272, one us05
9/24/13
1272, fg 1.014 - smells of coffee with slight hoppy resin and sulfur, medium brown in color, slight transpance, tastes of coffee, earthy roastiness, slight sweetness, not much hop presence, very light body, dry
Us05, fg 1.018 -earthy fungus smell, almost soy sauce, much less roast on the nose, slightly darker, no hop taste with balanced sweetness with a soy sauce umami, more body
Blended half and half, nice toasty umami with good mouthfeel and balanced sweetness
Can't wait to get this carbed up
I started with 1.074, checked gravity yesterday after a week and it is at 1.024. Visible fermentation only lasted about 3-4 days, and I was worried it had stalled, but maybe since it is so dark I just couldn't see it, compared to the other less opaque brews I've done. Sample was really good too, after just a week. I'm relieved it is fermenting nicely.
How much gravity will the lactose and malto-dextrine add? I need to learn more about gravity, there must be a way to calculate how much higher I can expect the FG to be with extra non-fermentable sugar in the wort...
How much gravity will the lactose and malto-dextrine add? I need to learn more about gravity, there must be a way to calculate how much higher I can expect the FG to be with extra non-fermentable sugar in the wort...
@BierMuncher -
Thanks for the recipe! The wife loves it with French Vanilla coffee and has requested another batch asap..
The only variation I'm making on the second batch is increasing the caramel/crystal & chocolate to 1.25lbs and increasing the caramel/crystal to 60L (from 40L). Should be tasty!
Thanks for the recipe! The wife loves it with French Vanilla coffee and has requested another batch asap..
The only variation I'm making on the second batch is increasing the caramel/crystal & chocolate to 1.25lbs and increasing the caramel/crystal to 60L (from 40L). Should be tasty!
casesensative
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I have a question on this recipe. I am going to brew this one up, but I'm going to push the ABV up a bit and brew a sort of 'Imperial' version of this.
The original 5 gallon recipe (via beersmith) estimates the OG at 1.066 (at 70% eff) and the FG at 1.018. (6.4%) It also estimates the bitterness at 8.7 IBU
I took the original recipe and scaled it to 3 gallons and also scaled up my ABV to where I wanted it to be. It currently estimates the OG at 1.078 and the FG at 1.018. (7.2%). Now I was curious if I should up the bitterness just a bit to balance the increase in gravity and if so, how much should I increase it by? Keep in mind that I am not a fan of bitter beers either, but I also know there has to be a nice balance. I also plan on adding coffee and vanilla bean into the secondary.
Thanks for any input!
The original 5 gallon recipe (via beersmith) estimates the OG at 1.066 (at 70% eff) and the FG at 1.018. (6.4%) It also estimates the bitterness at 8.7 IBU
I took the original recipe and scaled it to 3 gallons and also scaled up my ABV to where I wanted it to be. It currently estimates the OG at 1.078 and the FG at 1.018. (7.2%). Now I was curious if I should up the bitterness just a bit to balance the increase in gravity and if so, how much should I increase it by? Keep in mind that I am not a fan of bitter beers either, but I also know there has to be a nice balance. I also plan on adding coffee and vanilla bean into the secondary.
Thanks for any input!
OP
OP
Get your IBU's between 10-11 and you should maintain the original recipe bitterness profile.
casesensative
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Well, brewed this one up the other night. Didn't quite hit the numbers I was looking for, as I didn't get quite the effeciency I wanted. I think I shouldve mashed for longer than the 45 mins stated in the recipe, but I still ended up at 1.064 OG. Then I pitched some us-o4 from a previous pumpkin beer. It still hasn't begun fermentation yet (16 hours later), but maybe its ok. I think I'm just spoiled as my last few beers have taken off within the first 2-3 hours. Will report back and update on how this one turns out.
Going to brew this in a couple of weeks. I'm thinking about replacing some of the pale malt with Grade B maple syrup. Can anyone advise me on what a good percentage would be and how much less pale malt I should use in proportion?
Also considering racking on to vanilla beans and cacao beans in a secondary. Has anyone done something similar?
Thanks in advance!
Also considering racking on to vanilla beans and cacao beans in a secondary. Has anyone done something similar?
Thanks in advance!
casesensative
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Well unfortunately this never kicked off. I had tried to pitch some yeast off of a previous pumpkin beer, but i didn't want to just throw the beer right on top of the slurry like i usually do because it had a bunch of pumpkin trub...so i attempted a wash by putting some sterile/boiled water in (after cooling) shaking it up, then pouring into another sterlized container...i then put sterlized tinfoil on top, and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge to get the rest of the trub to drop out. Once the beer was ready to pitch I pitched the top liquid into the fermenter. Nothing ever kicked off, and now two days later I went and grabbed a pack of us-04 and rehydrated. As I went to pitch tho it looks like a small infection may have grabbed hold of it as there is an oil slick looking sheen on the top surface, and I had a stout get an infection before and it had a similar smell to it. I'm pretty bummed about it, but I pitched the new 04 anyways just to see what happens.
I don't think this beer has any chance, unfortunately. I think I'm gonna stop trying to wash and re-use yeast because I've never had very good luck with it.
I don't think this beer has any chance, unfortunately. I think I'm gonna stop trying to wash and re-use yeast because I've never had very good luck with it.
crusader1612
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some of the yeast would have dropped out you should have seen a slightly different coloured layer on top of turn and pitched that.casesensative said:
If I was me I would have washed again dropped most of the trub out keep the creamy layer and pitch
casesensative
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Well when i first shook it up in the fermenter i let it settle too. Then i poured off the top layer, and let settle again. So essentially i did let it settle twice. After no ferm for 36-40 hours i went and got a new pack of 04 rehydrated it and pitched. Its finally going now, so it may turn out after all. Only time will tell.
If you read back in the thread a few pages, this thing started off very slow for me as well (72 hours +). I think that the higher gravity OG and most likely less than effective aerating (for me not saying for anyone else, I do the light cap and shake vigorously method) contributes to this getting off to a slow start. Once it did get going it took off, but I was worried as well.
On to a different topic, this beer tasted like soy sauce at 1 month, so I plugged it back into a carboy and plan on sitting on it for a few months. I also added 2 vanilla beans and a good chunk of bourbon as insurance
On to a different topic, this beer tasted like soy sauce at 1 month, so I plugged it back into a carboy and plan on sitting on it for a few months. I also added 2 vanilla beans and a good chunk of bourbon as insurance
casesensative
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Racked this to secondary last night for a Jack Daniels/Vanilla Bean, and a Coffee addition. Gravity was only down to 1.026 but OMG. It tasted like heaven. I put it in my ferm chamber at 60F for secondary. I'm almost hoping it doesn't even ferment anymore because it tastes so amazing right where it's at.
Tomcat0304
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Hmmm...
Brewed this on 9/22.
OG: 1.068, mashed 158* for 60 minutes (finished at 156*). Started fermentation at 60*, 9/27 increased temp to 66*. Took a gravity reading today (10/5) and it read 1.031...
I haven't used Malto-Dextrine before, so I'm not sure how much unfermentable sugar it adds. I guess I'll rouse the yeast back up to see what it can do before taking any further steps. If it doesn't come down any further, should I pitch some S05?
Brewed this on 9/22.
OG: 1.068, mashed 158* for 60 minutes (finished at 156*). Started fermentation at 60*, 9/27 increased temp to 66*. Took a gravity reading today (10/5) and it read 1.031...
I haven't used Malto-Dextrine before, so I'm not sure how much unfermentable sugar it adds. I guess I'll rouse the yeast back up to see what it can do before taking any further steps. If it doesn't come down any further, should I pitch some S05?
casesensative
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Taste it right where its at, this thing tastes pretty amazing with some sweetness left in it.
Tomcat0304
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casesensative said:
Thanks casesensitive, I did taste the sample and thought it was still sweet for what I was expecting from it; but again, I haven't used Malto before so maybe it is done.
I tried my first bottle of my first batch of this last night. I don't remember the exact volume I ended with, but it was around 4 gallons. I used a packet of 4.5 oz of priming sugar from my brew store, the amount they say is standard for a 5-gal batch. I don't know the exact numbers, but I know porter is not supposed to be carbed as much as lighter styles, and I had less than 5 gallons. I left some of the sugar out - I didn't use all 4.5 oz - but I don't have a scale so I just eyeballed and guessed at leaving out about 1/5th of the sugar.
Anyway, this porter tastes great, as I expected, but it is way over-carbed. It really makes a big difference in enjoying it. I am mad at myself for making a stupid mistake that made such a big difference. After mashing, boiling, fermenting, bottling it all, etc, just using a little extra sugar at the end made a dramatic difference in the final beer.
So I'm getting myself a scale and never going to 'guess' at anything again!
And I guess I'll just open the bottles and let them sit for 1/2 an hour before I drink them. Won't be perfect, but it'll be better than nothing...
Anyway, this porter tastes great, as I expected, but it is way over-carbed. It really makes a big difference in enjoying it. I am mad at myself for making a stupid mistake that made such a big difference. After mashing, boiling, fermenting, bottling it all, etc, just using a little extra sugar at the end made a dramatic difference in the final beer.
So I'm getting myself a scale and never going to 'guess' at anything again!
And I guess I'll just open the bottles and let them sit for 1/2 an hour before I drink them. Won't be perfect, but it'll be better than nothing...
casesensative
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I think what you could do is let them warm up (if they arent already) and crack em open to degass them and recap. Should let some of the co2 out of the solution.
OP
OP
90 minutes on thisrecipe would dry the beer out too much. A shorter mash time insures an adequate amount of non fermentable sugars that will give the beer the required sweetness and creamy mouthfeel. I reserve 90 minute mash times for beers that I want to attentuate as low as possible, like crisp summer ales.
Here's a read on controlling attenuation through mash times.
Cider123
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Hey thanks BierMuncher! I appreciate the info. I just bought the ingredients for this brew. I decided to follow it exactly as given for at least the first time. The only deviation I have is the yeast, where I'll be using my West Yorkshire Wyeast instead of dry. It is what I've been using for all my browns, bitters and milds.
I do BIAB and typically only do one step mash and no mash out. I am still learning the details of multi step mashes, mash times, and such. I was planning on only mashing the one step at 158F. Maybe I'll do a 60 min mash which would be the 45 plus the 15 mash out. I'm told that a mash out is not necessary for BIAB.
I do BIAB and typically only do one step mash and no mash out. I am still learning the details of multi step mashes, mash times, and such. I was planning on only mashing the one step at 158F. Maybe I'll do a 60 min mash which would be the 45 plus the 15 mash out. I'm told that a mash out is not necessary for BIAB.
Sudz
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Someone sent me a private message regarding the ferment temp I apparently posted regarding this brew. I'm setting up a new laptop and fat fingered the message into places unknown.
I'm not generally rude and frequently incompetent but it may appear this is the case....
I had apparently stated I fermented this beer at 60*F somewhere. I don't recall this number unfortunately and assume it was something I picked up from this forum. I typically ferment most of my brews between 65 and 68*F. I'll check my notes tonight and add to this if I find something noteworthy.
Sorry for the dropped ball on my message... whoever you are.
I'm not generally rude and frequently incompetent but it may appear this is the case....
I had apparently stated I fermented this beer at 60*F somewhere. I don't recall this number unfortunately and assume it was something I picked up from this forum. I typically ferment most of my brews between 65 and 68*F. I'll check my notes tonight and add to this if I find something noteworthy.
Sorry for the dropped ball on my message... whoever you are.
So i brewed this beer 3 years ago to this month and just cracked open my last bottle. Couldn't believe it, but just as delicious as it was in 2010, 2011 and 2012! So let this be proof that this beer doesn't really age ANY BETTER at this point, but still tastes great! I am brewing on Thursday and a mate and I decided on a porter, but I was having a hard time deciding what to brew. I now have my answer!
