Poll... need an opinion

Now that my Pale Ale is in secondary, I have an empty fermenter and I'm ready for round 2, but I'm not sure what to brew.

I usually drink Sam Adams Boston Lager and Brooklyn Lager, but have been getting used to the Ales lately. I like Harpoon IPA, and really enjoyed Fuller's London Porter. I drank two brown ales...Newcaste and Brooklyn, and I wasnt crazy about either. I had the Amber Ale at Natty Greene's Brewing Co. in North Carolina over the Thanksgiving Break and I really enjoyed it.

I'm planning to buy another extract kit this weekend, but can't decide what to brew. Based on this info, should I brew a:

A. IPA - 1
B. Porter - 2
C. Amber Ale - 0

People...your vote counts! LOL...

IPA. You need to get into the hoppier shyte.

Porter. Roasty but smooth for the cold winter months. A very forgiving style to brew. Different from the pale ale (there's some overlap between IPAs and pale ales, as well as between amber ales and pale ales).

I see your future...

Cold winter night...snow flurries outside...crackling fire inside...a nice bowl of beef stew with some crusty bread...and a nice smooth porter to wash it down.

Incidentally, where's the poll? You want/need me to add one for you?

I was tallying it manually above... ghetto, I know, but it works. It would be cool to have a real poll, though. That's really cool of you... thanks!

Is that something I could have done?

Thanks! Okay people...vote! So far the porter is winning...

Single Decoction 3068 Hefe.

Get yer malt on!

Porter or IPA get my vote. The IPA will finish out a bit faster (depending on your recipe) AND you get to pretend you are using a ridiculous amount of hops per batch!

Looks like it's going to be Nader-Jenkem! Don't forget the corn adjunct...

Imperial stout!! It will be worth the wait.

(Damn it cheesefood, now I am deeply disturbed everytime I see you! For God's sake change your avatar man!!! lol)

Although the porter is giving it a run for its money!

Porter for sure...

8.00 lb Maris Otter 2-row (6.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Special Roast (50.0 SRM)
1.50 oz Northern Brewer [7.00 %] (60 min)
0.50 oz Northern Brewer [7.00 %] (10 min)
1.02 lb Brown Sugar, Dark
1 Pkgs Nottingham Yeast

"It's beginning to look a lot like Porter". It's the season for it!

Porter. Porter. Porter. Porter.

Just keep your primary full man. I mean keep it full until you got a closet full of aging beer and the people at the recycling center are expecting invites to your spring equinox party.

An IPA will get out of primary and into bottle spretyt quick. So will an amber. The porter should tie up your secondary a little longer.

I say IPA, Amber, than Porter. When you get the Porter under a lock in primary ferment, then try the Pale you have in secodary right now that isn't going to be ready to bottle yet this weekend.

No offense, maybe you could go find another two cases of bottles before you take another picture of that Pale that is coming along just fine?

I'll go vote now. The pics are actually kind of a good thing, someday you will be directing newer n00bs to that thread and saying with confidence how that first batch of pale you made came out great. Your not going to be bottling it before Dec 8 I bet.

So porter it is. I'm going to order this one:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/docs/kis-html/1091.html

Will this get me close to a Fuller's London Porter?

Midwestsupplies has a "Power Porter" with more fermentables:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=7475

What do you think? (NO NEED FOR A POLL HERE... LOL)

IvanTheTerrible said:

So porter it is. I'm going to order this one:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/docs/kis-html/1091.html

Will this get me close to a Fuller's London Porter?

Midwestsupplies has a "Power Porter" with more fermentables:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=7475

What do you think? (NO NEED FOR A POLL HERE... LOL)

Click to expand...

I like the looks of the Power Porter more. The northernbrewer recipe will be closer to London Porter. Do you want Robust or Brown?

Whats the difference? Forgive my ignorence...

I like the hops and Crystal that midwest uses. The Cascades in the NB recipe don't sound good to me. The 120L Crystal in the midwest should be nice. I love 120L...

Seems to me based on your description of what you like and what you don't like you'd be happier with an IPA. I like the porter better myself but doesn't mean you will.

I voted for Jenkem because I just know that sooner or later, we're going to get some 18 year old kid on here asking how to brew raspberry jenkem.

Seriously though, this time of year I'd go with a nice robust porter. I've got mine sitting in secondary right now and going to keg on Friday. I can't carb that sucker fast enough.

ohiobrewtus said:

Seriously though, this time of year I'd go with a nice robust porter. I've got mine sitting in secondary right now and going to keg on Friday. I can't carb that sucker fast enough.

Click to expand...

Whats the difference between a robust porter and a regular one? Is a Fullers London Porter robust or regular?

In the spectrum (in my mind) if a Porter is somewhere between an ale and a stout, I would prefer it to be closer to an ale. I can drink a stout once in a while, but not 50 bottles of it. Thats why I asked about the NB Porter vs the Power Porter from Midwest.

The Robust Porters are pretty much more robust than Brown Porters. Everything is more pronounced in the Robust. Stouts are ales, but if you mean you'd prefer Porters to be more like Pale Ales then you might not like Porters. They're closer to Stouts...

I like porters, but I understand Porters are a step below Stouts...which I also like but not as much as ales. I like the Fuller's Porter because it wasnt as rich and coffee-ish as a stout, if that makes sense.

If I am understanding correctly, that probably means I shouldnt go with a Robust Porter and should stick to a regular one.

This is more complicated than my mortgage...

IvanTheTerrible said:

I like porters, but I understand Porters are a step below Stouts...which I also like but not as much as ales. I like the Fuller's Porter because it wasnt as rich and coffee-ish as a stout, if that makes sense.

If I am understanding correctly, that probably means I shouldnt go with a Robust Porter and should stick to a regular one.

This is more complicated than my mortgage...

Click to expand...

What do you mean by "ales"? I assumed you meant Pale Ale, but Porters/Stouts/Browns/etc are all ales. If you don't like coffee or rich characteristics, then go with the Northern Brewer recipe...

Thats exactly want I meant... I dont prefer the coffee/rich characteristics... Northern Brewer it is!

Thanks for helping me articulate that!
-I

IvanTheTerrible said:

Thats exactly want I meant... I dont prefer the coffee/rich characteristics... Northern Brewer it is!

Thanks for helping me articulate that!
-I

Click to expand...

No problem, hope you enjoy it. I love me some Porters