American Porter Bert Grant's Perfect Porter tribute

ooguyx said:

When purchasing the ingredients I went with McCormicks Vanilla Extract, any difference I should be aware of or compensate for?

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the McCormicks would be a imitation vanilla extract, you really want to get the real thing. If that was your only option I wouldn't use it.

If you have a cost plus (world market) near you, try getting some there.

do you use a Teaspoon or Tablesoop of vannila extract? HB you have tsp and Gomb has tbs...just getting ready to move my into secondary and dont want to over do it.

DOTY said:

do you use a Teaspoon or Tablesoop of vannila extract? HB you have tsp and Gomb has tbs...just getting ready to move my into secondary and dont want to over do it.

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I honestly can't remember now but am about to put it in myself. I am going to start out with a tsp and go from there. I am just going to put it in the keg before I fill it.

I used a tbs. Of course that batch got a wicked infection that I bottled anyways. After bottles started blowing caps I dumped the batch and haven't tried again.

Sampling batch #3 tonight, I think it is spot on with the original and darn tasty.

I filled a 3RD keg with only a gallon in it with some fresh mint and it is great too. I think I'll fill the second full keg with mint too.

DOTY said:

do you use a Teaspoon or Tablesoop of vannila extract? HB you have tsp and Gomb has tbs...just getting ready to move my into secondary and dont want to over do it.

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I put a teaspoon in and it doesn't seem to be enough, I can't really pick any of it out. I say go for a tablespoon.

So I let this sit in primary for 3 weeks and this morning when I went to rack I saw this on top. Is it something I should be worried about?
As you can see my daughter is nervously awaiting the response.

ooguyx said:

So I let this sit in primary for 3 weeks and this morning when I went to rack I saw this on top. Is it something I should be worried about?
As you can see my daughter is nervously awaiting the response.

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that does look pretty strange especially after 3 weeks I would think any funny looking stuff would fall out. There is only one way to find out though. Do you have a bigger picture too?

I do have a bigger picture. Too big for here. You can see it at www.yeahmartin.com/porter_0001.jpg

ooguyx said:

I do have a bigger picture. Too big for here. You can see it at www.yeahmartin.com/porter_0001.jpg

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it all looks similar to what is on the wall or what is hopefully just the krauzen still going down. Hard to believe it is still do that at 3 weeks but what temp is it at? Did you use WLP028, this is a medium flocer so it may need help with time or temp to completely fall out.

Its been at 72F for the whole time. I did use the WLP028. I racked it, so do you think I should up the temp?

ooguyx said:

Its been at 72F for the whole time. I did use the WLP028. I racked it, so do you think I should up the temp?

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72 is fine, white labs say 65-70 during the ferment but it is good to have it a little above toward the end to help it finish.

Did you take a gravity reading?

Man... this beer looks good! I love the idea of a touch of smoke sitting over all that caramel and chocolate flavor. The dab of vanilla will help keep the smoke and bitter chocolate balanced too I think.

I'm gonna have to do an extract batch for my next beer. I used Hopville's calculator, too, and got slightly different amounts. I based mine on percentages and OG...

5# Light LME 72.1%
6oz Light DME 5.41%
12oz Choc Malt 10.8%
11oz Crystal 40L 9.9%
1oz Peated Malt 0.9%
1oz Black Patent 0.9%

1oz Willamette 5.5%AA 60 min 19 IBU
1oz Willamette 5.5%AA 15 min 9.4 IBU

Calc. OG= 1.048
Calc. FG= 1.013
Calc. IBU= 28.4
Calc. ABV= 4.7% WLP028
Color = 32 SRM


Sounds absolutely delicious.

Jakemo said:

Man... this beer looks good! I love the idea of a touch of smoke sitting over all that caramel and chocolate flavor. The dab of vanilla will help keep the smoke and bitter chocolate balanced too I think.

I'm gonna have to do an extract batch for my next beer. I used Hopville's calculator, too, and got slightly different amounts. I based mine on percentages and OG...

5# Light LME 72.1%
6oz Light DME 5.41%
12oz Choc Malt 10.8%
11oz Crystal 40L 9.9%
1oz Peated Malt 0.9%
1oz Black Patent 0.9%

1oz Willamette 5.5%AA 60 min 19 IBU
1oz Willamette 5.5%AA 15 min 9.4 IBU

Calc. OG= 1.048
Calc. FG= 1.013
Calc. IBU= 28.4
Calc. ABV= 4.7% WLP028
Color = 32 SRM


Sounds absolutely delicious.

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looks pretty good, let me know how it turns out.

ooguyx, how did it turn out for you? Is it drinkable?

I've been brewing this beer for several years now. It's my wife's favorite beer and now is my standard house porter.
It might be a tad sweeter than what Grant's, but we like it that way.

Other things I do.. I do add chocolate. Again, you don't NEED to, but I add it at the end of the boil and I think it adds complexity and makes this much more chocolaty. The special B is something I added recently. I like the addition it brings.. YMMV. This is not a robust porter. but a very chocolaty brown porter. Very drinkable. You can easily skip the lactose, chocolate and special B and I think you're very close to Grant's Perfect Porter. I might even add a bit more chocolate malt in though!


Style: Brown Porter
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 10.50 gal
Boil Size: 13.26 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 42.7 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.4 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 74.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
14.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 69.57 %
2.50 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 11.99 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.80 %
1.00 lb Special B Malt (180.0 SRM) Grain 4.80 %
0.50 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.40 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2.40 %
0.50 lb Peat Smoked Malt (2.8 SRM) Grain 2.40 %
2.50 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 21.4 IBU
4.00 oz Cocoa Powder (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
0.34 lb Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 1.65 %
2 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 20.50 lb
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
45 min Mash In Add 30.75 qt of water at 174.6 F 158.0 F

The wife and I both love porters, and this looks like an awesome recipe. So, I'll be brewing this TOMORROW!

Did a couple AG with friends that were more knowledgable than I, but this will be the first time I do it on my own. Actually going to try BIAB, and will decide based on the results whether or not I like the method.

Here's what I'm doing, assuming low efficiency. I've also got some DME in case my efficiency is REALLY low. If for some reason the efficiency ends up higher, then I'll pull some wort out to use for yeast starters in the future, and add water to lower the gravity.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.5 gal
Boil Size: 8.0 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050
Estimated SRM: 38
Estimated IBU: 25
Brewhouse Efficiency: 64%
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Estimated FG: 1.012
Estimated ABV: 5.1%
Estimated Attenuation: 76%

Ingredients:
------------
9.00 lb Pale 2 Row
1.31 lb Chocolate Malt
1.19 lb Crystal 40
0.19 lb Black Patent
0.19 lb Peated Malt
0.75 oz Williamette Pellets, 4.8%, 90 min
0.75 oz Williamette Pellets, 4.8%, 15 min
White Labs Dry English Ale WLP007 (70-80% Attenuation)

Mash Schedule:
----------------------------
20 min Protein Rest @ 120 degrees
60 min Mash @ 155 degrees
10 min Mash Out @ 170 degrees

usfmikeb said:

The wife and I both love porters, and this looks like an awesome recipe. So, I'll be brewing this TOMORROW!

Did a couple AG with friends that were more knowledgable than I, but this will be the first time I do it on my own. Actually going to try BIAB, and will decide based on the results whether or not I like the method.

Here's what I'm doing, assuming low efficiency. I've also got some DME in case my efficiency is REALLY low. If for some reason the efficiency ends up higher, then I'll pull some wort out to use for yeast starters in the future, and add water to lower the gravity.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.5 gal
Boil Size: 8.0 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050
Estimated SRM: 38
Estimated IBU: 25
Brewhouse Efficiency: 64%
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Estimated FG: 1.012
Estimated ABV: 5.1%
Estimated Attenuation: 76%

Ingredients:
------------
9.00 lb Pale 2 Row
1.31 lb Chocolate Malt
1.19 lb Crystal 40
0.19 lb Black Patent
0.19 lb Peated Malt
0.75 oz Williamette Pellets, 4.8%, 90 min
0.75 oz Williamette Pellets, 4.8%, 15 min
White Labs Dry English Ale WLP007 (70-80% Attenuation)

Mash Schedule:
----------------------------
20 min Protein Rest @ 120 degrees
60 min Mash @ 155 degrees
10 min Mash Out @ 170 degrees

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Looks good but remember the yeast plays a big role in this beer and if you can get the Edinburgh yeast wlp028 I would

Already had the Dry English yeast, and made it with that. I'll try the Edinburgh in the next batch for comparison.

I'm brewing my extract version this coming weekend, the finalized recipe I'm going with is:

Calc. OG: 1.045
Calc. FG: 1.012
Calc. ABV: 4.4%
Calc. IBU: 25 IBU
------Grains------
5# light LME
12oz Choc Malt
10oz Crystal 40L
1.5oz Breiss Cherry-Smoked Malt (thought it would be an interesting twist
1oz Carafa III Debittered Black Malt

------Hops------
50min Willamette 4.8% AA
15min Willamette 4.8% AA
10min 1oz Irish moss

------Other------
Yeast: WLP028 Edinburgh Scottish Ale Yeast
-----------------------------------------

Question!
I want to add vanilla to this, as per the original recipe, but can't decide how much. I've seen mention of 1 tablespoon, but a lot of other beers use 1oz. Also, add in primary? Or bottling?

Jakemo said:

I'm brewing my extract version this coming weekend, the finalized recipe I'm going with is:

Calc. OG: 1.045
Calc. FG: 1.012
Calc. ABV: 4.4%
Calc. IBU: 25 IBU
------Grains------
5# light LME
12oz Choc Malt
10oz Crystal 40L
1.5oz Breiss Cherry-Smoked Malt (thought it would be an interesting twist
1oz Carafa III Debittered Black Malt

------Hops------
50min Willamette 4.8% AA
15min Willamette 4.8% AA
10min 1oz Irish moss

------Other------
Yeast: WLP028 Edinburgh Scottish Ale Yeast
-----------------------------------------

Question!
I want to add vanilla to this, as per the original recipe, but can't decide how much. I've seen mention of 1 tablespoon, but a lot of other beers use 1oz. Also, add in primary? Or bottling?

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That will be a good beer

I would say 1 tbsp you want it to be subtle

Yep, gonna be brewing this recipe this weekend. I was gonna do my smoked porter (really close to Stone's) this weekend but I think this will fill my Peated needs. Sounds great.

very nice, just had some last night after not having it for a few weeks. Still got a great smoke flavor with plenty of chocolate.

That's exactly what im looking for. Made my yeast starter last night as well and ready to go tonight. I was stoked my LHBS had the Edinburgh too.

Finally brewed my batch yesterday, it smelled and looked amazing. I didn't actually taste it yet haha. I learned something very important yesterday, though, that I hadn't even previously considered.

When the time came to pitch the yeast, my friend wanted to do it. He started slowly opening the vial of Edinburgh, and it let out a little "hiss." I didn't think or expect it to be pressurized/carbonated, so I told him to just open it. About 3/4 of the yeast sprayed/spilled out of the vial. I pitched the rest, probably less than 1/4 of the vial. I didn't feel very good about it, though, so I added a spare packed of Safale S-04 (English) to the wort...

Note to self: OPEN YEAST VIALS SLOWLY hahaha.... lesson learned. I'm sure the beer will still turn out good, since fortunately I had an English ale yeast handy. I'll just have to brew it again soon using WLP028 and open it carefully That way I can see what flavors that yeast gives the beer.

Jakemo said:

Finally brewed my batch yesterday, it smelled and looked amazing. I didn't actually taste it yet haha. I learned something very important yesterday, though, that I hadn't even previously considered.

When the time came to pitch the yeast, my friend wanted to do it. He started slowly opening the vial of Edinburgh, and it let out a little "hiss." I didn't think or expect it to be pressurized/carbonated, so I told him to just open it. About 3/4 of the yeast sprayed/spilled out of the vial. I pitched the rest, probably less than 1/4 of the vial. I didn't feel very good about it, though, so I added a spare packed of Safale S-04 (English) to the wort...

Note to self: OPEN YEAST VIALS SLOWLY hahaha.... lesson learned. I'm sure the beer will still turn out good, since fortunately I had an English ale yeast handy. I'll just have to brew it again soon using WLP028 and open it carefully That way I can see what flavors that yeast gives the beer.

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thanks for letting us know not to open them fast

At least you got a little in there, I am sure that will put in some of that Scottish flavor.

Good news and bad news on my recent extract attemp...

Bad news:

I, for whatever reason, just acknowledged that I don't actually get any additional sugars from steeping grains. So my OG (as measured) is 1.035. I might be able to pull 3.5%abv out of this beer

Good news:

I recently became aware that liquid malt extract has a good deal of unfermentables present, so the beer should hopefully still finish at 1.012-13... which IMHO will be great for retaining some reasonable mouthfeel, necessary for a porter with a strong chocolate flavor.

Okay so due to me being busy (See haveing 2 kids) and letting my pipeline run dry I had to keg this beer at 2 weeks to make more room in my fermentation chamber. Its condition in the keg right now and tomorrow will be 3 weeks. Sooooo, just to make sure it was conditioning okay I had to pull a pint (Ended up being 2) last night and WOW this is one of the best porters I have made to date! The vanilla and peat malt go together like peanut butter and jelly. Really smooth and a head (really small amount due to it not being fully carbed) that lasted till the bottom of the pint.

GOOD JOB Humann Brewing, and thank you for posting this. This will now be my house porter. Next time I brew this I am going to add a hint more of Peat and add the Vanilla extract a few days before I keg. This time I added it when I kegged.

If your a Porter fan like me, I highly recommend brewing this.

**EDIT** No more peat, this Porter is perfect. I had some wild temp changes too before I finished my fermentation chamber, but it still came out outstanding.

After two weeks in primary, mine has now been in secondary for two weeks. Going to check on it today and decide whether to keg or continue to condition. When I racked it over to the secondary, it had a great taste to it, so I'm excited about it. Going to skip the vanilla in this batch, my wife isn't a fan of vanilla porters.

Coldies said:

Okay so due to me being busy (See haveing 2 kids) and letting my pipeline run dry I had to keg this beer at 2 weeks to make more room in my fermentation chamber. Its condition in the keg right now and tomorrow will be 3 weeks. Sooooo, just to make sure it was conditioning okay I had to pull a pint (Ended up being 2) last night and WOW this is one of the best porters I have made to date! The vanilla and peat malt go together like peanut butter and jelly. Really smooth and a head (really small amount due to it not being fully carbed) that lasted till the bottom of the pint.

GOOD JOB Humann Brewing, and thank you for posting this. This will now be my house porter. Next time I brew this I am going to add a hint more of Peat and add the Vanilla extract a few days before I keg. This time I added it when I kegged.

If your a Porter fan like me, I highly recommend brewing this.

**EDIT** No more peat, this Porter is perfect. I had some wild temp changes too before I finished my fermentation chamber, but it still came out outstanding.

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Thanks, being a fairly low gravity, it is a good beer to sample early

usfmikeb said:

After two weeks in primary, mine has now been in secondary for two weeks. Going to check on it today and decide whether to keg or continue to condition. When I racked it over to the secondary, it had a great taste to it, so I'm excited about it. Going to skip the vanilla in this batch, my wife isn't a fan of vanilla porters.

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I don't get a lot of vanilla flavor at ~1 TBSP/5 gallons. The smoke and chocolate are more dominant in that ratio

I added 1 TBSP for 5 gallons at bottling, and the gravity sample that I drank afterward was very strongly vanilla. I'm guessing this is just because it was fresh, and will condition to more of a balance? However, it was REALLY good, even with a very strong vanilla flavor.
I'll pop the first bottle at the end of this week and see how it's doing. I didn't get an FG reading because I didn't have enough that wasn't in bottles Guessing it's about 1.015ish.

Anyone try barrel aging this? There's a vendor selling used barrels in the showcase, and I've been contemplating picking one up.

usfmikeb said:

Anyone try barrel aging this? There's a vendor selling used barrels in the showcase, and I've been contemplating picking one up.

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anything is worth a shot. I don't think this beer would hold up to a long time in on wood. If I was going to try wood, I would probably just do chips in a secondary or something. I am thinking this because of the low gravity but that is not saying it is not worth a try

2 weeks in bottle with about 1/3 cup dextrose to prime...

The vanilla has substantially faded into complexity, the subtle smoke flavor compliments the chocolate very nicely. I chose Cherrywood malt, maybe I'll try Alderwood next time, peat the time after that, then all three! muahahaha

For sitting at about 3.5% abv, this one has a delicious body with some great character. And actually, the low carbonation is a nice compliment to it! I really can't wait to see how it turns out as it continues to condition. I most certainly will be brewing this again.

Great job Humann!

Gonna be brewing this again this weekend. This keg was finished in 10 days.

Jakemo said:

2 weeks in bottle with about 1/3 cup dextrose to prime...

The vanilla has substantially faded into complexity, the subtle smoke flavor compliments the chocolate very nicely. I chose Cherrywood malt, maybe I'll try Alderwood next time, peat the time after that, then all three! muahahaha

For sitting at about 3.5% abv, this one has a delicious body with some great character. And actually, the low carbonation is a nice compliment to it! I really can't wait to see how it turns out as it continues to condition. I most certainly will be brewing this again.

Great job Humann!

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Thanks!

Coldies said:

Gonna be brewing this again this weekend. This keg was finished in 10 days.

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wow, 10 days huh? any help or was that all you?

humann_brewing said:

Thanks!



wow, 10 days huh? any help or was that all you?

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A little bit of help on the last day. We had a BBQ on Sunday and that was a favorite amongst my friends. I just got my RIMS set up so I think this is going to be my trial batch.

Kegged this over the weekend, tasted stellar. We really prefer a drier porter, which was why I went with the Dry English Ale, and am really happy with it. I tasted it cold today, and really enjoyed it. Only going for light carbonation, should be ready to drink in a week.

Adding this into my rotation, and will be doing two batches of it next month. The first will be to replace the batch I just kegged, although I'm out of synch and it will likely be gone by the time this one is ready. The second will be to do a little barrel aging to see how that changes the flavor.

Great recipe!

Im 12 days into my fermentation (2nd batch) and this recipe was my RIMS cherry popper. Its gonna be hard to wait another 20 days for this.

So im lookin at brewin up a nice porter, and the only thing holding me back at all from this recipe is the mash schedule. I have a cooler mash tan, and have been toying with the idea of just doing the mash schedule with decoction, rather than tryin to add water in intervals. Any thoughts on this?

I also was curious about the head retention, i love head retention, and was thinkin of maybe some flaked barley or something of the sort to add to it?