Tell me what you think of my Porter recipe

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ericd

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Can only do about 8lbs of grain with my current equipment thus the extract. Do you think there's too much going on, or is it fine?

4 Gallon Batch.

2.00 lb Pilsner Liquid Extract (3.5 SRM) Extract 20.6 %
4.10 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 42.2 %
1.13 lb Marris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 11.6 %
0.67 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 6.9 %
0.61 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.3 %
0.57 lb Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 5.9 %
0.34 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3.5 %
0.22 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.3 %

0.80 oz Northern Brewer [8.50%] (60 min) Hops 36.3 IBU
0.54 oz Fuggles [4.50%] (20 min) Hops 4.4 IBU
0.58 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (5 min) Hops 2.6 IBU

0.08 lb Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM) Sugar 0.8 %

1 Pkgs English Ale Blend (White Labs #WLP085) Yeast-Ale
 
I would cut out the Marris Otter, at that small percentage it won't be contributing much at all. Also, pilsner extract may not be the way to go, I would select a pale or extra pale extract instead, but that isn't a huge deal. I may also increase the Muncih malt, perhaps to fill in what is lost by removing the MO, because again at that low amount you won't notice much from it.

Any reason for the really odd amounts for all the ingredients and 4 gallons instead of 5?
 
Is it just me, or is this a "Kitchen Sink Porter"? ;)

No worries if it is. I was also going to comment on the overly-complex grist until I looked again at some of the amounts. It'll make beer, though probably a difficult beer to reproduce.

If it isn't, if you designed this grist, let's talk about KISS. ;)

You can brew a beer of great complexity from a simple grist. In the case of Robust Porter, you really only need four ingredients: Pale, Crystal, Chocolate and Black Patent Malts. The complexities lie in the proportions and how you mash them.

For example, if you mash cool, you'll have a thinner, more fermentable wort, where hotter temperatures enhance dextrinous body. Where you would use Munich or Melanoidin malt, consult your thermometer instead.

If you fiddle with the specialty malts proportions, you get different flavors. The inclusion of 120L Crystal is an interesting touch; just don't overdo it. As a matter of fact, don't overdo anything - Porter, while complex, should be a spectrum of flavors. No one flavor should even stand out, much less dominate. So recognize your ingredients! Black Patent is powerful, and can easily overwhelm everything else. Crystal, especially 120L, can overwhelm the roasted malts. Most good Porters - including mine - have the same amount of Crystal and Chocolate malts, with half that proportion of Black Patent. (In other words, Crystal and Chocolate are 7% of the grist each, Black Patent is 3.5%.) You've added 120L, which means you should probably knock back the 60L slightly.

Lastly, the pale malt chosen can have a profound effect on the beer. Even with all those strongly-flavored specialty grains, the difference between Pilsner malt and Maris Otter malt can make or break the Porter. Pils malt has a much different 'maltiness' than the bready, crackery Maris Otter - but in order to get the flavors of Maris Otter, it's got to be the base malt. Using US 2-row really gives the other flavors a place to shine.

You can still use the extract you listed; it's extract, and won't have that big an effect on the finished Porter.

Porter is a fun style, giving great room for a brewer to show his skill. A demonstration of skill is different, of course, from throwing a bunch of ingredients together. ;)

Enjoy!
 
I'd be inclined to dump the MO and just use more 2-row. And there isn't any reason to use Pilsner extract, unless that's what you have around. But, if you brew it as-is, it will be fine.
 
I just used pils extract because beersmith didn't have EL LME...I was going to use that though.

I'll post a revised recipe later.
 
How does this look? I cleaned it up and simplified it a bit.

2.00 lb Extra Light Liquid Extract (3.5 SRM) Extract 20.0 %
5.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 55.1 %
0.75 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 7.5 %
0.66 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.6 %
0.50 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 5.0 %
0.33 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3.3 %
0.25 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2.5 %

0.80 oz Fuggles [4.50%] (60 min) Hops 19.6 IBU
0.55 oz Fuggles [4.50%] (20 min) Hops 4.5 IBU
0.55 oz Fuggles [4.50%] (5 min) Hops 2.3 IBU

0.50 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1.00 items BrewVint (Boil 10.0 min) Misc

1 Pkgs British Ale Blend (White Labs #WLP085) Yeast-Ale
 
Muncih has to be mashed, so if you don't plan on using more than 1/2 lb, I would toss it. It will make your steeping process easier without it, and at 1/2 lb it isn't going to contribute much of anything. It's not like the specialty grains that don't require large amounts to get the desired affect, it is a base grain that can be used for up to 100% of the grain bill.

If you don't want to toss it, I would suggest at least doubling it to get any flavor out of it. Also, you are going to need to keep a close eye on your mash temp, and make sure it stays between about 148 and 158 for about 45-60 minutes to make sure you convert all the starch to sugar. Unless you plan on using a couple pounds, I would just toss it.
 
Muncih has to be mashed, so if you don't plan on using more than 1/2 lb, I would toss it. It will make your steeping process easier without it, and at 1/2 lb it isn't going to contribute much of anything.

You have 2.5lbs of grain, but only .5 is base grain.
He is using 5.5 pounds of Pale Malt, That's his Base.

I think he's doing an AG batch, Just didn't have the room for all the grains he needed for his desired OG. Thus adding the extract after the mash.
Can only do about 8lbs of grain with my current equipment thus the extract.
 
I think he's doing an AG batch, Just didn't have the room for all the grains he needed for his desired OG. Thus adding the extract after the mash.

Oh ya, I forget about the Pale Malt, I was thinking pale extract for some reason. Disregard my enzymes comments, everything else I said is still fine.

EDIT: Fixed
 
yes but I wouldn't recommend shooting for a mash temp between "about 148 and 158". Might want to be a little more specific. Maybe around 156 +-1 or 2°F

* Just bustin' balls Barley Water* :mug:
 
What if I split the difference between the munich, marris otter, and pale 2-row and went with 5.5 lbs of vienna? Would that be better?
 
yes but I wouldn't recommend shooting for a mash temp between "about 148 and 158". Might want to be a little more specific. Maybe around 156 +-1 or 2°F

* Just bustin' balls Barley Water* :mug:

Well, pick a temp in that range and hold it there, I usually go with around 154, but whatever. :cross:

Neither Munich nor Vienna really belong in a porter recipe, those grains are from Germany and porter is a very English beer in origin. I just add some Munich to mine because I love Munich malt and it rounds out the flavor in dark beers. I use mainly 2-row with a pound or so of Munich. That being said, vienne malt may make a nice porter, I've never tried it.
 
So what about upping the munich to 1.5 and getting rid of the Marris Otter?
 
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