recipe feedback.

Hey yall This is one of my first "built by me" attempts. Just wonted a little feed back.

Style is Robust Porter.
Batch size 5.25 gallons.

6lb extra light DME
8 oz flaked oats
8 0z crisp pale choco malt
8 oz biscuit
4 oz roasted barley
4 oz crisp black malt

1 oz fuggles 60 min
1 oz K goldings 60 min
1 oz k goldings 10 min

yeast danstar nottingham


So basically what do yall think?

I got the ingrediants already, so i guess i will find out either way.

What's the OG projected to be (don't have BeerSmith with me at work)?

My guess is that it might be a little small to be a robust porter, but it looks pretty clean and straighforward to me. Typically, you wouldn't have a ton of hop flavor in a robust porter, but the ounce of Goldings at ten minutes should be fine. Notty can finish a little dry, but that's OK IMHO, too. I'm assuming that you're just steeping, I think the buscuit would really want to be mashed, but it's a small amount and starch haze won't be noticable in a dark beer like this regardless.

Should be good.

I didnt use BeerSmith, I used the brew builder on Brewmasters Warehouse. Acording to it the og should be around 1.057.

Would some lime juice break down the starch?

Im just not going to worry about the haze your right it is a dark beer.

Reddheadedstepchild said:

Would some lime juice break down the starch?

Click to expand...

No, use whirlfloc or irish moss in the boil. Biscuit is best mashed, but steeping will have some effect. Porters generally don't have roasted barley, that makes it more of a stout. That one of the only differentiators between the styles, though it's kind of a grey area still.

Thanks, I happen to have some Irish moss on hand.

"Although a rather broad style open to brewer interpretation, it may be distinguished from Stout as lacking a strong roasted barley character." quoted from the BJCP section for robust porter.


May contain several malts, prominently dark roasted malts and grains, which often include black patent malt (chocolate malt and/or roasted barley may also be used in some versions). " Also quoted from the BJCP section for robust porter.

I guess it really is a gray area because first they say the lack there of is a defineing part and yet the list it in the possible ingredients. Seems like they cant make up their minds. Maybe I'll call this a stout.

I know this is an extract thread...the inclusion of an AG recipe is to illustrate the use of the cara specialty malts and use/non-use of the roasted malts....perhaps you will find it useful, perhaps not...
Just a thought...While your recipe looks inviting; certainly I
would like a couple of pints right now! But, my personal inclination is what I see as the differential diagnostic point, or dividing line betwixt a Porter and a stout...and that is the use of Black Malt, or Patent Malt, or Roasted Barley...the use of which creates a Stout. Of course, in very small amounts, one may be able to observe that other differential sign of a Porter; indeed without this visible indicator, in the finished pint, I do not consider it to be a Porter...and that is the ruby color seen in the bottom corner, when the pint glass is tipped 45 degrees.
So, for my money, I would depend on the Chocolate Malt for base color, and lose the Black Malt and the Roasted Barley, then, for a wee bit more complexity, and softening balance to the use of the highly attenuative Nottingham, use some Cara-Pils, or some Cara-Munich, and the one malt I always use in my Porters, Special-B.....or as I prefer, all of those malts.
Here's a 7 US bbl recipe, knock-out 8.25 bbl, 12.5 Plato...this recipe is limited by state law to 5% ABW, so boost it with more 2 row, and wheat to fatten it up....before using ProMash, or your own preferred brewing software to skinny it down to your homebrew sized batch, make it, then tweak in a second batch to your own taste.
Note the extensive use of Cara-Malts...this adds body, without lots more ETOH...and for my taste, a variety of Cara malts makes for more variety in taste. Of course, all that Cara goes hand in hand with the use of the Nottingham, as attenuative as it is, overcoming what some complain about, that it makes for a thin beer....I feel that kind of response is only made by those who forget it's characteristics. The Nott, as clean a yeast as it is, also allows the malt profile to strut it's stuff...

300 2 Row
50 Wheat
50 Cara-Pils
25 Cara-40
25 Cara-Munich
25 Special-B
25 Chocolate

4 Oz Northern Brewer 9.9% Commencement of Boil (90/60)
22 Oz NB 9.9% 60/60
13 Oz Hersbrucker 4.8% End of Boil
13 Oz Hersbrucker 4.8% End of Whirlpool


You can use this as a base for a nice stout, by adding 25 lbs Roasted Barley, or Roasted Malt or Patent....or make a decent Smoked Porter with 25 lbs of Smoked Malt.
As with any recipe, I always suggest tweaking to taste as the most important step..in other words, YMMV!
Cheers!
Rob Moline
Danstar

Full Disclosure-I answer tech questions sent to the Danstar website.

Thanks for the Imput. So for a porter leave the blacks and brleys alone and aim for caramels.

Brewed this today. let me tell you the hydrometer sample tatsed awsome I am stoked.

tatsed this tonight. Not carbed up all the way but vrry yummy. I cant wait Im prolly gonna use this beer for St Paddys. Also now that the beer is done it is really on the line between porter and stout. I have drank commercial porters that are darker. And it doesnt seem to be thick enuff for a stout.So I decided to call it my POOR STOUT. hehe good comp.

This is a bit late since you've already brewed but maybe some advice/suggestions to take on board for next time.

Firstly I disagree that roast barley and black have no place in a porter. I brew a delicious robust porter that contains small amounts of both. A porter shouldn't be overly characterised by either malt but that doesn't mean you can't use a small portion of each.

traditionally porter was made with brown malt and was often bretty due to ageing in oak barrels so tradition and evolution are only relevant to where you forsee your beer ending up.

Secondly biscuit (a malt I adore) needs to be mashed and mashed with base malts that have surplus diastatic power (ie - the ability to convert starch to sugar).

I've never used flaked oats but my understanding is that they need to be mashed with barley malt also. Flaked oats, as opposed to raw oats, don't need to be cooked prior but still need mashing.