Porter/Stout Recipe Suggestions

Hello there folks, so I've been wandering through the recipies area looking for a porter or stout that wouldn't be terribly tough. I feel comfortable with extract brewing, and I'm even ok with steeping specialty grains. Just not sure I'm ready (nor have all the needed gear) to mash grains, so I'm steering clear of all-grain recipes for now.

Anywho, if anyone happens to know a good, dark beer recipe (not nessicarily only stouts/porter, I like almost any dark). Please post it up here.

Thanks!

Extract Beers I have made:

PORTER -
7 lbs. Ultralight Malt Extract
4 oz. Maltodextrin
1 lb. Crystal 40L
8 oz. Black Patent
4 0z. Chocolate
1 oz. Northern Brewer Hops - 60 minute
1 oz. Cascade Hops - Flame Out
Whirfloc - 10 min
WLP002 English Ale


OATMEAL STOUT -
7 lbs Ultralight Malt
1.75 lbs 2-Row
8oz Crystal 120L
8oz Black Roasted
8oz Chocolate
4oz Black Patent
4oz Weat
4oz Carapils
1lb Flaked Oats
1oz Northern Brewer - 60 minutes
1oz Kent Goldings - Flame out
Whirfloc - 10 min
WLP002 English Ale

BerserkerBrew said:

Extract Beers I have made:

PORTER -
7 lbs. Ultralight Malt Extract
4 oz. Maltodextrin
1 lb. Crystal 40L
8 oz. Black Patent
4 0z. Chocolate
1 oz. Northern Brewer Hops - 60 minute
1 oz. Cascade Hops - Flame Out
Whirfloc - 10 min
WLP002 English Ale

Click to expand...

Sorry for my newbness, but for this one. Would you add all that at the beginning of the boil? Or steep the Crystal for 30 mins first?

BerserkerBrew said:

Extract Beers I have made:

PORTER -
7 lbs. Ultralight Malt Extract
4 oz. Maltodextrin
1 lb. Crystal 40L
8 oz. Black Patent
4 0z. Chocolate
1 oz. Northern Brewer Hops - 60 minute
1 oz. Cascade Hops - Flame Out
Whirfloc - 10 min
WLP002 English Ale

Click to expand...

You'll want to steep the Maltodextrin, Crystal, Black patent, and Chocolate at about 155* (at 170* you can start leeching tannins from the grain which cause an astringent taste, so never boil or even come close to boiling, grains) for 30 minutes in a couple gallons of water remove grain bag, bring that colored/flavored water, to a boil, add Northern brewer, boil for 45-50 minutes, remove from heat, mix in 7lbs Extract, bring back to boil for 10-15 minutes, remove from heat, add cascades and chill to 65-70. Transfer to carboy or ale pail, top up to 5 gallon mark, pitch yeast, and shake like a 3 day meth binge. Optimum temp for that yeast to ferment at is 65-68°F

IrregularPulse said:

You'll want to steep the Maltodextrin, Crystal, Black patent, and Chocolate at about 155* (at 170* you can start leeching tannins from the grain which cause an astringent taste, so never boil or even come close to boiling, grains) for 30 minutes in a couple gallons of water remove grain bag, bring that colored/flavored water, to a boil, add Northern brewer, boil for 45-50 minutes, remove from heat, mix in 7lbs Extract, bring back to boil for 10-15 minutes, remove from heat, add cascades and chill to 65-70. Transfer to carboy or ale pail, top up to 5 gallon mark, pitch yeast, and shake like a 3 day meth binge. Optimum temp for that yeast to ferment at is 65-68°F

Click to expand...

Thanks! Yea, I was a little lazy with that post. What I did when doing extract on the stove top is:

Put all specialty grains into a grain sock (in this case, Maltodextrin, Crystal, Black Patent and Chocolate).
Put about 2-4 gallons on water in your brew pot, and put the grain sock in the pot (i also usually tied the loose end of the grain sock to one of the pot's handles to keep it from just sitting on the bottom of the pot).
Turn the heat to high, and let the grains steep in the pot until it hits 170. (This is a little bit of an odd practice, but I found that it works the same as just steeping at exactly 150*F for 30 min).
Once you hit 170, take the grains out. Continue to a boil. At the boil, add about 1/4 of the extract (STIR WELL!) plus the 60 minute (bittering) hops.
Once 40 minutes of boiling has passed, remove pot from burner and add the rest of the extract. Return to the burner, continue boil.
After 10 more minutes of boil, add Whirfloc.
After 10 more minutes of boil, remove from heat, add finishing hops.
Cool, Rack, Pitch Yeast.
Wait.
Bottle.
Enjoy!

DuffmanAK said:

Anywho, if anyone happens to know a good, dark beer recipe (not nessicarily only stouts/porter, I like almost any dark). Please post it up here.

Click to expand...

Generically, LME or DME for fermentables, chocolate malt for color/flavor, hops to suit - or use dark malt extract which more-or-less already has chocolate malt (and perhaps other grains, and in proportions you don't know, which vary by brand). The stylists generally claim that black patent makes a porter and roasted barley makes a stout, but the more truthful reporters will report that 'taint necessarily so, not to mention that the stout/porter frontier is a bit muddy, in truth. I get by just fine with more chocolate malt than you're "supposed" to use, but it keeps my recipes simple.

Of course, that's also suiting my taste in this end of the beer spectrum - it's repeatedly reported that Guiness is made with pale malt and roast barley - but I'm not fond of it, at least as exported to the states.

I do like beer you can't see through...as you might guess.

Here is an early recipe where I actually used black malt:

Pook's Porter (5 gallons - full boil):
3.3lb NWE Gold LME
3.0 lb M&F light DME
1 lb chocolate
1 lb black
1.5 oz N Brewer 80 minutes (AA % not recorded)
.25 oz N Brewer 5 minutes
Coopers ale yeast (dry)
1.052 OG
1.019 FG

A partial recipe which went over well (evidently the hops got lost in transcription at some point between paper and various versions of computer files - probably Tettenanger 4.5% 1/2oz 80 min, 1/4 oz 15, 1/8 oz 5 and 1/8 oz 0 - plugs divide nicely. Might have been some pellet EKG or Fuggles in for the full boil as well.) Yeast also lost in transcription, certainly dry ale, probably Fosters. I can hear the screams now...

Groundhog stout (5 gallons - full boil)
4.25 lb chocolate
7.5lb Laaglander DME (sub DME and maltodextrin, perhaps, or just end up with a higher test, thinner-bodied beer - or use 9lb and ditch the honey)
1.5 lbs honey

1.078 OG
1.038 FG (relax, it's Laaglander - stored for many years and no bombs at all - in secondary for about 2 months, though probably could have been less)

3/4 cup honey to prime.

Grain ground and steeped, removed at 165F, proceed to boil (in both cases) I was doing 80-90 minute boils at that point in time because I thought I had to - I don't any more, if I remember to keep the starting volume down to a point where it's getting to the end volume in an hour.

Awesome, thanks!

So, Ultralight extract, is that the same as Extra Light?

DuffmanAK said:

Awesome, thanks!

So, Ultralight extract, is that the same as Extra Light?

Click to expand...

Ultralight is just an Extract that Briess makes that MoreBeer sells.
MoreBeer | Ultralight Malt Extract

you can use any Extra Light with no ill effects

Alrighty, thanks!

When it comes to ingredients, I'm limited to my LHBS (which is still 400 miles away). I've looked around and being that I'm in Alaska, all online sellers want just obscene amounts for shipping (Austin Homebrew was going to charge me $20 for one yeast packet).

Anywho, thanks for the info, I'm already building a price list to pickup that stuff soon.

DuffmanAK said:

Awesome, thanks!

So, Ultralight extract, is that the same as Extra Light?

Click to expand...

Yup - at least, close enough for governments.

For what it's worth, here's my Porter recipe. I've brewed this many times to positive comment.

Coal Porter

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

12-B Porter, Robust Porter

Min OG: 1.048 Max OG: 1.065
Min IBU: 25 Max IBU: 60
Min Clr: 22 Max Clr: 42 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 3.00
Total Extract (Lbs): 7.50
Anticipated OG: 1.050 Plato: 12.37
Anticipated SRM: 32.4
Anticipated IBU: 31.9
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
80.0 6.00 lbs. Briess LME- Gold America 1.035 4
3.3 0.25 lbs. Black Patent Malt Great Britain 1.027 525
6.7 0.50 lbs. Crystal 55L Great Britian 1.034 55
6.7 0.50 lbs. Chocolate Malt Great Britain 1.034 475
3.3 0.25 lbs. Treacle Generic 1.036 100

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Willamette Pellet 5.00 21.1 60 min.
1.00 oz. Willamette Pellet 5.00 10.8 30 min.
1.00 oz. Willamette Pellet 5.00 0.0 0 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 Tsp Whirlfloc Other 15 Min.(boil)
1.00 Tsp Yeastex Other 15 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

Danstar Nottingham


P.S. The Briess Gold is mashed with CaraPils, hence no inclusion of that in the specialty grains.

Bob

Have someone in the lower 48 drop your yeast in a first-class mail envelope for under a buck - and I bet you can get a good bit of stuff in priority-mail flat-rate packages, as well. Both of those are good to AK as far as I know. I don't know if any of the "major" online outlets will divert from their usual UPS/FedEx shipping, but perhaps there are some smaller ones that would?

Oh ya, I have family in the lower 48, so if I really need something from an online seller, I can get it. Just used the yeast packet as an illustration. I think on a full order (probably abotu 10lbs. of stuff) they wanted $50+ for shipping alone.

The shop in Anchorage (400 miles away) can ship it USPS to me for ~$1/lb.