Robust Porter Recipe Critique

Hi guys, this weekend we'll be brewing our first BIAB recipe, a robust porter. I'd love to hear your thoughts, comments, suggestions on the recipe. Thanks!

Batch size: 5.0 gallons

Original Gravity
1.060 / 14.7° Plato
(1.053 to 1.062)
Final Gravity
1.020 / 5.1° Plato
(1.017 to 1.021)

Color
36° SRM / 70° EBC
(Black)

Mash Efficiency
75%

Bitterness
39.6 IBU / 13 HBU

yeast
White Labs English Ale (WLP002)

Alcohol
5.3% ABV / 4% ABW

Calories
200 per 12 oz.

Sounds like you're on the right track. Fwiw, the recipe I've done a few times uses around 1lb of mid range crystal, 1lb of chocolate and 4oz of black patent. I'm sure 8oz would be good, but it will likely have more of a sharp burnt flavor, so you might definitely want to up the chocolate to balance it out.

I love robust porters. Actually just did a 10g batch a few weeks ago, split it up, and added pumpkin spices to one of them...so far the samples are delicious. I always liked pumpkin ales, and last year I tried a pumpkin porter at a brew meet and fell in love!

Good luck!

I appreciate the comments. I've reduced the Black Patent to 4oz and upped the Chocolate to 1lb. I was hoping for more chocolate flavor to come through anyway, so hopefully this will work out!

No problem. Glad I could help. You can always adjust things after this batch, if you want to add more black patent. I'm pretty happy with this ratio though.

How did your brew go? Also, what temp did you mash at? I'm just starting to drink my 2nd batch of this porter, and I did a lot lower ABV% on this one, and also mashed lower (150) and fermented cooler...all of this resulted in a good beer, but it's a lil drier/cleaner than the other one, which is a good thing, but I kind of liked the sweetness, slightly chewier mouthfeel and higher octane of the last porter.

Ehh it's only a few days in the keg, so I can't make that judgment yet, but it got me wondering if you mashed a little higher, which I think would be good for this beer. My recipe is based on Coal Porter, which is in the recipe database, but he mashed at 150 so I decided to do the same this time-he also includes 1oz of roasted barley, which I did also.

Either way it's a damn good beer, but as with anything, you'll tweak it to your taste.

brooklynbrews said:

I was hoping for more chocolate flavor to come through anyway, so hopefully this will work out!

Click to expand...

Chocolate malt got its name from its color, not its taste. It doesn't give a chocolate flavor, that I've ever noticed. Roasty and a bit smooth at times, especially with the right crystal malts, yes, but not chocolate.

I think the change in your roasted grains was a good one. With only 4oz of munich, you'll never notice its presence. I'd up that to a pound or two, or just leave it out entirely. A darker crystal malt is more typical of a porter, but if you like the lighter, it's your recipe. Consider a blend of both. Maybe 1lb of the light and 4oz of the dark, or something like that.

Sounds good. Here is my mix for a 1.75 gallon batch which I plan to do this Thursday:

Amt Name Type # %/IBU
3 lbs 14.4 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 85.6 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 2 5.5 %
3.2 oz Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 3 4.4 %
2.0 oz Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 4 2.7 %
1.3 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 5 1.8 %
0.50 oz Galena [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 53.9 IBUs
0.10 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Aroma Steep 5.0 min Hop 9 0.0 IBUs
2.00 oz Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5.0 mins) Other 7 -
1.0 pkg SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) [25.00 ml] Yeast 10 -
0.10 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 8 0.0 IBUs

"Chocolate malt got its name from its color, not its taste. It doesn't give a chocolate flavor, that I've ever noticed. Roasty and a bit smooth at times, especially with the right crystal malts, yes, but not chocolate."

I think this depends on what you're talking about, and how your tastebuds perceive the flavor. I get a VERY strong un-sweetened chocolate flavor from chocolate malt. You will not, however, get a milk chocolate flavor from chocolate malt.

Brew day went well I think. I ended up mashing at 152 for an hour, but for some reason at mashout I was not getting good temperature readings, and definitely went above 170. I just cut the heat once I realized how hot the wort was getting.

Drained the grains and did one sparge at about 150 degrees, ended up with 5.5 gallons pre-boil. Mash efficiency was 77% according to the calculator I used.

Hit OG pretty much spot on at 1.060 ( was 1.061 in the revised recipe)

We'll see how it comes out, ended up using Wyeast London 1968 ESB instead as that's what they had at the shop.

As for the chocolate malt not imparting chocolate flavor, I was aiming for a more bitter chocolate taste, not overly sweet. But, I'm not too worried about that I think the flavor will work out nicely, as long there's no other issues with the beer.

Thanks for all the advice! I'll let you know how it turns out in a few weeks.

152 should be good! Make sure you keep that yeast happy, not sure if you've ever used it before, but I always have a lil trouble with english yeast...starters/oxygen are important, and you have to make sure you don't let the temp drop past 64-66 once in full ferment...this yeast likes to flocculate early if you tempt it. If anything, raise it closer to 70 after the main part of fermentation to make sure it finishes up and it reduces any diacetyl.

Just a quick follow up on this, had my first taste this weekend after two weeks in the bottle and it came out really well! The spice is subtle but definitely lingers on your tongue after each sip. There's a nice bitter chocolate taste as well.

I'd like a little more "pop" though so might up the cayenne a touch next time. I think another week of conditioning will help.

Thanks for all the advice!

ETA: I realize the original recipe never specified, but I added 1 tbsp cayenne pepper and 1/4 teaspoon allspice at flameout.