Can someone please check my (porter) recipe...

Hi,

Can someone please check this recipe before it gets the green light? Am doing a big 6.6 gal batch, as this will probably take a while to ferment. Am thinking adding the extract @ 60min and 15min will make the most of the hops.

Would it be worth adding 0.5lbs chocolate grain also? Do the hop times seem ok for this Porter?

Type: Extract
Batch Size: 6.60 gal
Boil Size: 2.20 gal
Boil Time: 60 min

Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.28 lb Dark Liquid Extract [Boil for 15 min] Extract 57.82 %
3.97 lb Dark Liquid Extract (17.5 SRM) Extract 31.53 %
0.84 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %
0.50 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.97 %
1.00 oz Southern Cross [12.00 %] (60 min) Hops 9.2 IBU
0.50 oz Fuggles [6.90 %] (30 min) Hops 2.0 IBU

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.062 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.01 %
Bitterness: 27.3 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 28.9 SRM

You don't really have to use the dark extract as you will get the color and flavor from the grains. I haven't used it much but I thought I read that it gets the darker color from dark grains. Chocolate would make a fine addition but I am not a huge fan of the black patent. For me I would cut it in half. You have a pretty strong beer there @.062 and I know my tastes would call for it to more bitter to about 35-40 IBU's.

I am sure there will be others along to give their opinion.

Thanks for the feedback "Blender". Is the Black Patent kinda over powering? Would ou suggest 1/4 lb maybe? Where I live Light LME and Dark LME was the same price, so thought I might as well just go for the darker one.

Jonno, certainly it depends on one's tastes as to the Black patent but it is powerful. If you added the chocolate and cut the black patent I don't think you would be disappointed.

I will let someone else chime in on the LME but my understanding is the darker color comes from crystal malt which is already in your recipe. The light LME should be made with only base grain.

I think a porter is supposed to have that roasted bite from the black patent. I would keep it and add the chocolate.

I recently did an oatmeal stout with .5lb black patent, .5lb chocolate and it came out just roastey enough.

+1 On using lighter extract and letting the grains darken the wort. You may need to bump the amount of steeping grains though.

SRTBREW said:

I think a porter is supposed to have that roasted bite from the black patent. I would keep it and add the chocolate.

I recently did an oatmeal stout with .5lb black patent, .5lb chocolate and it came out just roastey enough.

+1 On using lighter extract and letting the grains darken the wort. You may need to bump the amount of steeping grains though.

Click to expand...

Hmm ok, I will grab some chocolate grain as well. So if I added 1/2 lb chocolate grain, and changed the black patent to 1/4 lb it should be ok? Gonna be a exp batch hope works out ok!

About the Light LME, I thought dark and light had similar flavours? And that the only real difference was the colour, and a slight taste? They were the same price so I only really got darker for colour, and maybe a maltier taste?

Does everyone think the hops are ok?

I am by no means an expert, so please take my questions/comments with a grain of salt.

Why are you doing a late extract addition? My understanding is that the main benefit to late additions is to maintain a lighter color. I didn't do a late addition for my porter that's fermenting right now.

I think you're probably ok with the dark LME. I used pale LME (because I had 7 pounds that was sent to me by mistake) and it's looking pretty good right now, but I think it needs to be just a tad darker.

Late extract additions also help with hop utilization when doing a partial boil, so I do them with all of my brews.

As for the recipe, I agree on using light extract, but add 8-12 ounces of chocolate to get a nicer dark color and flavor. You could keep the black patent at 8 ounces or dial it back a bit- either would be fine, but I personally would leave it at 8 ounces.

Hey thanks a lot!

I will add the chocolate, maybe cut the black patent slightly. Yes the reason on the late extract was like you said - save $ on hops, better hop utilization with less extract.

Before I brew - is the IBU's ok for a porter?

Also - outa curiousity - would light extract effect the taste at all or just the colour?

The light extract does change the flavor, as it will function like a base grain (generally 2-row) in your recipe, whereas the dark extract generally contains something like crystal 60 and black patent, basically choosing your steeping grains for you. Using light extract, then, gives you more control over the flavor, since you can choose what steeping grains and what proportions you want to use to build flavors on top of the base grain foundation laid by the extract. I made a couple of beers with dark extract (a porter and a stout), and they tasted an awful lot alike, and frankly weren't my favorite beers. Using light extract gives you more flexibility with your steeping grains, putting you more in control of the beer you make.

The IBU's, by the way, look good, maybe a touch low. You could increase it if you wanted, but you're within the guidelines for a robust porter (25-50 IBU's- a big range).