Baltic Porter November Rain Baltic Porter (AG)

Recipe Specifics
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Batch Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 15.75
Anticipated OG: 1.081
Anticipated SRM: 26.3
Anticipated IBU: 25.6
Brewhouse Efficiency: 80 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Grain

7.00 lbs. Golden Promise
4.00 lbs. Vienna Malt
1.50 lbs. Melanoidin Malt
1.00 lbs. Honey Malt
1.00 lbs. Crystal 40L
1.00 lbs. Special B Malt
0.25 lbs. Carafa II

Hops

1.66 oz. Vanguard Whole 4.6%AA 23.0 IBUs 90 min.
0.34 oz. Vanguard Whole 4.6%AA 2.7 IBUs 20 min.


Yeast

White Labs WLP810 San Fransisco Lager with 2L starter on a stir plate


Mash Schedule

Grain Lbs: 15.75
Water Qts: 18.11

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.15

Saccharification Rest Temp : 152F Time: 45 Minutes
Sparge Temp : 170F


Fermentation: 14 days primary at 60F, 28 days secondary at 60F

FG: 1.021
8% abv



First attempt at a Baltic Porter - I usually make Robust Porters. With the high OG and no lagering cabinet, it was hard to keep temperature down without continuously adding frozen water bottles to a water bath that the fermenter sat in, so I am not sure I would make this again without a better way to manage temperature.

It came out pretty much within style guidelines, recently scoring 39 in our club competiton. I think it was a bit on the sweet side, so maybe I would cut back or eliminate the honey malt (since the base malt was Golden Promise and can be sweet to start with) or else add a bit more carbonation to add some bite. Judge's comments were vinous, pruney, cherry, and caramel aroma; slightly sweet, a bit fruity and caramel up front flavor; light chocolate and molasses flavor; grape-like, almost doppelbock character; creamy, slight warmth, sweetness on the lips; very complex. It also was a concensus third in a blind tasting with 4 beers from the BJCP guidelines (Sinebrychoff, Zywiec, Aldaris, Utenos) at a beer tasting.

How did this turn out after you tried without the honey malt? Also, no black patent? Inteesting...

It seemed pretty similar. My next thought to counteract the sweetness is to add a small amount of roasted barley, maybe 2 to 4 ounces during mash out, to dry out the finish. That way it would still retain that bit of sweetness without hanging on the tongue.

let me know how it turns out, man. I might try this recipe after the next couple batches.

I thought honey malt and melanoiden malt are the same,or at least do the same thing.

Honey malt is fairly sweet while Melanoidin is more malty like Munich.