Save my BEER

I have brewed many porters in the past year. One of my more favorite beer styles. I thought that it would be a great idea to brew one for The San Diego County Fair HBC.

Entry #2 (Choco Raspberry Cream Porter)
Maris Otter
Brit Choc malt
Special B
Roast Barley
Black Malt
Glacier @60
2 oz Lactose sugar
Wyeast 1187 Ferm Temp at 69 degrees
WLP 023 Ferm Temp at 69 degrees
6oz Ghirradeli 100% bakers chocolate secondary
3# Frozen raspberries secondary
OG 1.082
FG 1.02

The four bottles I had, two were submitted for judging, all gushed. I have around four gallons in a corny. Judge's comments were harsh yet probably true. I did not sample bottled beer but have sampled kegged beer. Very very bitter, assuming the chocolate. Raspberry is dominant, overpowering. Astringent and very warm...fusel?

Question: How should I store it to age and mellow out? Letting this sit is my first option before dumping. I do not need the corny, have enough of them. Hate to bottle from tap at risk of contamination/infection. Advice???

Did you at least get "Drinkable"?

I've read that Cornies are not the best aging devices, but then again, I have only read that and a lot of what i do is probably frowned upon but I end up with good bee! I'm sure someone will say that they celler in cornies all the time...

From the forums 4 years ago concerning storage in cornies:

"There are a couple ways to do it.

If both my taps are full then I rack straight to a keg, purge to remove O2, add some priming sugar (only have one regulator right now), put about 40 lbs of pressure on the keg and let it sit somewhere around 70ish degrees.

If my taps are empty I'll rack straight to a keg, purge, (and I might let it bulk age depending on the beer for awhile), and force carb to the correct pressure depending on my fridge temp, and the desired CO2 level. Let it sit for a few weeks and then enjoy."

And from the NB forums:

"There are a couple ways to do it.

If both my taps are full then I rack straight to a keg, purge to remove O2, add some priming sugar (only have one regulator right now), put about 40 lbs of pressure on the keg and let it sit somewhere around 70ish degrees.

If my taps are empty I'll rack straight to a keg, purge, (and I might let it bulk age depending on the beer for awhile), and force carb to the correct pressure depending on my fridge temp, and the desired CO2 level. Let it sit for a few weeks and then enjoy."

Yeah, I pulled it from the fridge and its now in the garage next to her empty brothers. I will leave it under pressure but hope the shift in temps don't do anything to worsen the situation. Beer judge wrote down that it may have been contaminated by wild yeast and refermented in the bottle. I may purge it a little in a couple days. I would not be so bummed about it but I just killed a keg on Wednesday and another should be ready in a week. Of course, I can't just buy regular beer to hold me over! Thanks for the tips.

With cornies you just need to make sure it gets some pressure if you're aging in it.

TKO,
Yes it is drinkable. I think something went bad with the bottling but the keg beer does exhibit similarities of the bottled beer. Not the same kind of bitter derived from hops. Definately the chocolate additions. I love raspberries but 3# was way too much. Hoping that the burn will also fade with time.

ReverseApacheMaster said:

With cornies you just need to make sure it gets some pressure if you're aging in it.

Click to expand...

I have it sitting at near serving psi. What would you suggest?

I've never done anything like it but...

You might brew another porter and blend the two. Should cut back on the raspberry and, if you brew it slightly sweet, might help with the chocolate bitterness as well. Perhaps get a commercial example of a sweeter porter and try with various blends.

Good Luck.

alexsaunders said:

I've never done anything like it but...

You might brew another porter and blend the two. Should cut back on the raspberry and, if you brew it slightly sweet, might help with the chocolate bitterness as well. Perhaps get a commercial example of a sweeter porter and try with various blends.

Good Luck.

Click to expand...

I would consider it but I found a friend who really liked it. I filled his growler and will let the rest finish out. I have about 2.5 to 3 gal left. I really liked my porters without any fruit or adjunct. I am going to keep it simple next time. They taste best when the natural coffee and chocolate malt flavors shine on their own. Just my opinion...