(Porter Recipe) Because I haven't brewed a bad batch yet...

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bernerbrau

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I know I've been pushing the envelope when I should be playing it safe. I know the conventional wisdom is to use tried-and-true recipes when starting out. And, the moment I brew up a thoroughly undrinkable beer, I will take that advice seriously.

Meanwhile, here's my porter recipe. I'm going for something blacker than sin and full of flavor.

Bernerbrau Black Tar Porter, Generation One

0.5lb Black Patent
1lb Chocolate Malt
0.5lb CaraMunich
0.5lb Crystal 120L
0.5lb Biscuit Malt
6lb Light DME

Steep specialty grains for 1 hour at 155F.

0.5oz Nugget @60
0.5oz Nugget @30
1tsp Irish Moss @15
1oz Kent Goldings @0 (Hopback)

1 pkg British Ale Yeast

2/3c Corn Sugar for priming

Four weeks in primary, then straight to bottles.

As you can see the porter is getting its flavor profile from the specialty grains, with some KG in there at hopback for balance. The split schedule for the nugget cuts back on the bittering and is intended to complement the goldings a bit. I decided not to dry hop because I want my hop flavor more subtle this time around.

My QBrew profile looks something like this:

42 IBU
43 SRM
1.062 OG
1.016 FG
6.0% ABV

I think this will make for a nice, complex porter that I can also use to re-seal my driveway (just as soon as I get a house!).
 
Looks like a nice beer to take you through the winter.

It's not too different from the Robust Porter I'm currently drinking:

10# 2-row
1.5# Munich
1.5# Crystal 40L
0.75# Chocolate Malt
0.5# Black Malt

OG = 1.066
IBU = 45

A very dark, substantial beer that I enjoy quite a lot. A few months aging does it wonders.
 
Brewed this two nights ago. It's krausening nicely and the airlock is bubbling away. I came in about 3 quarts below volume (I have yet to reach target volume on any brew, except for the apfelwein since I used store-bought apple juice), so my OG ended up being 1.073. I expect this will up my IBUs and color rating as well. I was thinking I'd grab a sample for a hydro reading towards the end of the four weeks and taste to see if it needs to be diluted or not.

Incidentally, does anyone just drop the hydrometer in the fermenter? If the liquid level is high enough, the neck should keep it from tipping over...
 
You can always just add 3 quarts of water to bring up your volume that looks like it will put you near exactly at your target OG. I never check my beer unless to just check final gravity when I rack. To me it is an opportunity for infection, although that in itself is a different feat :D
 
I've heard late-stage contamination is not as much of an issue especially with the alcohol content already being present. In any case, I've kept everything sanitized and never had a problem with opening it up for a sample, or racking to secondary for aging. That said, I've only brewed four batches...
 
That's a bit too much of a Porter for me, but there's nothing out of whack with the proportions. I just prefer a more "session" beer.

Whether or not to muck about in the fermenter is a double-edged thingy. On one hand, the possibility exists that you'll introduce spoilage organisms. On the other, if you're being really clinical about things like pitching rate and type of yeast, you sometimes need to check the progression of the fermentation while it's still ongoing, which means opening the lid. For my money, so long as you're careful and sanitize everything, you don't need to worry all that much. But you should also make every effort to minimize fiddling with your fermentation.

Bob
 
Meanwhile, here's my porter recipe. I'm going for something blacker than sin and full of flavor.

News from the "eat it with a fork front" - I've steeped (I start steeping when the water is cold) as much as 4 lbs of chocolate malt in a porter/stout type thing (5 gallon, light DME+specialty) without any danger of undrinkability. I just kept ramping it up, and having made a bulk buy for economy, it's not too expensive. Probably offending someone's sense of style, but it works for me - so you can probably safely amp the grains up more, if it appeals to you. I'm not fond of "burnt", so I skip the black patent.
 
Cool... Next time I'll ramp up the chocolate for sure. The LHBS guy was a huge fan of black patent though and told me that he thought the "burnt" flavor was a myth, so I maxed on black patent this time. I was also under the impression that Black Patent "makes" the Porter.
 
I just drew a hydro sample... 1.026, accounting for temperature. So I have about 6.157% ABV. I need to up the volume slightly judging by color and taste.

It's also incredibly cidery! :mad: But I understand this is common in very very green beers, and I have about 6 weeks to go before it's supposed to be drinkable.
 
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