Imperial Porter recipe

Following on the Imperial IPA I just made, I thought an Imperial Porter might be in order. Not really knowing what one of these might be like I have drawn up the following as my shot. Some of my assumptions are based on my thoughts from my Preaching in Hell IIPA and can be found in the posting "Dude of a beer".

Progressive Pilgrams' Imperial Porter
A ProMash Recipe Report
Recipe Specifics
----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 20.00 Wort Size (Gal): 20.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 60.00
Anticipated OG: 1.07718 Plato: 18.691
Anticipated SRM: 40.9
Anticipated IBU: 103.4
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------
Evaporation Rate: 5.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 21.05 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.07332 SG 17.81 Plato

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
83.3 50.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.03600 2
5.0 3.00 lbs. Cane Sugar Generic 1.04621 0
5.0 3.00 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.02900 350
3.3 2.00 lbs. Crystal 150L Great Britain 1.03300 150
3.3 2.00 lbs. Black Barley Malt America 1.02700 530
Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.00 oz. Columbus Pellet 14.80 103.4 60 min.
3.00 oz. Columbus Pellet 14.80 0.0 0 min.

Yeast
-----


Mash Schedule
-------------
Mash Type: Single Step
Grain Lbs: 57.00
Water Qts: 71.25 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 17.81 - Before Additional Infusions
Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.25 - Before Additional Infusions
Saccharification Rest Temp : 146 Time: 60


Total Mash Volume Gal: 22.37 - Dough-In Infusion Only
All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

I forgot to mention, I am fishing for thoughts and ideas here. The other option is to simply make a boring old porter...

Thoughts of an 8-ish% ABV 100+ IBU brew make my head spin with delight.

WoW! 103 IBU's. That is over the top.
I say you get freaky and dry hop it with some Centennial & Cascade
Or get really zany and use an abbey ale yeast.

Yeh, since I am going into new territory I might as well go all the way.

What looks a little weird to me, and I don't know if this is good, bad, indifferent, or even how common it might be:

This brew has a lot of IBUs; it'll be one bitter mutha. But, it looks like you are just using bittering and aroma hops, no flavoring hops at all. I'm used to seeing high-IBU recipes with lots of hops additions over the boil, this seems a little more unusual in that regard. Like, I know Dude talks about all the attributes he gets from the hops other than just raw bitterness in his Pliny the Bastid.

I don't know, I'm still a noob, so my comments need to be taken with a bit ol' heaping of salt. That's just the one thing that grabs my comparatively uneducated eye.

Check out my other post: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=13424 This talks about the use of mega hop additions. I am not using them in the middle because I thought I would let a little malt tone come out.

Based on quick research, I see that this style is also called a Baltic Porter and is a less hoppy cousin of Imperial Stout. That in mind, I would suggest these changes:
Progressive Pilgrams' Imperial Porter
A ProMash Recipe Report
BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------
12-C Porter, Baltic Porter
Min OG: 1.060 Max OG: 1.090
Min IBU: 20 Max IBU: 40
Min Clr: 17 Max Clr: 30 Color in SRM, Lovibond
Recipe Specifics
----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 20.00 Wort Size (Gal): 20.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 60.00
Anticipated OG: 1.07739 Plato: 18.738
Anticipated SRM: 34.4
Anticipated IBU: 51.6
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Formulas Used
-------------
Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
% Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.
Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Tinseth
Tinseth Concentration Factor: 1.30
Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
83.3 50.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.03600 2
5.0 3.00 lbs. Cane Sugar Generic 1.04621 0
5.0 3.00 lbs. Crystal 90L America 1.03300 90
5.0 3.00 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.02900 350
1.7 1.00 lbs. Black Barley Malt America 1.02700 530
Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.00 oz. Columbus Pellet 14.80 51.6 60 min.
3.00 oz. Columbus Pellet 14.80 0.0 0 min.

Yeast
-----


Mash Schedule
-------------
Mash Type: Single Step
Grain Lbs: 57.00
Water Qts: 71.25 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 17.81 - Before Additional Infusions
Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.25 - Before Additional Infusions
Saccharification Rest Temp : 146 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 0 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 0 Time: 0

Total Mash Volume Gal: 22.37 - Dough-In Infusion Only
All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

that seems more like it. Porters are my favorite beers, but (IMHO) there are two things that 'ruin' a porter for me. One of those is too many IBUs. The other is too much of a roasted taste. If it gets too roastey, it seems more like a watery stout to me than a proper porter.

But, like I said, this is just the opinion of a porter fan who is still battling to create his Holy Grail Porter.

Holy crap! Nothing like measuring your grain in bags.

alemonkey said:

Holy crap! Nothing like measuring your grain in bags.

Click to expand...

The joy of big batches! It is an easy way to measure.

Brewpastor said:

The joy of big batches! It is an easy way to measure.

Click to expand...

I would imagine that you get a lot better consistancy that way, too, right?

I mean... if my 5 gallobn batch is off by 1/2 lb of grain, 1/2 oz of hops, and 1/2 gallon of water it makes a huge difference.

Walker-san said:

I would imagine that you get a lot better consistancy that way, too, right?

I mean... if my 5 gallobn batch is off by 1/2 lb of grain, 1/2 oz of hops, and 1/2 gallon of water it makes a huge difference.

Click to expand...

I think you are right. It also gives me more of a sense of freedom to play around with small amounts of specialty grains (1/2 pound of this, 1/4 pound of that) without too much concern.

Brewpastor said:

Based on quick research, I see that this style is also called a Baltic Porter and is a less hoppy cousin of Imperial Stout.

Click to expand...

According to World Beer Cup competition info, an Imperial Porter can also fall under the following:

"12. Other Strong Ale or Lager

Any style of beer can be made stronger than the classic style guidelines. The goal should be to reach a balance between the style's character and the additional alcohol. The brewer must provide the base style that is being created stronger and/or appropriately identify the style created (for example: double alt, triple fest, imperial porter or quadruple Pilsener). Beer entries not accompanied by this information will be at a disadvantage during judging."

World Beer Cup - Competition Info

So... you could make it just as big as you initially planned on..

This looks sweet. How did it turn out, Pastor?

Pastor, did you ever get around to brewing this? I'm eagerly anticipating a report...

if wanting a different imp porter, skip the overload of hops, substitute half of your crystal 90 with Simpson's drc. yeah I'm just not a huge hop guy. drc us nice stuff.

spark said:

if wanting a different imp porter, skip the overload of hops, substitute half of your crystal 90 with Simpson's drc. yeah I'm just not a huge hop guy. drc us nice stuff.

Click to expand...

Aging the beer for FOURTEEN years also does wonders.

FWIW here's the Fuller's version straight from their brew log :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...m-the-horses-mouth.642756/page-3#post-8674860