English Porter Black Pearl Porter (AG)

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Just brewed this for the second time this past weekend. Thinking about adding Vanilla to this but concerned that it might be too sweet. What are you thoughts on this?
 
Brewed this with a friend a while back and used 1028. I also increased the bittering hops and the aroma to .75oz per 5 gallons. Gravity finished a tad higher than I hoped giving me a 5.5% ABV beer. All in all, this is a fantastic porter. Just packed with wonderful complex flavors. I'm going to keep this recipe in my winter rotation for sure. Thanks BierMuncher for a great recipe!
 
I'm thinking of making this this weekend. I didn't notice in the recipe what the OG and FG were. Could someone let me know what theirs was? Also what the ABV is? Thanks!
 
I'm thinking of making this this weekend. I didn't notice in the recipe what the OG and FG were. Could someone let me know what theirs was? Also what the ABV is? Thanks!

A buddy and I just brewed this again this past weekend and our OG was 1.072. That's artificially high though due to the unfermentable lactose addition. I'm expecting a FG of approximately 1.024ish..... Again, it'll finish "high" because of the lactose.
 
Thank you! I also just checked my hops stash. I have 1 oz of Kent Goldings, do you think that would be ok to substitute in place of the Fuggles? I think it's got more bitterness than the fuggles. If it's ok to use the Kent, would you use less of it? I don't like hoppy beers.
 
Thank you! I also just checked my hops stash. I have 1 oz of Kent Goldings, do you think that would be ok to substitute in place of the Fuggles? I think it's got more bitterness than the fuggles. If it's ok to use the Kent, would you use less of it? I don't like hoppy beers.

We upped the hop schedule to .75oz of Fuggles @ 60min and .75oz of Fuggles at 10min. Wanted to cut some of the extra sweetness a little, plus the hops we used were a little lower in AA's than in the OP. I think you'd be fine with the Goldings. Just watch your AA's and adjust as necessary.
 
I'm going to start brewing this in a few minutes. I just want to make sure I understand the instructions for the mash in and mash out temps. With the mash in.... are you saying to heat the water to 170.5, then when the grains are added it should bring the temp down to 150 and to let it mash at 150 for 45 mins? With the mash out, kind of same question. I use a cooler for my mash tun, so it will already be at least 150 degrees, so if I heat the mash out water to 206 and pour it into the already hot cooler, it doesn't seem like it would come down to 175 degrees. Should I just heat the mash out water to 175? Hope this makes sense. I'm fairly new to all grain recipes. This is only my 3rd batch of all grain, and the previous recipes had more step-by- step instructions. As usual, I've waited till the last minute to post a question :eek: I can't wait to try this!
 
I'm going to start brewing this in a few minutes. I just want to make sure I understand the instructions for the mash in and mash out temps. With the mash in.... are you saying to heat the water to 170.5, then when the grains are added it should bring the temp down to 150 and to let it mash at 150 for 45 mins? With the mash out, kind of same question. I use a cooler for my mash tun, so it will already be at least 150 degrees, so if I heat the mash out water to 206 and pour it into the already hot cooler, it doesn't seem like it would come down to 175 degrees. Should I just heat the mash out water to 175? Hope this makes sense. I'm fairly new to all grain recipes. This is only my 3rd batch of all grain, and the previous recipes had more step-by- step instructions. As usual, I've waited till the last minute to post a question :eek: I can't wait to try this!

The temperatures will vary based on your mash tun and grain temps and stuff. I generally use one of these calculators to figure out what temp I should put my grain. I will generally heat the water 10-15 degrees higher to preheat my mash tun . Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators
 
I figured it out. I called my LHBS. My O.G. was pretty high though, coming out at 1.064. It tastes good though. I can't wait to taste the finished product. I realized at the end that I forgot the 1/4 tsp of irish moss. Will that make much difference?
 
I figured it out. I called my LHBS. My O.G. was pretty high though, coming out at 1.064. It tastes good though. I can't wait to taste the finished product. I realized at the end that I forgot the 1/4 tsp of irish moss. Will that make much difference?

Clearing agents won't really affect a beer this dark. You're golden. :mug:
 
I transferred to the secondary after 12 days in the primary. O.G 1.065. F.G before transferring to secondary 1.015. ABV 6.5%. The Hydrometer sample tasted great!!!! I can't wait to get this beer carbonating in some bottles. The only thing I changed in the recipe was I used S-04 yeast with 1 cup of jarred wort and 2 cups of water (which I boiled for 15 minutes then cooled before adding the yeast). The yeast starter sat, covered, on my counter for about 8 hours before I pitched it into the cooled wort.
 
Ok BM, need to ask this. I've done this batch again for like the 7th or 8th time. I had a bit of a "snafu" and had to let this sit in the secondary for almost 3 months due to some issues we had here at home. While I was away the airlock dried up but the beer showed no signs of problems or infections so I went ahead and kegged. She's been on co2 now for 3 weeks and it has some off flavors compared to all the earlier batches. But all the earlier batches were drank much younger than this one by at least 6 weeks (prior to kegging and chilling). It doesn't taste bad per say, just not as sweet. Has a more roasted coffee flavor that lasts well after swallowing. Almost too bitter. Its not slick, no butter flavors, no weird aromas, no signs of anything in the beer (very clear for a black beer). I don't really see anything different in my notes other than adjusting some salts. Do you think salts would make that big of a flavor shift? I would think the longer aging would have mellowed out any "roasted" flavors, not enhanced them. Ideas?
 
Ok BM, need to ask this. I've done this batch again for like the 7th or 8th time. I had a bit of a "snafu" and had to let this sit in the secondary for almost 3 months due to some issues we had here at home. While I was away the airlock dried up but the beer showed no signs of problems or infections so I went ahead and kegged. She's been on co2 now for 3 weeks and it has some off flavors compared to all the earlier batches. But all the earlier batches were drank much younger than this one by at least 6 weeks (prior to kegging and chilling). It doesn't taste bad per say, just not as sweet. Has a more roasted coffee flavor that lasts well after swallowing. Almost too bitter. Its not slick, no butter flavors, no weird aromas, no signs of anything in the beer (very clear for a black beer). I don't really see anything different in my notes other than adjusting some salts. Do you think salts would make that big of a flavor shift? I would think the longer aging would have mellowed out any "roasted" flavors, not enhanced them. Ideas?

Hmmm. I got nuthin. Assuming your recipe and process were all exactly the same, I can’t imagine tweaking the water profile would make that profound of a difference.

Six weeks of additional lagering time should not have done much to radically change the flavor either. Any chance the grain bill got changed up…like roasted barley instead of chocolate?

I’ll assume the lactose and malto-dextrin were not omitted in error.

Yeah…not sure…
 
Nope, lacto and malto both there, I guess the LHBS may have mixed up the grain bill. I do see that the ph was high during the mash. I have it noted at 5.72 would that do it?
 
How critical is 60 on this? My house right now is hanging between 65-70 most days... I plan to (for summer anyway) build a fermentation chamber or just use a mini fridge... but don't have it yet...
 
How critical is 60 on this? My house right now is hanging between 65-70 most days... I plan to (for summer anyway) build a fermentation chamber or just use a mini fridge... but don't have it yet...

I routinely ferment in the 64-69 range so you should be okay. It's once you get pushing 73-74+ levels that you can start getting into risky territiry.
 
My water really sucks so I need to totally rebuild my water profile. Would this be more like a British beer? Any opinions on profiles? I'm starting from scratch.

My town softens ALL Water before it reaches the house

A week or so later. . .

Brewing now as I type. I used 100% RO water and added 1tsp do calcium chloride.

Also 3.3 lb of northern brewer gold LME. Same stuff Austin uses. Because Briess adds Carapils into their LME I dropped the malto dextrin to slightly less then a cup. How mush is a cup anyway. LOL.

Also. 1.5 lb of DME to get to the 1.064 mark.

Yeast will be Rogue Pacman just because I have a lot of it.
 
I brewed this at 66 and was surprised that I did not come close to a blow off. I wonder if this is due to the Pacman yeast.
 
I have ended up with a 1.030 FG on Safale 04 after 23 days. Tastes very good, but am a bit spooked on that FG reading. Just put it in the Secondary tonight. Suggestions?
 
I pigged my Pearl today.(27 days) Ended at 1.022 using Pacman. Tasted great. Maybe i'll just screw the carbing and drink it now. LOL

Thinman. No worries. It'll be so creamy no one will notice if it's a little sweeter. I read it's not uncommon to end high.
 
I brewed this back in September and really liked it but it was just a little too sweet for me to sit down and have three or four. When it came to sitting down for one.....no problem. I was going to brew it again and cut back on the lactose. I just found three bottle that I had set away and it is fantastic. I know lactose is non fermentable but aging this porter does wonders for it. Time to brew and bottle a couple of cases for the fall weather.
 
Rugen. . I used half the recommended Lactose and also cut down on the Carapils as Breiss extract already has it in it. Still a couple weeks but I'll give it a try next week ( the beauty of pigging).
 
Three weeks. Tried it. Can you say GREEN? This is what the "Homebrew" taste like. This needs at least 3 more weeks to grow. I did taste a little tiny bit of sourness when surprised me but it was way way green.
 
Did this one 2 days ago BIAB and got OG1.071. Smells like a chocolate malt milkshake at the top of the fermentor. FWIW 1 cup of maltodextrine weighs 3.75oz or 106.3g. For those who have been using the Wyeast 1028, what kind of attenuation have you been getting on this brew?
 
Probably work as good as any. It's fairly light as porter goes. I bottled mine on 7/11 and tried one 10 days later. It carbed up but the flavor did not wow me. However I am expecting this to get much better with some time on the shelf as others have experienced. Biermuncher's Orange Kolsch didn't wow me at all after 2 wks in the keg however it was awesome after 4 wks. I wouldn't doubt if this one follows a similar course.

How, exactly, does one go about getting the peanut butter flavor into their porter? Have you had a peanut butter porter before?
 
You can buy defatted peanut butter and add it to the boil at knockout or in secondary. A couple people at my homebrew club used it and I fell in love. I'm not sure what it is, but the nuttiness of the peanut butter and, the roast and chocolate from the beer are a good mix.
 
Tried this one again tonight and it is improving for sure. Feels thicker, tastes more roasty and strangely even looks a touch darker. I like where this is going.

Thanks for the info on the P.B. that sounds interesting to say the least. This one would probably be good. Another (I have not yet made) that might be good would be Jamil's Chocolate Hazelnut Porter. Add the defatted P.B. and skip the hazelnut extract... or, what the hell, keep the hazelnut...

Let us know how it turns out.
 
brewing this tomorrow and pitching onto the 1028 from ESB recipe. 2 biermuncher rec's in a row, should be a great fall + winter in my house!
 
just got the ingredients. using willamette since i still have at on in the freezer, and about 4lbs of LME in place of some 2 row and US04. everything else is the same though.

looking forward to a good autumn winter beer
 
Brewed this up...week primary, week secondary and kegged. Good from the start, but each glass gets better and better. Roasty, chocolaty and creamy. Normally I'm an IIPA/Imperial Stout guy, but I will definitely brew this again.
 
Brewed this today, aside from a stuck sparge it went well, looks and smells fantastic. Looking forward to tasting the finished product!
 
I must've missed something but I don't see an OG for this beer in the recipe. I'd like to make this this weekend.

Thanks
 
Hey BM, thanks for the recipe. This will be my first non-kit brew, and am excited about it. In the original post, you say to rack it to a secondary. I was just wondering if there is any particular reason for this, or is it just like most brews that can stay in the primary?
 
Hey BM, thanks for the recipe. This will be my first non-kit brew, and am excited about it. In the original post, you say to rack it to a secondary. I was just wondering if there is any particular reason for this, or is it just like most brews that can stay in the primary?

I'm old school. I like racking to a clearing tank. My only bad (mutated) batches have come from beers I left sitting on the trub for extended periods. If you have success with just a primary...no need for a secondary. :mug:
 

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