American Porter Bee Cave Brewery Robust Porter

[NZJoe]

I brewed this back in April, leaving out half of the Maltodextrin (just because that much white powder in a beer scared me a bit). I left it in the fermentor for 3 weeks and then in the bottle for 3 weeks before trying it. It came out really nice. It was initially a little bit sweet, not quite as sweet as a milk stout but not as dry as some porters, kind of an off-dry. But now after almost 2 months in the bottle it has dried out slightly more and rounded nicely. It`s a fantastic beer, easily the best I have brewed and really showcases the malts more than anything. It`s so good and so drinkable that I can easily have a couple of these in an evening. I had a pint of McLeods Porter (brewery here in NZ) the other day and I swear it was so similar to this beer, just slightly drier. I was pretty happy with that. I`m already planning on brewing this again in the next month so that I can save some for next winter.

Now, a quick question. My water here is SUPER soft, as in Pilsen level softness. So seeing as this beer turned out so well, should I adjust the water at all (like adding some Gypsum) or just keep it the same? I`m leaning towards adding maybe 1t of Gypsum to see how it effects it.

 

[Chicago_Eric_]

My local shop only has Maris Otter and Golden Promise available. Which base would be better for this recipe?

 

[Albionwood]

My local shop only has Maris Otter and Golden Promise available. Which base would be better for this recipe?

I think I'd lean toward the GP for a Porter. MO will contribute a noticeable biscuity character, which isn't out of place and could be great, but it also is one more flavor component to mix with all the others - potentially over-complicating things. GP will contribute a rich maltiness that tends to compliment the Porter character. I'd cut back on the maltodextrin though (tbh I would eliminate it entirely, but that's me liking dry Porters).

 

[Chicago_Eric_]

I went about a 60/40 split with the golden promise/maris otter blend. Pre-boil was 28 liters and ended with about 24 in the fermenter. The first 48 hours of fermentation have been wild, I could hear the blow off bubbling from a room over. It's finally chilled down, is replacing the blow off with a normal airlock actually necessary? Also during peak fermentation I was having trouble getting it down to 68, it was sitting about 72 until now, it's perfectly at temp more or less. Did I screw anything up with those higher temps? OG was a touch over 1.06. Really excited with how this beer could turn out.

 

[JLeuck64]

Here is a pic of the 1st pour from a keg that i naturally carbonated. Brewed this back on May 27th and fermented with Wyeast Pacman (Imperial Joystick is the same yeast strain). I also cut down the Maltodextrin in half to 8 oz.

Ended up with 7.25 gal at a SOLID 7.5% ABV ( ; the reason I decided to naturally carb this batch is simply because it forces me to wait until it has finished conditioning/carbing. SO worth the wait!!! ( ;

 

[NZJoe]

Here is a pic of the 1st pour from a keg that i naturally carbonated. Brewed this back on May 27th and fermented with Wyeast Pacman (Imperial Joystick is the same yeast strain). I also cut down the Maltodextrin in half to 8 oz.

Ended up with 7.25 gal at a SOLID 7.5% ABV ( ; the reason I decided to naturally carb this batch is simply because it forces me to wait until it has finished conditioning/carbing. SO worth the wait!!! ( ;

Looks awesome. Naturally carbing is also called "Spunding" right? What was the gravity reading when you transferred it to the keg and then what did it finish out at? And can you do this if you're bottling?

 

[JLeuck64]

Looks awesome. Naturally carbing is also called "Spunding" right? What was the gravity reading when you transferred it to the keg and then what did it finish out at? And can you do this if you're bottling?

Hey there I think that my technique is a bit different than what you are thinking. I let the beer ferment down to finished gravity. Then I transfer it all into a keg. I treat the whole keg like one big bottle of beer though.

In the past when I bottled beer it would look like this: transferring a batch from the ferment bucket into another bucket for bottling and I would also add the priming sugar at that time. Then I would bottle it all, cap it and let it condition. Then I would taste a few along the way... and then I would cold crash them in the fridge and enjoy! ( ; Maybe you have done this as well?

Lately I have been exbeerimenting with transferring it all into a keg, with the correct amount of bottling sugar, then I purge the O2 and let it carb naturally... for as long as I would let a bottled batch condition (like 3-6 weeks depending on the style of beer). Then I cold crash it and hook up CO2 just for dispensing it... and enjoy! ( ;

When I first switched over to kegging my home brew I would force carbonate. Lately I have started experimenting with adding the priming sugar for a 5 gallon batch into the keg and then letting it sit for same amount of time that I used to bottle condition a batch, if that makes sense.

It takes longer before the beer is ready but might taste better? It's pretty subjective I know, but if nothing else I am forced to let these big beers mellow out for a while before I tap them ( ;

 

[NZJoe]

Hey there I think that my technique is a bit different than what you are thinking. I let the beer ferment down to finished gravity. Then I transfer it all into a keg. I treat the whole keg like one big bottle of beer though.

In the past when I bottled beer it would look like this: transferring a batch from the ferment bucket into another bucket for bottling and I would also add the priming sugar at that time. Then I would bottle it all, cap it and let it condition. Then I would taste a few along the way... and then I would cold crash them in the fridge and enjoy! ( ; Maybe you have done this as well?

Lately I have been exbeerimenting with transferring it all into a keg, with the correct amount of bottling sugar, then I purge the O2 and let it carb naturally... for as long as I would let a bottled batch condition (like 3-6 weeks depending on the style of beer). Then I cold crash it and hook up CO2 just for dispensing it... and enjoy! ( ;

When I first switched over to kegging my home brew I would force carbonate. Lately I have started experimenting with adding the priming sugar for a 5 gallon batch into the keg and then letting it sit for same amount of time that I used to bottle condition a batch, if that makes sense.

It takes longer before the beer is ready but might taste better? It's pretty subjective I know, but if nothing else I am forced to let these big beers mellow out for a while before I tap them ( ;

Oh ok, I thought when you said it was carbonated naturally that you were transferring it to keg when it was almost done fermenting, but not quite, resulting in the remaining sugars fermenting in the keg and carbonating the beer (spending). Didn't realise you were referring to carbing with sugar.

 

[NZJoe]

I brewed this again today. Everything went well except I kind of forgot it was a 90min boil. I added the hops thinking it was a 60min boil and then realised part way through my mistake. So I removed the hops after 60mins and then let it boil for another 30mins. Will this have any effect on the beer? I know it's not big quantities of hops we're talking so hopefully it won't matter. I'm thinking it will have just boiled off some of the fresher hop compounds that came from the 15min addition...
I also racked this onto a s-04 yeast cake which had an English bitter fermenting on it so I'm expecting fermentation to take off pretty quickly.

 

[JLeuck64]

Oh ok, I thought when you said it was carbonated naturally that you were transferring it to keg when it was almost done fermenting, but not quite, resulting in the remaining sugars fermenting in the keg and carbonating the beer (spending). Didn't realise you were referring to carbing with sugar.

Oh Spunding! Right, that was the first way invented to naturally carbonate huh?! I have always wanted to try that approach, guess I need to figure it out one of these days ( ;

 

[alexipas]

Any thoughts on adding some seasoning this fall and making this a "Pumpkin Style Porter"?

 

[deadwolfbones]

Any thoughts on adding some seasoning this fall and making this a "Pumpkin Style Porter"?

My thought: sounds gross.

I know other people like pumpkin beers, though! Just my opinion.

 

[Novims]

My thought: sounds gross.

I know other people like pumpkin beers, though! Just my opinion.

That.
But if you like them, just brew a smaller batch...just in case.

 

[fendersrule]

Brewed today. Does anyone else get less than usual efficiency for this? I was shooting for 1.072 OG and got 1.065 instead. I get 70% like clockwork but today I got 65%. Hmm. I’ll check one more time with my refractometer, but I believe it is what it is. I filled up carboy, shook it for 20 seconds, then pulled a small sample...twice with same result.

Nothing wrong with 1.065 OG with this...it’s just one of those perfection things.

Brew day went perfect otherwise. Going to definitely ferment this one in the bathtub per this thread. Will use a 3 gallon blow off bucket.

I substituted carapils to maltodextrin since it’s impossible to find. I also decided to mash at 153 instead of 150.

Will use 1.5-1.7 packets of Nottingham yeast, rehydrated...once I get the carboy to cool more using the ice and wick method.

 

[Novims]

Have you ever brewed higher OG beers like this one or is it the first time? This 5% efficiency difference tells me it might simply be a case of the "bigger beer drop". In short, you used less sparge water because you had to use more in the mash to reach your water to grain ratio. So more grain = more mash water = less sparge water = efficiency drop.

This is only one thing that COULD have happened though. Might as well be something else.

 

[fendersrule]

I use BIAB, so sparging doesn't apply. With my setup, 7.5 pre-boil gives me an exactly 5 gallon carboy with just enough headspace to get by.

It may have to do with the lower PPG for the black/roasted malts (even though they don't account for much of the grain bill). I did not mill the .5lb of flaked barley, which I think is correct. Maybe just a freak thing. The good news is that I wanted to shoot for 1.072, but landed at exactly what the recipe called for, so I can't complain too much! Perhaps I should check my mill settings...

Fermentation started to kick off within 8 hours of pitching. It wasn't overly violent or anything...I used a 3-gallon bucket with 2 gallon of headspace and a very large blow-off tube. My 1-gallon w/ half gallon of head-space probably would have gone over. So while it's more than usual, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Carboy temp is holding at 64F.

I pitched 1.6-1.7 packets of Nottingham, re-hydrated.

 

[Kharnynb]

yearly christmas batch brewing, adding some dark syrup for bonus flavours

 

[user 263363]

I know that bigger beers do better from some aging, but is it possible to bottle this beer and drink it a month after brewing?

My wife and I have sort of an unexpected Christmas gathering that just got planned yesterday. I think I can have the ingredients to get this brewed up this week, but I don’t want to waste fermenter space if it’s not worth drinking that soon.

 

[Kharnynb]

month after brewing is a bit tight, you'd need 2-3 weeks fermenting and at least 2 weeks bottle conditioning, preferably at least a month in the bottle before trying first ones.

 

[user 263363]

month after brewing is a bit tight, you'd need 2-3 weeks fermenting and at least 2 weeks bottle conditioning, preferably at least a month in the bottle before trying first ones.

Yeah, my coffee finally set in and allowed me to think clearly so I decided not to rush it. I will do a couple lighter beers to ensure completion. Thanks!

 

[rockriver74]

Put this baby into primary yesterday. I held true to the original recipe, except I added 2 cups of cold brew coffee at flame out. To say that it's a vigorous ferment would be the understatement of the year. If you don't have a blow off, you're gonna have a real bad time...

 

[Kharnynb]

I don't have a blow off on this, but with good temperature control it wasn't needed.

 

[burntchef]

I am going to brew this on Sunday. I can't wait to taste.
Eric

 

[burntchef]

Got this on tap and tasted it for the first time yesterday. Wow! What a smooth tasty brew.
I am doing this one again.
Eric

 

[Alex4mula]

Looking to brew this on Saturday. So both hop additions are at 60min? Tks.

Hops.

1 oz. Northern Brewer at 60 min.
0.5 oz Cascade at 60 min.

 

[burntchef]

Roger that. All hops at 60 min, Post back with your results.
Eric

 

[Alex4mula]

Brewed it today. Everything went well. Got 1.065 preboil and 1.071 at fermenter. Smells super and taste great. I’m sure it will be great. This is the biggest beer I have done in my M&B. Very happy

 

[Alex4mula]

So I took a sample last Saturday after 7 days fermenting at 68°F and FG was at 1.020. I rose the temp to 70°F to see if it drops some more. Not that it needed it. Taste was very good and strong in alcohol in a good way. I'm really looking forward to keg this one!

 

[burntchef]

I am enjoying pints of this as I type. It will be on my house list!
Eric

 

[dave2851]

HOLY FERMENTATION Batman ! Pitched Nottingham at 130pm yesterday - I have had to swap out blow off tubes about a dozen times so far. Wow ! Can't wait to see how this turns out!

 

[burntchef]

Knottingham yeast, not to be taken lightly! lol
Eric

 

[dave2851]

Knottingham yeast, not to be taken lightly! lol
Eric

No doubt - I pitched on Friday afternoon - came in high on SG at 1.075. Two days later it is at 1.020 (still bubbling using a regular airlock now). That's 7.24% ABV in TWO DAYS. I have never seen anything like that, and I have been brewing for 10 years.

 

[Alex4mula]

Last week kegged and carbed this beer. Came out at 7% ABV. Good thing is you don't notice it. Bad thing is you don't notice it. So last Friday I had 4 pints and it knocked me out hard! Oh well. This is a really good porter that kind of feels some like a stout too. It is very smooth in taste and not bitter. In two days it got better after my first sip. I bet it will get much better as times go. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

 

[burntchef]

My experience with this beer was similar to yours. To smooth, 4 pints, lights out!
Eric

 

[dave2851]

Kegged this a couple days ago and took a taste from the fermenter. Delicious ! Can't believe it came out over 7%....

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

Thanks again for the recipe and the recommendation about the blow-off tube. It's already blown a few pints out of the tube and is a very active fermentation. Looking forward to the first few glasses out of the keg. Might have to do another next week just to make sure the supply doesn't run low. My last birthday party I had this and another commercial keg. Nobody touched the keg of IPA - and they drained this one flat in a few hours... Very good brew.

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

11 days in - still actively fermenting... Been bubbling at the same rate for about 5 days now... Really looking forward to this one... But willing to wait... I'm thinking I'm going to leave it in the primary for at least another 4-5 days - maybe more... Shouldn't hurt?

 

[burntchef]

It won't hurt, but why wait? When you think it's done pull a gravity reading and know for sure.
Eric

 

[WhoDatDad78]

Brewed a kit from HB supply about two weeks ago and got it as close as I could to this recipe by adding g some additional grains I already had on hand. Used Nottingham. Is fermented furiously for 3 days, then slowed. Just transferred to a keg and grabbed a sample. It is bitter and smokey with a bit of chocolate. Just what the doctor ordered.

 

[Kharnynb]

yearly batch is in the fermenter again, just in time to be ready for christmas
the usual minor adjustments for personal taste:
Malts:
Pale ale malt 5.5 kg
Cara pale 500 g
Chocolate malt500 g
Flaked Barley 300 g
Maltodextrine 300 g
Molasses 300 g
Black malt 130 g
Roasted barley35 g

Hops:
Northern brewer 25g @ 60 minutes
Cascade 25g @ 60 minutes


Mash @ 65 degrees for 60 minutes with 21 liters of water
sparge with 10.5 liters of water
boil for 60 minutes.

Og 1.078