Feedback on my chile porter

[PattyC]

This is my first time using chiles in beer, and I'm looking for some constructive criticism of this recipe I designed.

Here's what I'm shooting for: a dark, malt-forward robust porter with notes of chocolate, coffee, and subtle heat and flavor from the chili peppers.

I am adding the chiles at the end of the boil per Randy Mosher's book, "Radical Brewing," and have a couple back-ups soaked in vodka in case I want to add more heat after tasting it post-fermentation.


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Choco-Chile Porter
Brewer: Patrick
Asst Brewer:
Style: Robust Porter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.74 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.24 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.064 SG
Estimated Color: 29.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 40.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 70.9 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
10 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 69.0 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Borlander Munich Malt (Briess) (10.0 SRM Grain 2 10.3 %
1 lbs Oats, Flaked (Briess) (1.4 SRM) Grain 3 6.9 %
1 lbs Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SR Grain 4 6.9 %
12.0 oz Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM) Grain 5 5.2 %
4.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 6 1.7 %
1.00 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] - First Wort 60 Hop 7 38.4 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) Fining 8 -
4.00 oz Cocoa, unsweetened (Boil 5.0 mins) Flavor 9 -
0.55 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 5.0 Hop 10 1.9 IBUs
1.00 Items Ancho chile (Boil 1.0 mins) Spice 11 -
1.00 Items Guajillo chile (Boil 1.0 mins) Spice 12 -
1.0 pkg London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) [124. Yeast 13 -


Mash Schedule: Patty's Batch Sparge 1
Total Grain Weight: 14 lbs 8.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash Step Add 19.97 qt of water at 169.5 F 152.0 F 60 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun, , 4.59gal) of 170.0 F water
Notes:
------

 

[PattyC]

bump ... anyone have thought on this one?

 

[ploppythesausage]

Looks like a good start to me - i used 3 nagas at the end of the boil and it was definitely one for the chili-heads. It did die down over time though, very spicy but nice and fruity too. Your plan sounds good, you can always 'dry-chilli' later if it needs more.

 

[PattyC]

Looks like a good start to me - i used 3 nagas at the end of the boil and it was definitely one for the chili-heads. It did die down over time though, very spicy but nice and fruity too. Your plan sounds good, you can always 'dry-chilli' later if it needs more.

Appreciate the input. So did you use fresh or dried chiles? I'm using tried and am not sure whether I should just throw them in whole, dice them up, soak them first, or what. Any suggestions?

 

[bobbrews]

I think you need more darker, flavorful malts. Looks like a dark brown ale instead of a porter to me.

For the chiles, I would recommend deseeding & destemming, then toasting them in a dry skillet or oven until fragrant and slightly darkened. Afterward, you can chop them up and rehydrate in the flameout wort. Try not to add them when the wort is too hot. 160-180 F seems to be the recommended temp. for when we rehydrate them in the restaurant. Can't tell you the science behind it though. I would use more Guajillos. Maybe you could add a Pasilla.

 

[PattyC]

I think you need more darker, flavorful malts. Looks like a dark brown ale instead of a porter to me.

For the chiles, I would recommend deseeding & destemming, then toasting them in a dry skillet or oven until fragrant and slightly darkened. Afterward, you can chop them up and rehydrate in the flameout wort. Try not to add them when the wort is too hot. 160-180 F seems to be the recommended temp. for when we rehydrate them in the restaurant. Can't tell you the science behind it though. I would use more Guajillos. Maybe you could add a Pasilla.

Really? Beersmith puts the SRM at 29.4, which is mid-range for a robust porter. You think maybe add a little roasted barley for additional color? I don't want to get too roasty with this recipe.

Does your technique for the chiles apply to dried types? Because that's what I'll be using.

 

[bobbrews]

I'm not talking about the color per se, though you could afford to go a bit darker.

The flavor aspect is where you'll wish you added more dark, character malts. I like more chocolate malt for this, but a "touch" of black patent and roasted barley won't hurt.

Yes, I was talking about toasting and rehydrating dried chiles.

 

[PattyC]

I'm not talking about the color per se, though you could afford to go a bit darker.

The flavor aspect is where you'll wish you added more dark, character malts. I like more chocolate malt for this, but a "touch" of black patent and roasted barley won't hurt.

Yes, I was talking about toasting and rehydrating dried chiles.

Ha! I just realized I didn't add any crystal to this recipe. Maybe a little C-80 would help in that regard. Another concern I have is not adding so many malts that it muddles the final product. Maybe I'll 86 the Victory.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

The recipe is fine for a porter but needs some crystal malt. You could add more dark malts but if you don't want the recipe to carry a lot of roast then leave it as is. However, if you decide to add more roasty malt notes it will work well with the chiles you selected.

If you add chiles to the boil you will get more of the heat and less of the flavor. If you add after fermentation you will get more flavor but still some heat. People get good results both ways but personally I think you get a fresher chile flavor putting them in secondary. However, with a fresher flavor you will get a slight amount of the vegetal taste of the chile. A happy medium would be to drop them at flameout and let them steep like a whirlpool hop addition.

 

[ploppythesausage]

The nagas were dried (the dorset ones, one time record holder) and I threw them in at the end of the boil, at flame-out.

 

[brices121]

How's it going with this one? Almost sounds like it would be similar to a mole sauce. I might try to convert this to extract if it goes well or just try that pepper combination in an extract porter recipe that already exists.