Recommended ibus for a heavy porter

[elgrindio]

Hey there everybody.

So, I´ve come up with a recipe that I believe should come out something like a heavy, somewhat sweet, porter. Recipe below. My main question is, what kind of IBUs and aroma hops would you recommend? What would be the low and high ranges? I´m thinking the lowest should be around 28 IBUs, and the highest maybe 55?? Please let me know which you would do, and why, and any comments on the grain bill would be welcomed too. Thanks!

Anthony


10 Gallon batch
Single infusion mash at 152°
Safale US-05 1.5 liter starter

Calculated OG 1.085 FG 1.020 Est. ABV 8.3%
25lb Pale Ale (82% of bill)
1lb Caramunich III (57 lov)
2lb Caraaroma (130 lov)
1.5lb Carafa I (340 lov)
1lb Roasted Barley (500 lov)
Total 30.5lb

 

[tracer bullet]

I like around 30 for a normal porter and 45 or so for me for RIS. So for this being in between.... if it was my recipe I'd be targeting around 40.

I'd probably be looking into Kent Goldings, maybe Fuggles, and Willamette as top options. Do a search for profile descriptions and see if one sounds best.

Curious what others think.

 

[Golddiggie]

Depends on the actual style of porter you're looking to make. There are published ranges for this type of thing. Depending on what your intention is, would be where I went within the style range. For something with a bit more hop character, I'd go higher in the range. More malt forward, lower. You can also add some late addition hops, and keep in the lower range of IBUs, and have more hop flavor and aroma.

With most big beers though, you want to give it some more time to mellow out (or not be 'hot'). Which means you can lose a good amount of the hop flavor and aroma, and even the edge of the bitterness from hops.

For reference my 8.1% robust porter I brewed some months back came out with about 30/31 IBUs. It was about 6-8 weeks in fermenter, then another 6-8 weeks in aging vessel sitting on [Hungarian] oak cubes. VERY smooth.

BTW, if you want some additional head retention on that, consider adding some flaked barley to the recipe.

 

[HB2 HughBHomeBrew]

Agree with 30-35 IBU. Especially since you said "somewhat sweet."

 

[elgrindio]

Great stuff everybody. Thanks for your time!

 

[kevin58]

Are you making a running porter or a keeping porter? A running porter would typically have a lower IBU while a keeping porter... which is what I would consider a 1.085 OG porter... could be as high as 70 - 75.