AHS Pecan Porter reviews???

[Sammy75]

2 weeks in bottle and counting. Tasted great upon bottling though!

 

[SevenFields]

Keeping an eye on this thread! Still on the fence about brewing this one.

 

[Nova5]

i just brewed this kit today? why are some of you soaking the chips in scotch? i hope your using the cheapest scotch you can find!

 

[Sammy75]

(512) brewing did a whiskey barrel aged pecan porter. I'm trying to replicate that. In chatting with one of the dudes at AHS, he made that suggestion to soak in whiskey. Scotch was all I had on hand. To be fair, I threw in some vodka cuz I couldn't bear to use that much of my Scotch.

 

[sh00t]

i didn't use any scotch.... just steamed them..... ended up soaking them in boiling water. I do have to admit that the head was small until I got further into the keg, at which case it became a lot creamier (weird).
Does anyone have the grain bill for this because I think I'd love this brew minus the pecan flavoring?

 

[duffman2]

Same here Shoot, I've been wanting to take a stab at this for some time. Still waiting to learn more about the whiskey, oak, and pecan additions. Tried to get ahold of 512 for advice, but no luck. Guess I'll just have to make something up


But lemme know if you think of something cuz I'm still not sure when this will happen

Cheers

 

[duffman2]

(512) brewing did a whiskey barrel aged pecan porter. I'm trying to replicate that. In chatting with one of the dudes at AHS, he made that suggestion to soak in whiskey. Scotch was all I had on hand. To be fair, I threw in some vodka cuz I couldn't bear to use that much of my Scotch.

Sammy, I take it that you ended up using the AHS recipe? Could you hook us up with the recipe? I've got something cooking but still wondering about the base grain bill

Thanks

 

[Sammy75]

hey duffman2, your PM box is full.

 

[duffman2]

Made some room in the old mailbox, I probably need to update my membership one of these days :cross:

Thanks again and as always,

Cheers!

 

[Sammy75]

Had one yesterday, a bit early I know.

I'm really happy with it, even if it is a little young. It has an oaky scotch bite up front that chills out into a mellow (and subtle) pecan finish. I'll report back again in another week or two.

 

[Nova5]

Just racked it to secondary with the chips. another week or so until it goes into bottles!

 

[sh00t]

Ok Sammy75 it's time you tasted another one!!! I'm curious as to how yours is coming along since went a diff route than me

 

[pokerfreak2]

I have to say that my pecan porter has been bottled for about 6 weeks and it is the best beer I have brewed. Great taste, body and mouth feel and great head ! I try to drink just one a night cause I don't want to run out !

 

[Sammy75]

I'll have another one later today and/or tomorrow and post back for sure. So far though I'm really happy with it, with pokerfreak2, it might be my best yet. I still have some greenness to it, but it's otherwise really good. The pecan is nice and subtle, and very late on the finish. The oak/scotch hits immediately up front, but then fades out to the porter flavor.

duffman, in answer to your PM (your box is full) I roasted the heck out of the pecans first to try to get as much of the oils out as possible. I heard that the oils will spoil the head. So low temperatures for a fairly long time, until they look nearly burnt.

Then I just added them to my grain bag and mashed them right in with the grain. As mentioned above, be sure to get all that papery stuff off the pecans, it's really astringent and apparently can really come through in the beer if it gets in there. I didn't have to worry about that because I just bought shelled raw pecan halves. Oh I also broke them up a little more to expose more surface area.

 

[duffman2]

Awesome Sammy, I am working on pecans right now as we speak which is a real pita!

How many lbs of pecans did you go with? And do you feel like you got enough of the flavor out of them?

I can't wait for this brew!

 

[Sammy75]

I did about 20 oz or so. I think you could certainly do more than that. That was one of the things that I really just didn't have a good idea of how much I should do.

 

[duffman2]

Sweet, I was thinking that maybe 2 lbs might do it, but I really wanted to get a pecan beer that people can have a sip and say "Damn, that's some good pecan beer!"

So, we'll see how it goes!

 

[sh00t]

Sammy75.. awesome man! I have read on here about mashing the pecans but didn't have the cajones to try, so i'm impressed. I bet letting it age will let all the intricate flavors find there mark. The hard thing is... well.... letting it age

I am a fan of the base ingredients and am planning a blackberry porter around it.

Duffman2- man, i really hope you post here to let us know how it goes!!!!!!!!!

 

[duffman2]

Duffman2- man, i really hope you post here to let us know how it goes!!!!!!!!!

Hey Shoot, I don't have my notes on hand right now, but........

This brew was tricky. I had my very first stuck sparge and that mother was stuck good! I had hell trying to clear it out. I dug through the grain to find out that my SS braid came off my ball valve in my mash tun. So I poured in 2 pots of near boiling water to free the grains from the valve. Didn't work. So I rocked the tun back and forth with the lid open and some sloshed out all over me and burned the piss out of my head. Then I took off my outer tube, felt the end of the valve and decided I would try to blow the stuff out. One short burst of air through the valve released the grains, and....out came the boiling wort right into my face! So yeah, this one kicked my a$$.

But it all ended up in the kettle, and then into the fermenter. Hydro sample tasted and smelled fantastic. Fermentation has been great, but I haven't messed with a gravity reading yet because I'm giving it some space and time. Maybe tomorrow I'll see where she's at and get ready for the bourbon and the oaking stage.

I'll keep you posted

 

[Nova5]

Flat as a board. but, its just hit the 3 week mark. give it a few more and go again.

 

[sh00t]

Mine didn't want to push a head until I got to the bottom of the keg... so I guess it aged a little more... still delicious....

 

[ryan0914]

I made this for the girlfriend and she loved it. I also served it at a party last weekend and it was a big hit. I kept getting the comments that it tasted like pecan pie in a glass. I liked it as well but I could have done a little less on the pecan. More like 3/4 bottle instead of the full. I also needed to mash a little higher to get a little more body. But all in all its a great beer.

 

[duffman2]

It's been about a month now, and mine is still fermenting away. Gravity was 1.026 last week and is still dropping very very slowly.

And I want to throw it on top of some bourbon soaked oak chips too and I have no idea how long that will take

Sweet sweet agony, this one's gonna test the boundaries of my patience.

 

[sh00t]

how is your patience holding up?

 

[duffman2]

Patience is a four letter word with this hobby. Racked this beauty off the bourbon and oak 6 days ago and I've been cold crashing it since then. It tasts heavenly right now. The whiskey and oak took over the pecan taste, but in time I know that will fade out and it should balance out nicely.

Bottling day is Thursday. I'm closer, but still so far away

 

[sh00t]

man, I bet it does taste heavenly...... I think I'm gonna brew the porter up minus the pecan extract..... it tasted pretty dang good as I recalled w/o it!

 

[Philip_T]

Bringing this thread back to life....

Any updates on how more bottle conditioning treated your pecan porters? I've got a brew weekend coming up in July and this kit is on the short list.

I was also wondering how soaking the oak in port would taste?

 

[Sammy75]

This was still to date my best beer I think. I've been sitting on the last bottle for quite a while now.

 

[kpr121]

Bringing this thread back to life....

Any updates on how more bottle conditioning treated your pecan porters? I've got a brew weekend coming up in July and this kit is on the short list.

I was also wondering how soaking the oak in port would taste?

I brewed this up in November and still have about a half case left. I've been taste testing about 1 or 2 a month, with intentions on bringing a sixer or so this Christmas. I ended up low in volume so the beer ended up being around 8.25% ABV. Its been tasting better and better every time we've tried it. I have to hide it from the wife because she loves butter pecan ice cream and this tastes just like it.

Actually, now to think about it I'm due for a tasting. Maybe tonight or tomorrow.

 

[bucfanmike]

i kegged mine 3 weeks ago and boy did it have a lot going on. Too much too early, and Im afraid i might have over-oaked it. The growler that I took to beer club (right after i kegged it got) got alot of comments. The smell is absolutely incredible. It smells like dessert. Everyone agreed that the oak gave it a very dry finish and they also agreed that again will allow the flavors to marry and that it would be a great beer in a few months. I have buried this keg in the back for now and hoping that it may be ready for MN State fair time. I think it may be a good competition beer.