English Porter Atonement Brown Porter (2011 HBT Gold Category 12)

[Airborneguy]

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: Wyeast 1028 London Ale
Yeast Starter: no
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: no
Batch Size (Gallons): 5.5
Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.012
IBU: 21
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 25.3
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14-21 days @ 64ºF
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): None
Tasting Notes: A smooth and complex brown porter with a hint of chocolate and just a very slight roast character.

Atonement Brown Porter

Type: All Grain
Date: 1/17/2011
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Brewer: Sonny
Boil Size: 6.5 gal
Boil Time: 60
Brewhouse Efficiency: 83% (higher than intended)

Ingredients

UK Maris Otter 7.5lbs
UK Brown Malt 2.5lbs
US Black Malt .6lbs

UK Fuggle 3.9AA 1.5oz @ 60min
UK Fuggle 3.9AA .5oz @ 5min

1 pkgs Wyeast 1028 London Ale

Mash Profile

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Batch Sparge 152ºF

Single Infusion, Batch Sparge
60 min Mash In Add 4.25gal of water at 167ºF
Sparge with 3.5gal of water at 153ºF

This batch won Gold in the East for Category 12 and also the combined Category in the Best of Show Round. My efficiency was much higher than expected - 83%. The recipe is planned for 70%.

I had previously made this recipe twice. The first time I used much less Brown Malt, but I felt like it lacked something. The second time I brewed this same recipe but added chili peppers after primary fermentation. If you are so inclined, that batch was also awesome. For this batch, I obviously skipped the chili peppers, but the extra brown malt was a good addition.

Note: I do not secondary any of my ales. This beer was in the primary fermentor for 21 days. I feel this results in a complete, clean fermentation that produces a nice clear, tasty beer.

 

[Airborneguy]

I tried to link the .XML and PDF for this recipe, but it wouldn't let me. If anyone is interested, PM me an email address and I will send you the .XML.

 

[Jbear]

I like the sound of this one, I might try to brew it up this weekend. I've been wanting to try out using brown malt to get a feel for it, and this is a nice simple grain bill to show that off. Thanks for posting your recipe Airborneguy!

Quick question though, is black malt and black patent malt the same thing or is there a difference?

 

[Airborneguy]

You might get a slight color difference depending on the maltster, but it won't be anything worth worrying about. I believe black patent is the traditional English name for the malt, but they are the same.

Let me know how it turns out. This is a great, simple, tasty recipe.

 

[Newbeerguy]

I will be serving this up for the 4th for family and friends. It just finished carbing up in the keg yesterday, and I must say this is going to be a huge hit! Airborneguy really hit the nail on the head with this recipe. It tasted fantastic. It' very smooth with a great coffee/roasty finish. I didn't change a thing from your recipe and I am glad I didn't.

 

[Airborneguy]

Thanks for the great compliment! I'm very glad you liked it and hope you do also. If you are into it, I've also brewed this and added a few chilis to a secondary to give it a slight kick. That came out great also.

 

[Jbear]

Well I finally got this brewed and kegged (hate with life gets in the way of my brewing plans!) I used Willamette hops since I grow them and had a bunch on hand.

Its got a lovely roast flavor / aroma that is complimented by a touch of sweetness from the brown malt. Delicious and very distinct from the more common chocolate/caramel malt porters.

Thanks for the recipe Airborneguy - I can see why it won you an award!

Cheers!

 

[Airborneguy]

Again, thanks, and I'm glad it worked for you too. It's a great recipe, and I won't be making any changes to it anytime soon, that's for sure. Enter it into a competition!

 

[bozizle]

I brewed this 3 weeks ago and tasted some before bottling and it tasted amazing. I can't wait to have this carbonated.

 

[Airborneguy]

Awesome! Enjoy it. It's a tasty porter.

 

[nut4wine]

Do you use Irish moss or any other clarifier in your boil? I'm getting ready to brew this on Sunday and I think that's the only change I'm contemplating.

 

[Airborneguy]

Yes, I always use it. This beer, although dark, can be nice and clear with some red highlights. I looks great.

 

[nut4wine]

Thanks. I've checked with the LHBS, everything I need is in stock, so I suppose I'll be drinking this come early Fall.

 

[kyleobie]

Hey, thanks for pointing me to your recipe. Do you remember which maltster made your brown malt?

 

[jschumacher]

Brewed this up 3 weeks ago and just transferred to the keg today. Can't wait until it is ready. Great recipe.

 

[Airborneguy]

Thanks! Let me know how you like it. I just bottle two batches for an art event myself and a few others were asked to participate in. One batch was aged in my brett-infected barrel. Unfortunately I think it needs a little more time than I have, but it will do

 

[Dr. Francois]

Is your SRM correct in your recipe? You list 25.3 and I'm getting 32. Mine is based off 500L Black Malt and 75L Brown Malt.

 

[Airborneguy]

The brown malt that I use is lower than 75L. I'm going off the top of my head, but I believe mine is under 60L. I don't know the name of the maltster.

 

[Dr. Francois]

Brown malt at my LHBS comes from Crisp. Hopville lists the Lovibond as 75, but I found 60-70L on one website and "in the low 50s" on another.

Either way, I've been really interested in making a porter with significant amounts of brown malt. I toyed with the idea of 50/50 pale to brown. Most brewers seemed to think the pale wouldn't have the diastatic power to convert that much brown malt.

 

[Airborneguy]

I've never tried 50/50 with this beer (I don't think I'll be changing the recipe any further), but I would like to try it with a brown ale. I was thinking 50% brown, 35% pale, 10% crystal (80?), and 5% chocolate.

 

[MMBB]

has anybody tried this with different yeast? My LHBS, for the most part, only stocks white labs. No Wyeast.

 

[Jbear]

MMBB, I'm pretty sure White Labs WLP013 is derived from the same strain as Wyeast 1028. MrMalty.com lists them both as being sourced from Worthington White Shield.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

This will be my next porter.

 

[Airborneguy]

Thanks! Let me know how it comes out.

 

[JLem]

Just wanted to post that I had the privilege of drinking one of these as brewed by Airborneguy as part of a beer swap we did. It was fan-freaking-tastic. When I make another porter, I am going to use this recipe. It was near perfect IMHO - flavorful and smooth. I wish I had more of it.

Now, if only my LHBS carried brown malt...

 

[kyleobie]

I brewed something very similar after you referred me to your recipe in a different post and it tastes awesome. Under attenuated, but still fine. Thanks again for the help!

(recipe here btw)

 

[ThePell]

I just pulled a sample for the FG reading after almost 4 weeks of primary. I've been playing with BIAB trying to figure out the most effecient way to do it and hit OG of 1.060. FG came in much higher than I expected at 1.024 but damn was that sample tasty. I brewed this for a friend and will brew another batch of it this weekend for myself.

 

[asidrane]

I'm thinking about brewing this up and using some washed wlp002 that I have? How do you think the yeast substitution would work?

 

[Airborneguy]

Sorry man, I have no experience with White Labs yeasts.

 

[bajabrewer7]

Making this tomorrow, do you think I would benefit if I mash @ 155 to make it a bit sweeter?

 

[Airborneguy]

Mashing higher will give it more body, but it won't make it sweeter. There's nothing in the malt bill to give this beer any sweetness (purposefully for my tastes ). If you want it to have some sweetness, add a little crystal malt, maybe around 1/2 lb of whichever one you typically use.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

From what you've described regarding the flavor, it sounds like this would be in the subcategory of 12B:Robust Porter rather than 12A:Brown Porter, correct?

 

[Airborneguy]

I had this discussion with a friend recently. I said that the hint of roast is enough to keep it in the brown porter category. This beer leans more towards chocolate than roast/burnt flavors. The line between the two is fine in my opinion, and I've always felt this one fits more with the brown porters. He was conflicted and thinks it really straddles the line.

That said, I have four bottles left over from my last batch, and barring any change in the rules from last year, I decided after my conversation with my friend to enter both categories in an upcoming local competition to see in which one the beer scores higher. I'm hoping to get the same judges for both beers so that I can consider the sheets consistent.

 

[Airborneguy]

The IBU's are also too low for the Robust Category. I supposed bumping up the IBU's and raising the OG a little would place it squarely in the Robust category.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

Great feedback, thanks! That's why I asked because it seemed to be close to both styles.
The 4.3% ABV seems a little low for me so I might tweak it a bit via Beersmith. Probably making this this weekend.

 

[JLem]

The IBU's are also too low for the Robust Category. I supposed bumping up the IBU's and raising the OG a little would place it squarely in the Robust category.

My impression of this beer as currently designed is that it is a Brown Porter. It just isn't "robust" enough to be a Robust Porter. I think it may fall on the edges of the BP category because it lacks the crystal/caramel malt flavors. I think to get it into the RP category i agree that you'll need to up the OG and the IBUs, but probably also throw in some more darker grains - maybe some additional black malt or some roasted barley and/or some chocolate malt. I don't know that there is enough roast in it to carry just a "bigger" version of this into the RP category.

 

[Airborneguy]

Agreed.

I'll post the score sheets when I get them back. I think it will be interesting to enter a beer like this into two categories to see what happens.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

Ok, making this this weekend! I tweaked the hops (because I have more Columbus that I need to use) and added some caramel malt for sweetness.
Feedback?

Recipe: Atonement Porter
Brewer: Jason
Asst Brewer:
Style: Brown Porter
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.7 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.2 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.5 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.0 gal
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 28.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 74.2 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
7 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 68.2 %
2 lbs 8.0 oz Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 22.7 %
8.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 4.5 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 4.5 %
1.50 oz Fuggles [3.90 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 18.9 IBUs
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining -
0.25 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) [17.70 %] - Boil 5.0 Hop 2.9 IBUs
2.0 pkg London Ale Yeast (Wyeast Labs #1028) Yeast


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 15.75 qt of water at 167 F Target=156 F 45 min

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.5gal, 4.1gal) of 168 F water

 

[Airborneguy]

The only suggestion I would make is to finish with the fuggles and use the Columbus to bitter.

 

[JasontheBeaver]

The only suggestion I would make is to finish with the fuggles and use the Columbus to bitter.

I can easily do that, I have enough of each. Now tell me why you recommend that?