Baltic Porter

[GrainDegenerate]

Recently I got addicted to Baltic Porter so I decided to make one. It will be my first lager, so I'll try to take advantage of the cold weather in the winter to brew this one.

I have a semi temperature controlled fermenter (conical fermenter with heating + ice bucket with pump and coil) that will help a lot with fermentation but I can't get much lower than 5C/41F.

Recipe for 20L / 5 US Gallon
Original Gravity: 1.083
Final Gravity: 1.019
IBU: 37
BU/GU: 0.45
Color: 59.5 EBC / 30.23 SRM


Malts (7.05 kg / 15.54 lbs)
5.01 kg (68%) — Weyermann Munich I
960 g (13%) — Weyermann Barke Pilsner
370 g (5%) — Weyermann Caramunich I
370 g (5%) — The Swaen PlatinumSwaen Brown Porter
221 g (3%) — Briess Oats, Flaked
111 g (1.5%) — Weyermann Carafa Special II

Adjuncts
332 g (4.5%) — Brown Sugar — Boil — 10 min


Hops (54 g / 1.90oz)
34 g (32 IBU) — Perle — Boil — 60 min
20 g (5 IBU) — Hallertauer Mittelfrueh — Boil — 15 min

Yeast
1 pkg — Wyeast Labs 2633 Octoberfest Lager Blend

Fermentation​

Primary — 12 °C | 53F — ~15 days
Secondary — 18 °C | 64F (2 day ramp) — 5 days
Cold Crash — 5 °C | 41F (5 day ramp) — 7 days
Carbonation — 20 °C | 68F — 14 days
Conditioning — 5 °C | 41F — 21 days
-----


I have a few concerns with that recipe. Not sure if 5% Caramunich 1 is enough caramel and I've never used that much Munich malt in a recipe. So any opinions or suggestion?

 

[KeizerBrewr]

I would ditch the pilsner and just take up that amount with more Munich. Munich can be used entirely by itself. The rest of the recipe looks awesome, I really like 2633. I use it exclusively in my Baltic porter. 5% of CaraMunich I is more than enough to get what you want. You will want to build a big starter for it.

 

[Gusso]

Big fan, I use the Jack's Abbey recipe! It's Devine - even with Lutra!

This is the recipe

https://beerandbrewing.com/jacks-abby-brewings-framinghammer-recipe/

 

[AlexKay]

I'm not enough of a Baltic porter expert to tell you whether this will be authentic, but it looks like a recipe that will produce something delicious.

Munich as the only base malt depends a lot on the specific Munich you're using; while there's not a heck of a lot of difference between most maltsters' Pilsner malts, Munich is all over the map. I've had to calibrate recipes to work with the Munich I like (which used to be Mecca Grade, and is now Sugar Creek), usually in the direction of using less. But all-Munich is certainly something people do.

 

[riceral]

your OG is 1.083.

Do you think 1 pack of yeast is enough? Or are you planning a big starter?

 

[GrainDegenerate]

your OG is 1.083.

Do you think 1 pack of yeast is enough? Or are you planning a big starter?

MultiStep starter: 2 steps of 3L.

 

[McMullan]

I'd step up the starter in a 2.5-5 gallon batch of <1.050 FV wort then transfer the Baltic Porter wort on top of the fresh yeast bed when it's done fermenting its first batch. Just as well get some beer out of biggish starters, imo. The yeast are going to perform best after being repitched once or twice.

 

[GoodTruble]

Recipe looks good. That's an ambitious "first" lager. But if you have reliable temp control worked out, then you should be fine. Wyeast 2633 has an alcohol tolerance of "approximately 9%," and you will be rubbing up against that at 8.5%. Again, should be fine, but yeast may slow down a lot at the end and/or finish a bit sweeter than expected (but I would still use it).

 

[Protos]

I'm addicted to Baltic Porters too. I collect historical recipes of the style and have brewed quite a bit of them.
From what I've seen in the recipes, true Baltic Porters very rarely contained Sugar and even more rarely contained Oats.
Instead, many of them were really heavy on Crystal Malts, much more than other beers (often 10-15%, and sometimes up to 35%).
It seems they used to be pretty chewy beers, unlike most of their English counterparts.
So, if you ask, for authenticity, you might want to ditch Oat, swap Pilsner for Munich, swap Sugar for Pilsner and up your Caramunich.
Your hops are correct, no aroma hops needed.
A conditioning 2-3 times longer than 21 Day will make no harm too.

 

[GrainDegenerate]

I'd step up the starter in a 2.5-5 gallon batch of <1.050 FV wort then transfer the Baltic Porter wort on top of the fresh yeast bed when it's done fermenting its first batch. Just as well get some beer out of biggish starters, imo. The yeast are going to perform best after being repitched once or twice.

Interesting. I'll consider that, but I would like to get the baltic porter fermenting over the winter to take advantage of the cold weather, especially for lagering.

 

[GrainDegenerate]

Recipe looks good. That's an ambitious "first" lager. But if you have reliable temp control worked out, then you should be fine. Wyeast 2633 has an alcohol tolerance of "approximately 9%," and you will be rubbing up against that at 8.5%. Again, should be fine, but yeast may slow down a lot at the end and/or finish a bit sweeter than expected (but I would still use it).

Yeah, I know! I have my fair share of high gravity ales (Double/Triple IPAs, Belgian Tripel, Stouts, etc..) but lager is my first one.

The profile of WY2633 yeast got my attention that's why I want to use it, one tactic I used before in high gravity ales with success is pitching a neutral more alcohol tolerant by the end of the fermentation, when it starts to get too slow or completely stop. My plan is to have a couple of W-34/70 packets around in case the 2633 need a hand to finish things up.

Of course I can always bring the OG down to around 1.080 to have a good margin there.

 

[McMullan]

Interesting. I'll consider that, but I would like to get the baltic porter fermenting over the winter to take advantage of the cold weather, especially for lagering.

Pitch a fresh 3L starter into 2.5 gallon batch <1.050 and it's going to be done fermenting in about a week at 12℃. At the most. Cold crash for a few days. Transfer to a keg for maturation and, ideally, on the same day, brew the Baltic Porter and transfer the wort straight on top of the yeast, in the same FV, i.e., without cleaning it. Follow good sanitary technique to start with

 

[GrainDegenerate]

I'm addicted to Baltic Porters too. I collect historical recipes of the style and have brewed quite a bit of them.
From what I've seen in the recipes, true Baltic Porters very rarely contained Sugar and even more rarely contained Oats.
Instead, many of them were really heavy on Crystal Malts, much more than other beers (often 10-15%, and sometimes up to 35%).
It seems they used to be pretty chewy beers, unlike most of their English counterparts.
So, if you ask, for authenticity, you might want to ditch Oat, swap Pilsner for Munich, swap Sugar for Pilsner and up your Caramunich.
Your hops are correct, no aroma hops needed.
A conditioning 2-3 times longer than 21 Day will make no harm too.

I don't think I've ever drank a traditional Baltic Porter. The ones available to me are mostly from Pohjala and some local breweries.

 

[GrainDegenerate]

Thank you for all the feedbacks. I decided to make some adjustments and got this recipe below.

------
70% efficiency
Batch Volume: 20 L / 5 gal.
Boil Time: 60 min

Vitals
Original Gravity: 1.083
Final Gravity: 1.022
ABV: 8.0%
IBU (Tinseth): 39
BU/GU: 0.46
Color: 71 EBC / 36 SRM


Mash
Temperature — 69°C | 154F — 45 min
Mash Out — 75°C | 167F— 15 min

Malts (7.54 kg / 16.62 lbs)​

6.168 kg (81.7%) — Weyermann Munich I
510 g (6.8%) — The Swaen PlatinumSwaen Brown Porter
378 g (5%) — Weyermann Caraamber
378 g (5%) — Weyermann Caramunich III
115 g (1.5%) — Weyermann Carafa Special II

Hops (54.7 g / 1.90 oz)
37 g (33 IBU) — Perle 9.2% — Boil — 60 min
20 g (5 IBU) — Hallertauer Mittelfrueh 5.3% — Boil — 15 min

Yeast​

1 pkg — Wyeast Labs 2633 Octoberfest Lager Blend 77%

Step 1: 2.7 L starter​

Step 2: 8 L starter​

Fermentation​

Primary — 12 °C — 15 days
Secondary — 18 °C (2 day ramp) — 5 days
Cold Crash — 5 °C (5 day ramp) — 7 days
Carbonation — 20 °C — 14 days
Conditioning — 5 °C — +21 days

 

[McMullan]

Note the idea is to step up the volume of yeast starters by 5 times. E.g., step one 2L; step two 10L. This is why I recommend making step two a half batch of beer.

 

[GrainDegenerate]

Note the idea is to step up the volume of yeast starters by 5 times. E.g., step one 2L; step two 10L. This is why I recommend making step two a half batch of beer.

Cool. I'll try that, not sure if I'll manage to do 10L because my smallest fermenter is 10L total, so I'll probably do 8L or so.

 

[DuncB]

Cool. I'll try that, not sure if I'll manage to do 10L because my smallest fermenter is 10L total, so I'll probably do 8L or so.

That's okay use your bigger fermenter then!!

 

[z-bob]

Munich should be able to convert itself (sometimes just barely) but he has brown malt and oats in there too. I think adding a little pilsner is a good idea. It's not a beer style I know much about. Looks tasty if you can pull it off. You'll definitely need a starter if you ferment it cold, and maybe even at ale temps.

 

[Jmarc]

I'm addicted to Baltic Porters too. I collect historical recipes of the style and have brewed quite a bit of them.
From what I've seen in the recipes, true Baltic Porters very rarely contained Sugar and even more rarely contained Oats.
Instead, many of them were really heavy on Crystal Malts, much more than other beers (often 10-15%, and sometimes up to 35%).
It seems they used to be pretty chewy beers, unlike most of their English counterparts.
So, if you ask, for authenticity, you might want to ditch Oat, swap Pilsner for Munich, swap Sugar for Pilsner and up your Caramunich.
Your hops are correct, no aroma hops needed.
A conditioning 2-3 times longer than 21 Day will make no harm too.

Do you have a recipe for Carnegie Porter?

 

[Protos]

I don't have, unfortunately. Mostly, Polish Porters (with some occasional Finnish or Latvian) in my repertoire. Would lovely brew a Swedish one, like Carnegie, if I had a recipe.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

@Protos
I googled around a bit and found some results on Swedish brew sites.
I believe a good start would be Pilsner as base, 10% each of some German darker Crystal and Chocolate malt, possibly some of the base as Vienna or Munich.

1.055- ish OG 30 IBU, moderate late boil addition of some noble like continental hop, and a steam beer approach to fermentation, ie a lager yeast but at warmer temps.

 

[Pehlman17]

1.055- ish OG 30 IBU, moderate late boil addition of some noble like continental hop, and a steam beer approach to fermentation, ie a lager yeast but at warmer temps.

Do you have a recipe for Carnegie Porter?

FWIW I think Gordon Strong's Baltic Porter recipe he says is a scaled up version of Carnegie. But he uses the California Lager yeast steam beer approach as mentioned above. Not sure how close it'll get you but could be a place to start.

 

[Protos]

Pilsner as base, 10% each of some German darker Crystal and Chocolate malt, possibly some of the base as Vienna or Munich.

1.055- ish OG 30 IBU, moderate late boil addition of some noble like continental hop, and a steam beer approach to fermentation, ie a lager yeast but at warmer temps.

Looks like a solid recipe!
A bit weaker than the Baltic Porters I'm used to brew. Those are usually around 8% ABV.

But he uses the California Lager yeast steam beer approach as mentioned above.

That's strange that he's recommending California Lager. Gordon Strong is an authoritative and knowledgeable beer writer.
Baltic Porter is a very well and pretty strictly defined style, it emerged in not so distant times, and it is a Lager.

Pilsner grist fermented with Californian Lager (that is just another name for a Kölsch yeast ) always will be considered an entirely different style: a Kölsch.
While Baltic Porter... whatever you ferment it with, it's a Baltic Porter as long as it's black, eh? We call this colour-based discrimination!

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

The recipe draft is after some searching on Swedish internet what I would try as a first try for an Carnegie Porter approximation, to clarify.

 

[Protos]

I'd like to brew that recipe some day.
A weaker Baltic Porter, why not to try it. The weakest I've brewed so far was Aldaris Porteris, a Latvian one, at 6.8%ABV.
Which hops do the Swedes use in their Porters?
In classic Polish versions, predominantly Saazer or its locally-grown varieties, like Lubelski, are used. In Aldaris, I used Ukrainian Saazer-derived hops (Slowianka). And for Finnish Porters, neutral German hops like Tradition or Selekt.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I think they probably use German hops like Northern Brewer and Hallertau etc.
But you could try the commercially available kinds, Svalöf Mauritz, Korsta and Hulla Norrgård. Humlegården usually have all those.
I have 4 really old Swedish heritage hops out in the garden, but being first year plants I did not get any useful amounts of useful quality hops, but next year I can hopefully do some experimenting.

 

[Protos]

Definitely, I need to try those Swedish hops.
I'm fond of trying local and heritage European hop varieties, so I'm eager to buy them whenever a possibility comes. That's how I'm getting me some rare hops sometimes. I won't say any of those I've tried so far were superior to the "international" varieties, but the terroir, rusticity and authenticity are a great part of the enjoyment!

 

[dwightr8]

Recently I got addicted to Baltic Porter so I decided to make one. It will be my first lager, so I'll try to take advantage of the cold weather in the winter to brew this one.

I have a semi temperature controlled fermenter (conical fermenter with heating + ice bucket with pump and coil) that will help a lot with fermentation but I can't get much lower than 5C/41F.

Recipe for 20L / 5 US Gallon
Original Gravity: 1.083
Final Gravity: 1.019
IBU: 37
BU/GU: 0.45
Color: 59.5 EBC / 30.23 SRM


Malts (7.05 kg / 15.54 lbs)
5.01 kg (68%) — Weyermann Munich I
960 g (13%) — Weyermann Barke Pilsner
370 g (5%) — Weyermann Caramunich I
370 g (5%) — The Swaen PlatinumSwaen Brown Porter
221 g (3%) — Briess Oats, Flaked
111 g (1.5%) — Weyermann Carafa Special II

Adjuncts
332 g (4.5%) — Brown Sugar — Boil — 10 min


Hops (54 g / 1.90oz)
34 g (32 IBU) — Perle — Boil — 60 min
20 g (5 IBU) — Hallertauer Mittelfrueh — Boil — 15 min

Yeast
1 pkg — Wyeast Labs 2633 Octoberfest Lager Blend

Fermentation​

Primary — 12 °C | 53F — ~15 days
Secondary — 18 °C | 64F (2 day ramp) — 5 days
Cold Crash — 5 °C | 41F (5 day ramp) — 7 days
Carbonation — 20 °C | 68F — 14 days
Conditioning — 5 °C | 41F — 21 days
-----


I have a few concerns with that recipe. Not sure if 5% Caramunich 1 is enough caramel and I've never used that much Munich malt in a recipe. So any opinions or suggestion?

Ever consider using Candi Syrup (Products) in place of the brown sugar? Could add some interesting flavors.

 

[GrainDegenerate]

Ever consider using Candi Syrup (Products) in place of the brown sugar? Could add some interesting flavors.

Yes, I did. The original recipe was with D-90 but both my LHBS didn't have them on stock only the clear candi sugar in rocks.

 

[GrainDegenerate]

Final version of this recipe, I will brew over the weekend.:

Vitals​

Original Gravity: 1081
Final Gravity: 1020
IBU (Tinseth): 37
BU/GU: 0.46
Color: 77 EBC / 39 SRM

​

Malts (8.23 kg / 18.14lbs)​

5 kg (60.8%) — Weyermann Barke Munich Malt
2 kg (24.3%) — Weyermann Barke Pilsner
410 g (5%) — Thomas Fawcett Crystal Malt 60L
410 g (5%) — Weyermann Special "W"
205 g (2.5%) — Weyermann Chocolate Rye
205 g (2.5%) — Weyermann Chocolate Wheat

Hops (50 g)​

50 g (37 IBU) — Perle 8.2% — Boil — 60 min

Mash​

Temperature — 67 °C — 60 min
Mash Out — 75 °C — 15 min

Yeast​

1 pkg — Wyeast Labs 2633 Octoberfest Lager Blend 77% (with a massive starter)

Fermentation​

Primary — 12 °C — 15 days
Secondary — 18 °C (2 day ramp) — 5 days
Cold Crash — 5 °C (5 day ramp) — 7 days
Carbonation — 20 °C — 14 days
Conditioning — 5 °C — +21 days

-----

Thank you for all the tips and advices, I've changed a few grains, like Carafa II with Chocolate Wheat because my LHBS didnt have small packs of Carafa and I have Chocolate Wheat on hand already, similarily with Caramunich which I replaced with Crystal 60L because I have a bunch of those around.

I removed the BrownPorter from The Swaen grain because ti seems to be a new malt and didn't found any mention to the usage, I'll use in my next Porter recipe.

 

[dwightr8]

Yes, I did. The original recipe was with D-90 but both my LHBS didn't have them on stock only the clear candi sugar in rocks.

Yes, I did. The original recipe was with D-90 but both my LHBS didn't have them on stock only the clear candi sugar in rocks.

Sounds like you need to make your own. It's really pretty easy. I was able to do it and I'm a real klutz when it comes to anything like cooking. Here's a good thread on how to:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/20-lb-of-sugar-and-a-jar-of-yeast-nutrient.114837/

 

[505-Brewer]

Big fan, I use the Jack's Abbey recipe! It's Devine - even with Lutra!

This is the recipe

https://beerandbrewing.com/jacks-abby-brewings-framinghammer-recipe/

Ive been eyeing that recipe. Not too roasty? Definitely a different way to approach a baltic porter. Rather than mostly munich. brewing something close to it this Wednesday. Might sub some special b for choc malt. 50:50. Increase ibus?
Im going to use wy2206/wlp830 strain.
Love to hear more.
Cheers.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

FWIW I think Gordon Strong's Baltic Porter recipe he says is a scaled up version of Carnegie. But he uses the California Lager yeast steam beer approach as mentioned above.

Wasn't Wyeast 1742 Swedish Porter originally harvested from Carnegie Porter...and then they found it was actually the same as Ringwood?

So I take some of the rigidity on yeast with a huge pinch of salt, European brewers generally have never read a style guide in their life and in the real world break many of the rules that USians would regard as indispensable for defining different styles.

Yes you don't want huge yeast character, but whether that comes from warm-fermented lager yeast or cool-fermented ale yeast, is not super-critical.

 

[Gusso]

Ive been eyeing that recipe. Not too roasty? Definitely a different way to approach a baltic porter. Rather than mostly munich. brewing something close to it this Wednesday. Might sub some special b for choc malt. 50:50. Increase ibus?
Im going to use wy2206/wlp830 strain.
Love to hear more.
Cheers.

I haven't found it too roasty, it's incredibly smooth and ready to drink almost immediately.

 

[505-Brewer]

I haven't found it too roasty, it's incredibly smooth and ready to drink almost immediately.

Thx. I brewed a Baltic Porter based on that recipe last week. Tastes roasty but not burnt. So far so good! I came in at 1.090 for a 12 gal batch in a keggle system. I could have hit target but i didnt want to add another 1 h to the boil. I boiled for 120 min. Will pull a gravity tomorrow to see wheres its at.
Cheers!!

 

[kqngw]

your OG is 1.083.

Do you think 1 pack of yeast is enough? Or are you planning a big starter?

Well, one packet of yeast at high sugar levels should not be enough. I failed once because of such a problem.

 

[505-Brewer]

I haven't found it too roasty, it's incredibly smooth and ready to drink almost immediately.

I agree. Just kegged the beer last week. Alcohol already well integrated. Drinks well. Inagine it will only get better with age. In fact it might need a touch more roast.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Evan Rail has written a nice obituary for one of the classic "Baltic" porters, Pardubický Porter from Pardubice in Bohemia. Created in 1890, survived communism, but they were forced to sell out to Staropramen (ie MolsonCoors) in 2018 and they're now closing the brewery with the excuse of Covid/Ukraine. Ingredients are given as :

While Pardubický Pivovar could turn out 550 hectoliters (about 470 barrels) of its 5% ABV Pernštejn Pale Lager, a batch of Pardubický Porter was only 320 hectoliters. Brewed to 19º Plato, or 1.0785 on the Specific Gravity scale, a single batch of Pardubický Porter required almost 7 metric tons of grain—Pilsner, Munich, caramel malt, and Czech barvící slad, or “coloring malt”—the equivalent of about 15,400 pounds...

[so 4.3kg in 20 litres, or 9lb in 5 US gallons, or whatever you need to end up with 1.0785 OG]

While the lagering temperature of 2 Celsius (around 36 Fahrenheit) was the same for the brewery’s entire lineup, Václav says that he raised the fermentation temperature by roughly one degree for all Dark Lagers, including Pardubický Porter, with the wort only chilled down to 9 Celsius before the yeast was pitched. On average, primary fermentation took about two weeks, he says...

Lagering Pardubický Porter could take up to 120 days, he says, with a minimum lagering period of 90 days. “To make the beer for Christmas, that meant that you came back from your holidays in August, and the first week of September, you brewed Porter,” he says. “You packaged it around the beginning of December....

any other brewery might have trouble making Pardubický Porter. When Pardubický Pivovar upgraded its brewhouse a few years ago, the first batches of Pardubický Porter didn’t work with the new equipment, Vejr says. Instead, the 15,400 pounds of Czech malt formed a solid block at lautering, leading to a stuck sparge. In order to keep making Pardubický Porter, the brewery had to refit the new brewhouse with additional equipment modeled after the previous version. The same could happen in Ostrava, or anywhere that isn’t already set up to brew a strong Baltic Porter....

It’s a dark beer, slightly more brown than black, capped with a thick cap of khaki-colored foam. It’s not as viscous as it might appear—it’s refreshingly light in the mouth—and there’s a rich “holiday spice” aroma that quickly evokes memories of previous tastings, followed by touches of caramel, licorice, and Dutch cocoa in the finish. Though it is strong for a Czech beer, I don’t notice the alcohol: Pardubický Porter is supposed to have 8% ABV, but I can’t taste it. Nor is there much Czech hop character. Instead, this beer is all about the malt, which makes every sip disappear with a clear invitation to take another.

Setting the glass down, I reflect on the inherent contradiction. I know that Pardubický Porter isn’t brewed with spice, but I keep picking up notes of cinnamon, clove, allspice, and nutmeg as I drink it. It’s probably a trick of the cerebral cortex, some kind of sensory suggestion stemming from the dessert-like sweetness of the malt.

https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blo...porter-inspired-generations-of-czech-drinkers

 

[cactusgarrett]

Evan Rail has written a nice obituary for one of the classic "Baltic" porters, Pardubický Porter from Pardubice in Bohemia.

It'd be great if we could get a hold of the recipe for this, but Rail's article is the only thing I could find that's come even close.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

It'd be great if we could get a hold of the recipe for this, but Rail's article is the only thing I could find that's come even close.

Might be worth pinging Evan directly - he's on Twitter for instance, given that he's in touch with one of the brewers he might be able to winkle out of them a recipe and pointers on yeast etc.