English Porter Black Pearl Porter (AG)

[nspaldi0]

If using S-04, would this be alright fermenting around 64? I have a pumpkin ale in the fridge at 64 ( started it at 61 and ramped to 64). It is still active and don't want to lower the temp and stall the yeast. Any suggestions? I was going to start brewing here shortly but then thought to hold off a week until the pumpkin ale is done and the temp on it could be lowered.

 

[RugenBrau]

64 will be fine for S O4.

 

[nspaldi0]

Thanks for the reply. I'm mashing now!

 

[RugenBrau]

We were drinking this the other night and and someone brought up that this reminded him of beer we used to drink back in the 70's called Prior double dark(on tap). They stopped making it sometime in the late 80's. I think someone bought the name and started to make it again but it is no where near the same as it use to be.

This really gets better with age

 

[endie]

planning to brew this with a little modifications , i dont think i want to add the lactose since my mother inlaw and gf is intolerant what will the impact on the beer be? im also thinking of adding 200g of café light malt to add some coffey flavor.

 

[SteveBrewSD]

My first post on hombrewtalk! I have been reading a lot of your recipes as well as EdWort's, they must do something right in Texas. I did just one extract brew before switching to AG because it is just so much more interesting. I have a an IPA modeled aftered EdWort's in the primary and am about to do your porter. Thanks for freely giving so much advice! It is much appreciated by us new to the hobby and eager to learn.

Cheers,
Steven

 

[endie]

Had a hard time with the temp this time i ended upp mashing at around 67C :/

 

[endie]

started on 1064 and stoped at 1022 and it tastes great thanks for the inspiration Beermuncher

 

[BucksPA]

I just wanted to add 1 year bottle conditioning notes. I just approached 1 year and have about 4 bottles left from a 10 gallon batch. The Black Pearl Porter was a big hit for my wife and I. It lends a sweet finish that many were suprised to see in a porter, hence their skepticism. Overall it was a fantastic brew but I have noticed 1 year of aging is the absolute maximum I would age this beer. Its becoming acidic in flavor. It was great 'green' and was great 6 months later, but it is diminishing in its quality 1 year out.

My comments are not to be rude in any way, but to just to lend information for any one interested in this great brew!

 

[rico567]

planning to brew this with a little modifications , i dont think i want to add the lactose since my mother inlaw and gf is intolerant what will the impact on the beer be? im also thinking of adding 200g of café light malt to add some coffey flavor.

My experience with the lactose was not good. The beer hit all its marks while brewing, had the correct FG, conditioned in good time, and everything was great (wonderful porter!) until I was in the middle of my third-to-last six. I started to get more and more foaming, and by the time I was down to the last six I couldn't pour a 12 oz bottle into an Imperial pint and not have it foam over. Consensus at the time seemed to be a late fermentation involving the lactose and, maybe, lactobacillus.

 

[PartTimeJedi]

Brewing this as is today and am really excited based on all the comments! However, I thought about doing a half batch of this later in order to experiment with using some toasted coconut in the secondary to make a coconut porter.

Any thought on using this as a base for a coconut porter?

 

[sjwelna]

Hoping to brew a batch of this up tonight.

-Steve

 

[mtbiker278]

Making this today, totally forgot the flaked oats. I upped the Dextrine to hopefully add the body that was lost. Smells fantastic in the boil kettle, although I think all beers do!

Thanks for the recipe!

 

[nspaldi0]

Just kegged this. Tasted great but finished at 1.024!!!!!! Anyone else finish this high with this?

 

[burninmules]

I think mine finished at 1.022. It's that lactose and malto dexteine.

 

[jmf143]

Mine finished at 1.024 when I used London yeast and 1.020 when I used Notty.

 

[RDWHAHB]

BM-
What kind OG/FG are yours coming too?
Thamks, Jeff

 

[BierMuncher]

With the high ratio of unfermentables in this, I was never too concerned with the gravitites. I recall the OG being somewhere in the mid 1.060's and like everyone else, the FG was high...usually in the mid 1.020's.

 

[RDWHAHB]

Sounds good. I'm nervous about the low IBUs, but putting my faith in you! Got the starter going last night, hope to brew this weekend.

 

[sjwelna]

My batch is going into keg tonight after exactly a month in primary. Hydro taster is good and finished around 1.020. I forget but I think I used notty for this one.

-Steve

 

[CoalCracker]

Just brewed this for the second time this past weekend. Thinking about adding Vanilla to this but concerned that it might be too sweet. What are you thoughts on this?

 

[RyanWeary]

Brewed this with a friend a while back and used 1028. I also increased the bittering hops and the aroma to .75oz per 5 gallons. Gravity finished a tad higher than I hoped giving me a 5.5% ABV beer. All in all, this is a fantastic porter. Just packed with wonderful complex flavors. I'm going to keep this recipe in my winter rotation for sure. Thanks BierMuncher for a great recipe!

 

[shanlmt]

I'm thinking of making this this weekend. I didn't notice in the recipe what the OG and FG were. Could someone let me know what theirs was? Also what the ABV is? Thanks!

 

[RyanWeary]

I'm thinking of making this this weekend. I didn't notice in the recipe what the OG and FG were. Could someone let me know what theirs was? Also what the ABV is? Thanks!

A buddy and I just brewed this again this past weekend and our OG was 1.072. That's artificially high though due to the unfermentable lactose addition. I'm expecting a FG of approximately 1.024ish..... Again, it'll finish "high" because of the lactose.

 

[shanlmt]

Thank you! I also just checked my hops stash. I have 1 oz of Kent Goldings, do you think that would be ok to substitute in place of the Fuggles? I think it's got more bitterness than the fuggles. If it's ok to use the Kent, would you use less of it? I don't like hoppy beers.

 

[RyanWeary]

Thank you! I also just checked my hops stash. I have 1 oz of Kent Goldings, do you think that would be ok to substitute in place of the Fuggles? I think it's got more bitterness than the fuggles. If it's ok to use the Kent, would you use less of it? I don't like hoppy beers.

We upped the hop schedule to .75oz of Fuggles @ 60min and .75oz of Fuggles at 10min. Wanted to cut some of the extra sweetness a little, plus the hops we used were a little lower in AA's than in the OP. I think you'd be fine with the Goldings. Just watch your AA's and adjust as necessary.

 

[shanlmt]

I'm going to start brewing this in a few minutes. I just want to make sure I understand the instructions for the mash in and mash out temps. With the mash in.... are you saying to heat the water to 170.5, then when the grains are added it should bring the temp down to 150 and to let it mash at 150 for 45 mins? With the mash out, kind of same question. I use a cooler for my mash tun, so it will already be at least 150 degrees, so if I heat the mash out water to 206 and pour it into the already hot cooler, it doesn't seem like it would come down to 175 degrees. Should I just heat the mash out water to 175? Hope this makes sense. I'm fairly new to all grain recipes. This is only my 3rd batch of all grain, and the previous recipes had more step-by- step instructions. As usual, I've waited till the last minute to post a question I can't wait to try this!

 

[brettwasbtd]

I'm going to start brewing this in a few minutes. I just want to make sure I understand the instructions for the mash in and mash out temps. With the mash in.... are you saying to heat the water to 170.5, then when the grains are added it should bring the temp down to 150 and to let it mash at 150 for 45 mins? With the mash out, kind of same question. I use a cooler for my mash tun, so it will already be at least 150 degrees, so if I heat the mash out water to 206 and pour it into the already hot cooler, it doesn't seem like it would come down to 175 degrees. Should I just heat the mash out water to 175? Hope this makes sense. I'm fairly new to all grain recipes. This is only my 3rd batch of all grain, and the previous recipes had more step-by- step instructions. As usual, I've waited till the last minute to post a question I can't wait to try this!

The temperatures will vary based on your mash tun and grain temps and stuff. I generally use one of these calculators to figure out what temp I should put my grain. I will generally heat the water 10-15 degrees higher to preheat my mash tun . Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators

 

[shanlmt]

I figured it out. I called my LHBS. My O.G. was pretty high though, coming out at 1.064. It tastes good though. I can't wait to taste the finished product. I realized at the end that I forgot the 1/4 tsp of irish moss. Will that make much difference?

 

[shanlmt]

oops, just realized that 1.064 is pretty much the target O.G.