Blackstrap Molasses Porter feedback?

[ajbram]

I'm putting together a recipe for a blackstrap molasses porter. I want it to be nice and rich, and highlight that nice dark cane flavour from the molasses. I'd also like it to have a nice astringent bite to it, like a good root beer bite. Here's what I have so far. Any comments or input would be great.

Grain Bill:
9lb Canadian 2 row
1lb black patent
8oz crystal 55
8 oz chocolate malt

1lb blackstrap molasses

Hops:
1oz First Gold @ 70 min
1/2 oz Mt. Rainier @ 15 min

Yeast: Safbrew t-58

Haven't worked out a mash schedule yet.

 

[Walker]

I make a porter with blackstrap in it every fall.

A couple of points since you are brewing my favorite style of beer, and in a manner similar to how I make it myself.

1lb of black patent is a TON of black patent. patent is used in small quantities for color and not really for flavor. if you use more than 4 oz or so, you will start to taste it, and it tastes like **** (acrid, ashen, and burnt).

1lb of molasses is also a TON of molasses. If you are going for something that will have massive molasses flavor, then go ahead and use it, but if you are looking for just a touch of molasses flavor (complimenting and not overpowering), then cut that down to something less that 8oz.

 

[Walker]

just noticed your "astringent bite" desire in the OP.

I don't consider rootbeer to be astringent in any way, but if you add that # of patent, you'll get astringent for sure

 

[Bob]

I concur. More than a half-pound of Black Patent is excessive. Reduce the BP to 4-6 ounces and you'll be fine.

I don't see a problem with a pound of blackstrap. The flavor will be obvious. Do ensure you like/want that flavor before you add it! I advise brewing a classic Porter to completion first. Then add molasses a bit at a time at racking, tasting as you go.

Once you adjust the BP amount to something not akin to madness, your base recipe resembles my Coal Porter in my recipes dropdown, which is a tried and proven crowd (and judge) pleaser. Adding a bit of blackstrap molasses has been tempting me for years.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[foltster]

Adding molasses at "racking" is confusing. It has a lot of sugar in it and I would expect it to restart fermentation if added anytime after primary is completed.

 

[Bob]

Wow, yeah. That was a really stupid piece of advice. Sorry!

:blush:

Bob

 

[ajbram]

Thanks for the advice lads... The pound of black patent was a typo on my end.. i had meant to write 1/2 lb. In looking at loads of recipes I noticed it was usually added 4-6 oz. I figured 8 would give it some astringency. I didn't mean that root beer had an astringent bite either, just that something like the little bite-y finish of a good root beer would be nice. I'm sticking with a pound of blackstrap added to the end of the boil.


Any ideas for a mash schedule?

 

[ajbram]

One last thing too... I'm about to order some grains for this. Is there anything that I can add to give it a nice creamy mouth feel grain-wise? I'm trying to stay away from adding lactose and use the molasses as my only non-grain source of fermentables.

 

[Bob]

Some flaked barley in moderation should do the trick. You don't really need to worry too much about clarity in such a dark beer, though I like Porter to be translucent black with deep garnet highlights.

I should think 4-6 ounces of flaked barley in 5 gallons should give you what you need.

Bob

 

[ajbram]

Thanks Bob... I'm not overly worried about clarity here either. My porters in the past I've aimed for black with deep garnet or ruby shimmeriness. I shall include some flaked barley in my recipe. I'll keep you posted on how this one turns out.

 

[ajbram]

So, I ended up brewing this on Nov 20 and bottling last night. Might be a bit hurried for a porter, but it fermented pretty fast and the yeast fell out pretty quickly in secondary in the cold of a Canadian basement in winter. Here's what the final recipe was:

9lb Canadian 2 Row
8 oz Crystal 77
6oz Chocolate
6oz Black patent
8oz flaked barley

Mashed at 156 for 1 hour, Mashout at 170

1oz First gold @60 min
.5oz Mt. Rainier @20 min
.5oz Mt. Rainier @5 min
10 oz. Blackstrap molasses @ 15 min.

OG 1.056

Hit this with a nice big starter of Safbrew T-58 at high krausen since I knew the ferment was going to be on the cool side and chucked it in the basement.

FG last week 1.016

Now the progress report: Like I said this one went pretty quick, last night I added 3/4 cup of raw cane sugar to bump the sweetness and prime.

The uncarbonated product that went into the bottle has a super roasty aroma, nice heavy mouth feel, good residual sweetness, but nicely balanced with bitterness. Loads of mocha, coffee and dark cane sugar flavours with a hint of spiciness characteristic of the T-58.....

I can't wait til this carbs up and bottle conditions for a couple weeks. I think it's going to be stellar!

 

[ajbram]

Well it carbed up quickly and nicely, so here's my report on how it is...

ABV: 5.2%

Appearance: Pours almost black, really dark and opaque with a little ruby shimmer around the edges. Head is creamy tan, very thick and dense. Head retention is pretty decent, and a thin layer of foam remains until the end of the drink. Lacing is good to very good (see image). Love the way this thing looks 5

Aroma: Loads of dark chocolate and some malty roastiness. 5

Taste: Very complex. Again chocolate is the dominant flavour with some malty roastiness and coffee. There is a noticeable molasses tang that I really like that lingers towards the finish. Finish has a nice spiciness to it. It's pretty clean overall, but will be better with some age on it. 4

Mouth Feel: Head imparts a very impressive creaminess which is present to a lesser extent in the body. Plenty of carbonation, but bubbles are small and unobtrusive, giving this a very smooth texture. Not grainy at all. There is a slight astringency in the finish that leaves my mouth wanting another sip. This stuff is way too easy to drink a lot of in a hurry. 5

Overall Impression: I'm surprised at how well this turned out. It looks nice, smells nice and is really nice to drink. It's very very sessionable and I have a feeling alot of this will be comsumed over the holidays! Make some for yourself! 4.5