Brooklyn Brew Shop's Chocolate Maple Porter - Tips and Advice

[TasunkaWitko]

Okay, as of today, my first brew has fermented for 3 weeks and then has been bottled for just about 3 weeks. When I get home tonight, a few bottles of this beeer will be going into the refrigerator until Sunday, at which time I will sample and evaluate. I'll also put the rest aside in a dark, cool place to age/condition further.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the results of this first project; in the time since first beginning with bewing, I've really come to appreciate the process, and am eager to learn even more as I continue what was (and is) indeed a family tradition.

Thanks to all for your assistance and advice!

Ron

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Well, due to a series of brushfires that I had to deal with when I got home from work, I wasn't able to get the bottles into the refrigerator until today, but that's alright. I'm sure that will be plenty of time to chill, pack the thin, fine layer of sediment etc.

Before refrigerating, I spent the morning cutting out the labels that I printed (shown in a previous post), then affixed them to my bottles with a glue stick. They look pretty good, actually! I'll get a photo when I open the first bottle of my first home brew, which should be tomorrow evening.

Looking forward to it!

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Aw, hell ~ why wait?

Here it is:

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Well, for a first brew, I'd call it a success. I'll post more photos at a later date when I can get a full report written up; but at this time, here are some notes.

Note: Please forgive my getting some of the jargon wrong!

After refrigerating for over 24 hours, I was finally able to sample my first brew. I opened it very slowly, because I wasn't sure what to expect where carbonation was concerned. I thought that I had only primed with two tablespoons of maple syrup (versus the three called for in the instructions); however, I must have used three after all. When I cracked the seal on the cap, a thin but persistent trail of foam slowly but steadily came out. I gave it a few minutes, letting it drain off into a mug - It didn't amount to much beer, but I didn't want to lose it!

Anyway, the flow of foam eventually slowed to the point where I felt it was alright to finish bringing the cap off. When I poured the beer, it gave a pretty tall, dark head, but it seemed a little thin. I assume that the head will thicken up (and the carbonation might possibly tone down) with a few weeks of conditioning. In any case, here's how it looked:

Don't judge the A&W mug! It's all I have! LOL....

After waiting a few minutes for the head to settle down, I gave it a try.

Impressions:

The aroma seemed great - rich and complex, with a very definite essence of dark chocolate and a noticable hint of the maple syrup. As I was tipping the mug back to drink, these aromas did pronounce themselves a little more, especially the maple, which was still subtle, yet definitely there.

The mouthfeel was good, as far as I can tell. In spite of the obvious over-carbonation, the feel of the carbonation as I drank the porter seemed just about right, and what I expect from a beer. This is a minor success for me, as I got no carbonation when I tried to make root beer last year. The look of the beer as I poured it seemed rich and almost thick due to the nature of the porter, but at the same time, it had a bit of a thin quality to it that implies to me that it would benefit from a little more conditioning.

As for the flavour, I was quite impressed. I've seen a lot of discussion here and on FaceBook pages about using cocoa nibs in "chocolate" beers, but to be honest, I don't think they are necessary at all, when dark, chocolate-roasted grains/malts are used. There was a definite dark-chocolate flavour and finish, with a nice, warm, slight bitterness that was saved from being too much by the subtle maple sweetness. The porter is advertised as 6.5% ABV, and this seems about right, judging by the alcohol "warmth" that I detected - definitely more than most beers I drink, but less than wine or other higher-ABV beverages. There was none of the "hoppy" bitterness that I was worried about; in fact, the fuggle hops worked their way right into the flavour profile beautifully in order to give me a really nice mouthful of autumn day. All of the flavours seemed great, but it was like they all stood apart from each other to an extent. Once again, this leads me to think that the beer is still a little "young."

When brewing this beer, I only had one "SNAFU" that caused me to worry: during the mash, my temperatures got pretty high for just a moment or two - over 180 degrees - and even though I quickly brought the temperature back down, I was worried that this might adversely affect the finished product. As far as I can tell, this did not happen, and it is possible that I simply got the thermometer too close to the bottom of the pot (and thus the burner).

All together, I count it as a pretty dang good success, especially for a first-ever brew with no experience and only the most basic of equipment. As I said, I've only had one or two other porters, and this was easily as good as those; in fact, in some ways, it even was a little better. It simply seemed a little "un-finished" - as I understand, this can be the case with the darker beers, which can benefit greatly from some conditioning time. As someone with experience with sauces and soups, I can easily imagine how great this will be once the flavours and other components have a few weeks to meld and mingle.

Questions:

a) To anyone who has brewed this or similar porters, do these descriptions dovetail with your observations? Did the passage of time result in any noticible changes in the characteristics, mouthfeel or flavour of the beer?

b) In order to allow the beer to continue to condition, would it be better off in the refrigerator, on a shelf, or does it matter?

c) Where the slight over-carbonation is concerned, are there any remedies at this point? I've heard that time in the refrigerator eventually allows the beer to absorb some of the excess carbonation, but I do not know.

d) Does anyone see where I may have screwed up in a meaningful way? In your opinion, how did I do? Any advice for the future?

Thanks to all for the advice, assistance and encouragement. I'll be brewing my second beer on Tuesday (oatmeal cookie stout) and hope to continue the learning as well as the success.

Ron

 

[ericbw]

Looks and sounds good! I have a couple of thoughts for the next one.

If you mashed at 180 for any length of time (including the time it takes to get to 180 and back down), that's pretty high. You'd probably end up with less fermentable wort, which means a lower alcohol content than expected. Keep the temperature under control.

(Of course, there is nothing wrong with a maltier, sweeter beer. I mashed brown at about 160+ before, and although it was low ABV, it was tasty.)

Triple check your sanitation. When you have a really foamy beer, it CAN be because bacteria/wild yeast are working on more sugar than you planned on. They can also convert more of the sugars to alcohol, so even if you mashed high, you could end up with the same body and ABV, but maybe less tasty.

(Off hand, I would say that a really foamy and slightly thin beer means that you have some kind of bacteria or wild yeast in there. Especially if you mashed that high - you should have a thick beer.)

If everything seemed cool after fermentation, then be sure your bottles are clean and sanitized. And caps, capper, hoses, hands, etc. etc. etc. etc.

But it is true that dark beers generally get better over time, so give it another week or two. Around the time your next one finishes fermenting, this one could be getting good.

 

[m00ps]

I sometimes get one or two gushers with the last few bottles that have excess yeast in them. That may have been your issue. If not, just hope that one was a random gusher because it could be an indication that you;ve got a bunch of ticking timebombs. I would fridge and open another asap to be sure.

As far as storage, I try to keep mine kind of warm (70F) until they carb and then try to do maybe lower 60s for storage. You certainly dont need to devote all that fridge space.

As a side note, are you going to make labels for each of your beers? That looks far and away the best first beer I;ve seen. All my batches just have drunkenly scribbled colored sharpie letters on the top that only I can read...but then again there's no way I;d have time to print and label 10gal of beer each week

 

[ericbw]

You bottle 10 gallons a week? Do you drink it that fast?

 

[m00ps]

You bottle 10 gallons a week? Do you drink it that fast?

Haha, no way. I'm a total lightweight. I get tanked off of a 6pack. I have made a lot of "friends" that help out. I also was just commissioned to cater a guy's wedding so I unloaded close to 250 bottles last weekend. Now my beer storage spot seems so empty and sad...

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Say, guys - thanks for the discussion on this. I'm pretty sure that the carbonation issue was because of a little too much priming sugar (maple syrup). The instructions said 3 tablespoons, but most here report that 2.5 or even 2 tablespoons would be plenty to get correct carbonation.

UPDATE - what a difference a couple of days make! I took one out to my dad yesterday for Veterans Day (he served in the US Army) and the beer was noticeably better:

The head seemed much thicker and creamier than it was even a couple of days before, and the carbonation issue was almost non-existent, as well. Instead of slowly opening the beer, as I did, he popped the cap right off, and only a little bit of foam slowly bubbled up. The flavour and mouthfeel also seemed a little more "finished."

Based on this, I beleive my procedure with the Brooklyn Brew Shop recipes will be this:

3 weeks fermenting
3 weeks carbonating/conditioning after bottling (minimum)
1 week in the refrigerator before opening. (minimum)

This may change as I gain mroe experience, but it seems like a good way to go, for now.

Regarding the alcohol content, I don't know for sure. It was definitely present, and seemed "stronger" and "warmer" than the production beers that I am familiar with, but I don't know. I do have a hydrometer and might try experimenting with it in future brews in order to get a better handle on this.

m00ps - no worry (cross my fingers) about the time bombs - after bottling, these babies sat for 3 weeks in temperatures hovering around 70 degrees after bottling, with no explosions. I am reasonably sure (knock on wood) that the whole thing was simply a little too much priming sugar.

Thanks to all - please keep the comments, replies etc. coming.

 

[m00ps]

Yeah you ashoukd be good. From what I understand , you are vulnerable to bottle bombs if it carbs too quickly. The pressure goes in a bell curve where its highest before the co2 is forced back into the beer

I've had random bombs from beers less than 2.5vol co2 either from overactive yeast or bottle defects. Its always within the first 2 weeks

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Another update and some notes based on a couple of conversations that I've had.....

ANOTHER UPDATE - I gave one to a co-worker to try, and even though he is not a "porter man," he reported that it was very good. He said that flavours were all exactly what he would expect from a good porter, and he had no carbonation issues. Since this was a few days longer after the one I gave to my dad, I am going to assume (dangerous) that simple time took care of what I thought was a problem - either that, or it wasn't a problem to begin with.

NOTES: The main take-away from all of this is that adding a week to the fermenting and carbonating time-line of the instructions seems to give better results, and I predict that at least one extra week of conditioning would be beneficial; hence my "modified" timeline above.

For what it's worth, Brooklyn Brew Shop's instructions for this beer are here:

http://brooklynbrewshop.com/directions/Brooklyn_Brew_Shop_Chocolate_Maple_Porter_Instructions.pdf

I definitely wouldn't say that the beer was "sweet" - there was a hint of somethng there, but it was more like an aroma that was almost a taste, if that makes sense. The beer itself had the dark and roasty flavour that I was expecting, with a lingering bitterness like dark chocolate. Up above this was a maple essence that balanced the bitterness well. When I was brewing, there was some definite sweetness that complimented the Fuggle hops very well, giving an impression of the aroma of autumn leaves blowing in the wind. This impression was still in the finished beer, but the sweetness itself was pushed way to the back.

I'm starting to think that the "high" reading I got from the thermometer was because I had the probe down too close to the burner (glass top stove, thin-ish stainless-steel pot etc.). In the future, I am toying with the idea of setting the kettle in the oven (on lowest setting) once I mash in, and then maintaining temperature range from there.

I'm still learning the science behind everyhting, but it seems as though the development of the beer was close to the mark. Based on the second beer that we saw at my dad's, and also the report of my co-worker, I'm thinking that my initial "thin" impression might have been more in my head than anything else, because the foam/head seemed thin at the time - but this "problem" seems to be fixing itself with each passing day.

I do have a hydrometer, but have no idea how to use it at this time. What little I've read indicated at the time that you would lose some beer, and with a 1-gallon batch, that's a scary thought. My plan was to follow the directions as closely as possible, along with any "best practices" that I pick up along the way in order to increase efficiency, achieve better results etc. I might try experimenting with the hydrometer in future brews in order to get a better handle on this. Regarding the alcohol content, I don't know for sure. It was definitely present, and seemed "stronger" and "warmer" than the production beers that I am familiar with, but beyond that, I don't know.

Thanks to all - please keep the comments, replies etc. coming.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Another option that I just thought of -

I have a 6.5-quart enamled cast-iron Dutch oven. Since it's just a one-gallon batch, this might work well for the mash, as it will hold the temperature very well. I can switch to my thinner 8-quart stainless-steel stock pot for boiling.

I might try this next time and see how it goes....

 

[ericbw]

Another option that I just thought of -

I have a 6.5-quart enamled cast-iron Dutch oven. Since it's just a one-gallon batch, this might work well for the mash, as it will hold the temperature very well. I can switch to my thinner 8-quart stainless-steel stock pot for boiling.

I might try this next time and see how it goes....

Especially if you preheat the Dutch oven. But be careful about going too high because it would be slow to cool down.

 

[morticaixavier]

You've mentioned the warm/hot alcohol character a few times now. That is usually the result of fermenting too warm. I'm not sure what you are using for temperature control but that is the first place to look for improvement. For ale you want the wort to be around 64 degrees f when you pitch the yeast. Maintain that temp for the first three to five days then you can bring it up to 68f or so to finish out. Sounds like your first batch was pretty successful overall though. Nice labels.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Well, everyone - after a few additional weeks of "shelf conditioning," I'm happy to report that this beer is even better than ever - a true success, I believe. The flavours seemed "richer" (this is not the right word, but the best one that I have) and the head was much creamier. There was still a bit too much head, as has been described on this thread, but over-all it was a very, very good beer. I have three bottles left, and plan to space them out over a few weeks in order to see how they develop - needless to say, I will be brewing this variety again for next winter - it really is an outstanding beer.

@morticiaixavier - I believe that I may have been using a poor choice of words when I described the "warm/hot alcohol character." My intent with that description was to express that I could definitely detect the alcohol presence, but it certainly did not seem like a "flaw" in the beer. There was nothing over-bearing about it and indeed, it seemed to blend perfectly into the over-all profile for a smooth and easy-drinking beer, which surprised me considering the stated alcohol content. I really liked it.

 

[2drunk2]

Congratulaions!

 

[TasunkaWitko]

As you may recall from my posting above, I handed out a couple of bottles of this Chocolate Maple Porter to co-workers. The first was enjoyed quite some time ago; the second one was cracked open this past Friday evening:

As you can see, the slight carbonation issue is still present. This will (hopefully) be a situation taht will not be repeated in future brews, as I will use 2 tablesppons of honey/maple syrup/whatever is called for, rather than 3.

In spite of the carbonation issue, however, I am happy to report that this porter was indeed pronounced very good, with great flavour - quite a compliment, since the person who sampled it is a home brewer himself.

Success!

 

[TasunkaWitko]

A little over two years after brewing this, my first beer, I'll be brewing it again, probably this weekend.

We'll see what (if anything!) I've learned in the time between....

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Well, why wait until the weekend, when you can do it in the middle of the night on a worknight?

I'm into the boil now, and this beer smells just as wonderful as it did the first time I brewed it.

Things have gone relatively well so far; the mash and sparge seemed pretty normal, and the grains are producing some roasty, toasty, chocolaty goodness. This beer uses American 2-Row Malt, Chocolate Malt, Caramel 15 Malt and Black Patent Malt; the result is really quite nice.

The thing I like most about this recipe is the way that the malts and the Fuggle Hops play together - the aroma is heavenly, and jsut as I remember it.

The recipe advises the use of Nottingham yeast, so that is what I am using this time, instead of the generic yeast provided by Broooklyn Brew Shop.

Plugging the recipe into Brewer's Friend, here are the stats that I get:

OG - 1.062
FG - 1.013
ABV - 6.4%
IBU - 30.10
SRM - 78.80

These numbers match the style of a robust porter pretty well, except for the colour, which is a bit darker; no worries, I colour outside the lines anyway....

I expect this brew to go well, and am looking forward to comparing the final product with my first efforts at brewing.

More as it happens, etc. &c....

Ron

 

[TasunkaWitko]

The rest of the brew went very well; I really didn't have any troubles worth noting, and my wort appears to be happily fermenting in good order.

One thing that looks evident is that this second beer is going to probably be much "clearer" than my first one was. The first one was opaque, cloudy, and - for lack of a better word - "muddy. It tasted great, but appearance is of course also important. With last night's brew, I got a good hot break, a good cold break, and was able to do some better filtering between the boil kettle and the fermenter.

Another major difference between the last brew and this one is that I am using Nottingham, rather than the "generic" yeast that comes with the pre-packaged Brooklyn Brew Shop mixes. There's nothing wrong with the "stock" yeast ((I think it is similar to S05, but am not totally sure), but I am looking forward to seeing how Nottingham affects this beer; besides, that is the recommended yeast by Brooklyn Brew Shop, so they must have chosen it for a reason.

As I noted above, fermentation looked to be getting a decent start this morning - we'll see how things turn out.

More as it happens, etc. &c....

Ron

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Updated label for this beer:

 

[ericbw]

That will be good for the winter. I'm going to do a 1 gallon batch next week - first small batch in a while.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Hey, Eric - let me now how it goes. I'm loving the way this is turning out, so far ~

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Long story, but I bottled this tonight (8 February 2017). I had put it in to cold crash right before New Year's, and it froze in my mini fridge. It eventually thawed, and I was finally able to bottle it this evening.

Note to self: I used the "B" caps for this batch.

Due to the unintended extended time cold-crashing, and the fact that it ended up being frozen for a time, I thought it might be a good idea to add just a bit of yeast when bottling. I mixed a half-packet of a generic brewing yeast in a bottle of bottled water, then added a couple of tablespoons of the result to the (1-gallon) batch in the bottling bucket. I have no idea if this was a good or bad idea; successful or unsuccessful; necessary or unnecessary, but we'll find out in a couple of weeks, I guess.

For priming sugar, I used just a hair less than 2 tablespoons of maple syrup; this has worked quite well in the past, and I expect it to be great for this porter.

I was able to get 9 bottles from this batch. I had just enough left over for a small sample, and it was very interesting. The colour was an incredible, deep brown that was like really nicely-brewed coffee; it was quite clear - even though it was dark - due to the extended cold crashing. The roasty, dark chocolate malts came though nicely, and there was an interesting smoothness, perhaps from the maple syrup, and maybe a hint of sweetness, but that might have been from the priming sugar. The beer itself had an interesting viscosity to it, almost as if it was thicker than it actually was. It also smelled great, with the dark malts and the Fuggle hops being a really nice pair, as always.

Once this beer bottles and conditions, I am guessing that it will be really nice, and I'm looking forward to seeing if my "skills" have improved since my first batch.

 

[TonyKZ1]

Wow, sounds great!

 

[TasunkaWitko]

It's definitely worth trying, Tony - if I remember correctly, you have the recipe, so give it a shot, while it is still winter out there!

 

[MadHomebrewer]

I brewed this kit awhile ago when I was first starting out. It came out great. I did add an ounce of cocoa nibs soaked in rum to secondary. Saved a bottle and drank a year later and it was still really good. I now do five gallon and have been thinking of doing a big batch of this to keg and keep on tap.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1487007683.648178.jpg

 

[TasunkaWitko]

This second batch turned out pretty well. Everything about it seemed just right, and I really liked it.

I'll try to get a better description next time - but, as they say, a picture is worth a few more words:

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Here's a photo from 22 April 2017:

Very good-tasting, like a true porter; the chocolate came through nicely, and there was a slight hint of maple smoothing things out in a very nice way. This porter has a "viscosity" to it that makes it almost cling to the glass -I think they call it "having legs" in the wine world, but am not sure if that would be the same for beer.

In all, I am very satisfied with this...it could easily be my "go-to" porter!