Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Chocolate Oatmeal Porter

[FATC1TY]

Sounds like I'll split the batch, about 1.5 gal that I'll add vanilla to and keep the rest as the base recipe.

How have you guys added the vanilla beans? Have ou soaked in vodka/bourbon before adding or just buy and add to secondary? How long have you left them in the secondary. What are thoughts on adding Madagascar Vanilla Extract at bottling rather then doing a secondary with vanilla beans?

I normally take my fresh beans, and fresh is important. You want a nice soft and pliable bean. Not some rock hard one.

Take the beans, and I spray my cutting board, knife and the outer beans with starsan.

I split it in half, scrape the inside a bit, and then I cut it in 1 inch section across the bean, so I have several small pieces. I thin sanitize a glass dish, add the beans and some bourbon. The bourbon is nice as it's got a vanilla flavor from the oak and whatnot.. The beans soak it up and the caviar from the beans gives up it's good flavor to the bourbon medium. Eventually you'll have pretty much your own home made extract. Takes around 2-3 weeks at this point. Pretty much I'll brew, and then I'll do the beans.. By the time it's done fermenting , cleared up, I'll give it some time for a diacetyl rest if I'm using 1968, and then add the whole dish, bourbon and beans to the beer.

Leave as long as you'd like. I like 2 weeks myself. Taste until your happy.

As a side note, you might notice an oily sheen on your beer, perhaps even trapping bubbles much like a pellicle would during an infection. I've had it happen 4 out of the 5 times I've used vanilla. Wasn't ever infected, just the oils from the vanilla beans on top.

 

[daggers_nz]

^^

 

[braineater2448]

So, I plan on taking this recipe and making a Pumpkin Pie Porter out of it. I'd love some constructive advice because I'm fairly new to brewing (only brewed about 4 batches).

I was thinking of using about 2 cans of Libby's pure pumpkin in cans (15oz each). Spread the cans out on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for an hour. I want to add that to the boil (not the mash. I don't want it to clog). Then I will either use 1tsp of pumkpin pie spice or make my own blend as follows:

1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 minute
1/4 tsp ginger(I may not use this) 1 minute
1/8 tsp nutmeg 1 minute
1/8 tsp allspice 1 minute
Use 2/3 of that mix in the boil at 1 minute. The remaining 1/3 should be mixed in at bottling time.

I want to be careful not to use too much spice because I know that can ruin a beer, but at the same time, most recipes I looked at were not porters, so I may be able to be a little more generous with the spices because its going in a bigger beer.

Lastly, add two vanilla beans that have been soaked in bourbon for a week or two at secondary.

Any advice? Thanks in advance.

 

[FATC1TY]

Sounds pretty sound, but perhaps look at maybe a blend of pumpkin pie spices.

30 ounces of pumpkin isn't a whole lot, and you might be happier with it in the mash. Just use some rice hulls in there, and perhaps knock back the oats in the recipe to aid in that.

I'm tossing the idea around of doing this similar thing this weekend. I have my recipe milled and ready to go, but thinking about adding pumpkin to the boil, and some spice to the boil at flame out.

 

[braineater2448]

What if I want to make this into a 5gal recipe? Can I just throw all the ingredients into BeerSmith? Should I go light on any?

Also, I'll update you with my Pumpkin Pie Porter. I've upped the pumpkin to 60oz.

 

[FATC1TY]

The recipe is scaled for 5.5 gallons, but will yield the perfect amount to fill a corny keg. There will be some fermenter loss with the beer, so that was into play.

But yeah, put it in beersmith and dial it into your system. I'd leave it all as is for a 5 gallon batch myself, as I brew 5 gallons batches.

Do comment on how the pumpkin worked in the boil.. I'm gonna mash it I think.

 

[Flipadelphia]

Would this be considered a Robust Porter according to BJCP guidelines?

 

[FATC1TY]

Yes, it would be a Robust Porter.

 

[beamar]

Add everything to Beersmith, and the OG comes up short.

Give a quick look over to your recipe and notice you post that the grain total is 13.lb, 5 oz. Well the recipe you listed only totals to 12lb, 81 oz?


any chance of you uploading your BS profile to the org post?


Thanks,
Brian

 

[FATC1TY]

Add everything to Beersmith, and the OG comes up short.

Give a quick look over to your recipe and notice you post that the grain total is 13.lb, 5 oz. Well the recipe you listed only totals to 12lb, 81 oz?


any chance of you uploading your BS profile to the org post?


Thanks,
Brian

I can when I get home.. Perhaps you have lower efficiency set up in your BS profile, and will need more grain.

 

[beamar]

I can when I get home.. Perhaps you have lower efficiency set up in your BS profile, and will need more grain.

I'm not too concerned about the Eff.


Just wondering why the total grains of 13 LB 5 OZ doesn't match all the grains you posted? You list only totals to 12 LB 13 OZ. Hope this makes sense?

I just want to make sure something didn't get included before I attempt this

 

[FATC1TY]

I'm not too concerned about the Eff.


Just wondering why the total grains of 13 LB 5 OZ doesn't match all the grains you posted? You list only totals to 12 LB 13 OZ. Hope this makes sense?

I just want to make sure something didn't get included before I attempt this

Looked over the recipe.. Appears I left out RICE HULLS, from the original. I used 8 ounces roughly of rice hulls due to the oats in the mash, and it being thicker.

That makes up the 8 ounces missing in the recipe.

Some people need them, others need more. The recipe is correct as it stands, but feel free to use some rice hulls to help in the lautering.

 

[bolus14]

Sorry if this question has been asked, I've read through the whole thread once and don't recall. Now that I have had this in the primary for 2 weeks I'm starting to think of whether I'm going to do extract or actually vanilla beans. I'm thinking of using about .6oz vanilla extract and bottle 1.5gal, hopefully about 15 bottles, if I decide on extract. Or I could do half a bean and let that sit with 1.5 gal in a secondary.

I'm debating because extract would make it a lot easier, basically no weight time for the vanilla to get added. I'm thinking of bottling next weekend, that'll be 3 weeks in the primary, I could start by making enough priming sugar for 1.5 gal, cool that, add the vanilla extract, rack 1.5 gal into the bottling bucket while mixing in the priming sugar/extract mix. Then proceed with bottling that 1.5 gal. Once those are finished, make priming sugar for the ~3.5 gal that remains, cool, rack the remaining ~3.5 gal into bottling bucket and bottle those without the vanilla extract.

This is the extract I'm considering using: http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/s...play?productId=372939&storeId=10052&langId=-1

 

[daggers_nz]

I think price is the only difference, and some would argue that if you used real beans you need to extract with vodka. I'd say personal preference, I only used beans as I had access to them for free.

 

[bolus14]

Just checked the gravity and she's down to 1.018!!! Guess my mash temps didn't ruin anything. The sample I got was nice and smooth, nice roastiness and chocolate. Can't wait to get this bottled,carbed and cold . I can definitely taste what everyone means by this being so good with just the base recipe, really doesn't need anything added, but I'm still going to do some with vanilla.

 

[Mobstar]

"Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.02gal, 4.09gal) of 168.0 F water"

Is it normal to sparge with that much water?
it's the first time I notice this in a recipe.

 

[beamar]

made this last night! We'll see how it turns out!

 

[FATC1TY]

"Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.02gal, 4.09gal) of 168.0 F water"

Is it normal to sparge with that much water?
it's the first time I notice this in a recipe.

You don't have too. It's just my profile in BS, and it's always been like that. I find that I get great efficiency that way, and my PH stays in check just fine.

YMMV obviously. I would always suggest people take any recipe and dial it into their system to get optimal efficiency and balance.

 

[FATC1TY]

Just checked the gravity and she's down to 1.018!!! Guess my mash temps didn't ruin anything. The sample I got was nice and smooth, nice roastiness and chocolate. Can't wait to get this bottled,carbed and cold . I can definitely taste what everyone means by this being so good with just the base recipe, really doesn't need anything added, but I'm still going to do some with vanilla.

Thanks!

Glad you like the recipe.

The vanilla just makes it appear creamier, IMO and adds more layers to it.

 

[bolus14]

Bottled today, FG was 1.015.
Taste was better than the sample a week or so ago. Nothing in it overpowers anything else, the coffee, chocolate, and roastiness all mingle perfectly.

 

[Ridire]

OK, I have not read every post here but was wondering if anyone has used S-04 on this and how it turned out.

Thanks. I'm thinking of making something very similar to this in the next two weeks and letting it condition until Christmas. Looks and sounds pretty damn good.

 

[bolus14]

S-04 should be fine, my LHBS recommended it to me when I made this. I just opted for WLP002 since I prefer liquid yeast and its the closest they had in stock to the original recipe's yeast. I think others have used it for this recipe. Might not get as much of the maltiness that some of the liquid English strands lend, but should still be good.

 

[Ridire]

Thanks. Another stupid question that may have been answered over the past 18 pages - how many units of carbonation? About 2? I over did it on the last porter I made and probably came in near 3.

 

[bolus14]

I still bottle all my beer, with that said I used the calculator at tastybrew.com to figure out how much sugar to carb mine to 2. I believe for this style you can shoot from 1.7 - 2.4 to stay within the guidelines.
One thing to remember is this is homebrew make it how YOU like it. If you like it more carbed then go for it, if you like it more "flat" then go that route. But if I had to guess I think most on here would recommend to stick close to 2 on this one.

 

[daggers_nz]

One thing to remember is this is homebrew make it how YOU like it. If you like it more carbed then go for it, if you like it more "flat" then go that route. But if I had to guess I think most on here would recommend to stick close to 2 on this one.

I disagree, if I'm not familiar with a style of beer I'll shoot for what is considered the standard amount. If anything, I always under-carb. This beer will turn out nicely at up to 2.0 volumes, which is what I did and it's always got a nice chocolately head on it

 

[bolus14]

I opened a bottle of each that I made, one the base recipe without cocoa powder and one with vanilla extract added at bottling. Both are delicious and like what others have said the vanilla adds a milk chocolate like taste to it. The only thing I would change is to have it be a little "thicker," I'm sure this was due to my inconsistent mash temp, and the fact that my FG was 1.015 shows this. Mine might be very slightly over carbonated for a porter, it's not drastic but some people I'm sure would give that as a criticism. I shot for 2 volumes of CO2, and think I hit that, I just think my mash was off.

 

[FATC1TY]

I opened a bottle of each that I made, one the base recipe without cocoa powder and one with vanilla extract added at bottling. Both are delicious and like what others have said the vanilla adds a milk chocolate like taste to it. The only thing I would change is to have it be a little "thicker," I'm sure this was due to my inconsistent mash temp, and the fact that my FG was 1.015 shows this. Mine might be very slightly over carbonated for a porter, it's not drastic but some people I'm sure would give that as a criticism. I shot for 2 volumes of CO2, and think I hit that, I just think my mash was off.

Could be your mash, but 1.015 isn't that dry honestly.. Middle of the road.

Could be the oats.. they'll add some body, but give it that slick motor oil feel, that slides across easily, which might make it feel thinner perhaps.

 

[bolus14]

I agree that 1.015 isn't dry. The beer is far from dry. Its definitely a smooth drinker and I think the oats contribute a lot to that. The pour after a week in bottles produced .5in of head, pretty good I think. I put the whole glass down in 5-10 min which is unusual for me, most last at least 20 min if not longer. This could certainly be dangerous with how easy it goes down.

The next time which may not be far away. I would just like the roastiness to be a little more prevalent. Possibly up the black patent to 8 or 10oz and add a couple more ounces of pale chocolate.

 

[daggers_nz]

Careful with adding more black malt, you'd be dicing with burnt flavours

 

[bolus14]

What adding more chocolate be a better way to get a more prevelant roastiness?