Cinnamon/Vanilla Porter

[ghast]

So I had an idea for this "Girl Scout Cookie" type of recipe and came up with this. Not sure if it has too much stuff in it, perhaps it might do well without the Cinnamon. This is BIAB, by the way.


Boil: 7 Gal
Batch: 5 Gal
Brewing Time: 60min
Temp: 100 (when malts go in)
150 (until water boils down to 6 or 5 gallons)


Mash

-8 lbs Pale 2-Row
-1 lb Chocolate Malt
-0.5 lb Caramel / Crystal 80L
-1 lb American - Victory
-1.5 lb Flaked Oats
-1 lb Lactose (Milk Sugar)


Hops:

-0.5 oz Aurora @50min
-1 oz EK Goldings @10min


Yeast:

-Lallemand - Nottingham


Additives:

-2 Vanilla Beans @Secondary Fermentation (2 weeks before bottling)
-2 Chopped Cinnamon Sticks Soaked in Whisky @Secondary Fermentation (3 days beforebottling)

 

[catdaddy66]

I like that recipe. The only thing that I would change, as it would end up too sweet imo, is to cut the lactose in half or even eliminate it from the recipe. It would certainly sweeten the beer and add mouthfeel/body. Hops look very good as does the vanilla and cinnamon.

I have a recipe for a porter that includes smoked malt, cayenne pepper and oak chips that will get made this fall. It is the most ambitious brew (flavor wise) that I have ever attempted so I am a bit nervous but excited at the same time.

Good luck! Please keep us posted with your results!

 

[Hayden123982]

I agree about the lactose. I'd push for cutting the lactose altogether

Do you plan on dumping the whisky in with the cinnamon? If so, I might think about soaking the vanilla in there as well to get some good extraction before adding to the fermented beer

 

[ghast]

I might think about soaking the vanilla in there as well to get some good extraction before adding to the fermented beer

actually, seems like a good idea...

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I made a cinnamon/vanilla beer thinking that it would be good for a Christmas beer. It would have been much more appropriate for Cinco De Mayo because all I could taste was horchata. It’s not that it was a bad beer. I actually liked it a lot, but not Christmas. I didn’t use any lactose. Also, chocolate malt is great for making stout/porter dark, but I don’t really get any chocolate flavor from that malt if that’s what you’re looking for. I have never used cocoa nibs in any of my beers, but if I wanted a chocolate flavor, that’s what I would use.

 

[Brewernaut51]

I'll second that idea of soaking the beans in the whiskey. I do that when I do Denny's vanilla bourbon porter. What I usually do is fill a pint mason jar with whiskey on brew day and let the beans soak during the primary then dump it in a carboy and rack the beer on top for secondary. Works great.

With the cinnamon plan on aging the beer a month or two before consumption. Cinnamon smooths out over time. Once it's aged a bit it starts to really bring out the sweetness in the malts.

the lactose...meh, do what you want. If it's supposed to be a dessert beer sweetness is alright. Just know what you're getting into. It'd definitely be more crushable without the lactose. Any beer I've made with a pound of lactose is generally a one a night beer. Not something you'll want more than a pint of in a sitting.