Country Porter

[JKaranka]

Based in porters brewed outside London. I'll update notes once I get to condition it.

OG 1.053, FG 1.014
ABV 5.1%, IBU 62, SRM 25

For 5 US gallons
Grist
9lb Maris Otter
1/2lb Black Patent Malt

Mash - middle of the range, or preferably, two mashes: one low, one high.

Boil
60m - 1.5oz Cluster (6.5%AA)
20m - 2oz Atlas (5%AA)

Ferment with S04.

 

[JKaranka]

Tried from gravity sample and almost ready bottle. My OG was lower but so was my FG ending up just above 5% abv on target.

For comparison with the India porter (pale and brown malt) the colour is darker. It's closer to 30-35 srm. While the brown malt brought the colour closer to a very dark mild the black patent malt (even if so little) was darker than a mild and pretty much in stout territory. A dark dark dark brown.

To taste it is aggressively bitter from malt and hops. Surprising amount of coffee for the half pound of black patent. It does not have all the layers of malt from the brown (brown malt seems to replace crystal malt to a certain amount!). Relatively dry and light bodied. There is a hint of fruit in there which I assume is the parentage of the Atlas although straightforward continental hop character dominates.

 

[JKaranka]

OK, it's conditioned and in.

Thick white head on a dark brown beer. It's much drier than the version with pale malt and brown malt. Not much malt, chocolate or coffee to it. Fairly bitter, light, a gentle dark character that comes across more as ash and gently burnt rubber. Atlas hops seem to fair fine but do not have masses of character. Definitively lacks the complexity that brown malt gives to a porter.

Right now I'd bet on 15-20% brown malt and 2-3% black patent making a cracking porter.

 

[JKaranka]

Drank a few bottles with friends. Dark and aggressive. Fairly bitter, very dry. Dry to start, finishes dry. The bitterness of the hops blends in with the roast character into a single package of roasty aggression. There is none of the 'dark beer' / 'dark malt' character that tends to be sweet and malty, but that pure note of all encompassing roast / burnt. I think the roast itself is not that full-on, but its marriage with the hop bitterness is. Aroma is fairly fresh, with some green hops that just about make it to the palate too. Medium bodied but not that easy to drink.

 

[Michael_K]

Right now I'd bet on 15-20% brown malt and 2-3% black patent making a cracking porter.

There is a recipe for a porter very similar to what you suggest here:
http://perfectpint.blogspot.ca/2012/11/brew-day-east-india-porter.html

I would like to try brewing it someday. I've done a porter that was 65% pale/35% brown - it was ok, but I didn't mash high enough an it ended up a little thin. I just did a 50% pale/33% brown/17% amber. It is conditioning now, but the sample at bottling was amazing. The waiting is the hardest part...

Good luck with your porters - they are great beers.