I would like to start a thread about Caramel porters

[Dick562]

I have read and posted a few threads about caramel porters and how to keep the caramel taste after fermentation but haven't really found a good way to do so.

So im making this thread to bounce some ideas around and to see what other Home brewers would do to get a pronounced caramel flavor.

1. What if i mashed some crystal 60 at a high mash temp up around 157-160 in order to get more non-fermentable sugars out of the grain and then put it in the boil with the rest of the wort.

2. I read that if you add lemon to table sugar and then caramel it then you will make it less fermentable. http://www.franklinbrew.org/brewinfo/candi_sugar.html

can think of anything else yet and i dont know if these will even work.

 

[joety]

Crystal is already converted, that would not make a difference, I don't believe. Have you tried just using more crystal?

 

[Dick562]

i dont want to get to crazy with the stuff that and i dont know how much would be to much

 

[BOBTHEukBREWER]

Add some dark muscovado sugar, maximum 8 oz per 6 gallons.

 

[smokinghole]

Do a regular partial mash with some grains. Then boil that small mash down to a brown syrup. Crystal is already converted and just require steeping. You can use some in this mash for color and flavor but a majority of the flavor will come from cooking the malt sugars.

If you're really going for a caramel flavor you can wait until primary fermentation is complete and cook down some plain ole table sugar. When it starts to turn you can dilute it down a bit after it picks up color and pour it in the fermentor. That will retain the max aroma and flavor since the C02 output is significantly less. Remember the flavor from caramel is from cooking sugar which is essentially whats in crystal/caramel malts. There are many different ways to do it, just don't follow a regular caramel recipe if doing it on the stove top. Regular caramel contains milk and I wouldn't want to throw that in my fermentor.

 

[david_42]

The Austin Homebrew clone of Rogue Mocha Porter uses 1.5 lb of C120L. I consider that an upper limit.

 

[Dick562]

So you think i should steep the crystal in my wort after i have mashed the grain bill and got my wort or are you saying i should steep them separately and boil it down to a syrup like substance? That sounds like a good idea keep them coming.