MoreBeer's Porter kit

[Toadkiller Dog]

Hey folks--

I made MB's regular extract Porter kit about a month and a half ago, and it turned out *horrible*; the first bad brew I've made in a while. I'm not necessarily blaming MB for this, I think a few things went wrong.

First, I had to use my own make-shift hop bags made with cheesecloth (MB kits do not come with hop bags), and they ended up as tight little baseballs once the water got in. Consequently, the hop profile does not come through adequately.

Second, the toasty flavor from the dark malts never came through, even though the stuff turned black as coffee. I'm not sure why this was, I seemed to do it right.

Third, I think it got a lacto infection, as the last 2 I've had have been *very* sour (about 4-5 weeks after bottling).

Has anyone else made this kit? What sort of results did you get? Just curious.

 

[david_42]

What grains exactly? It's not unusual for porters to use dark caramels/crystals, which are sweeter.

 

[dcbrewmeister]

Did you steep the grains? What temp/how long?

Sour taste? Yeah, sounds like some sort of baterial infection - usual suspects = sanitation of brew equip (siphon hose, bottles, secondary).

I wouldn't hope for much from that batch - especially since it's already bottled. Take it as a lesson, sanitation is everything in brewing.

 

[Toadkiller Dog]

It came with a bag of premixed/precracked grains that looked like chocolate, darker crystal and a small amount of black patent. I think it called for steeping around 20 mins or so.

I've always been careful about sanitation, and I've never had a problem yet, so this would be my first (~10 batches or so). The only thing I did differently was that I used the sanitizer that came with the batch instead of the usual iodophor that I usually use. Oddly, the beer doesn't *look* infected; it's not cloudy or anything. Oh well.

 

[Blender]

I have made that beer before and it turned out pretty well. I don't remember it coming with sanitzer though but I do remember that it came with malto dextrin which is a fine white powder.

 

[dcbrewmeister]

Yeah I don't ever recall their kits coming with sanitizer, but I do recall them coming with priming sugar...

All the kits that I have bought that did come with sanitizer... the packet said "sanitizer" plus marketing blah blah.

Maybe you sanitized everything with priming sugar? I have seen a lot of priming sugar packets with no labeling at all on them. ****uff happens.

One fast rule in brewing - get into the "rhythm" of a technique and stick to it.

 

[Toadkiller Dog]

Allright, now *that* would be funny! (If I had indeed santized everything with priming sugar or maltodextrin) Maybe I shouldn't "relax, have a homebrew (or two!)" while I brew. :cross:

I can picture it now: "Allright, bacteria, get away from my equipment! And to teach you a lesson, I've prepared this nasty, uh, sugar solution! Yeah, that'll teach you."

In all honesty, I don't think I did that, but I suppose anything's possible. I added the maltodextrin during the boil, and the priming sugar at bottling. Now that I think about it, that bag of white sanitizer came with the "starter's kit" when i bought my carboy/fermenter/hoses etc.

Oh well. I also got their Belgian Wit kit. probably make it this weekend. wish me luck.

 

[dcbrewmeister]

Maybe I shouldn't "relax, have a homebrew (or two!)" while I brew. :cross:

How would you know? You were drunk