Porter learning curve

[brittney81895]

When trying a new all grain porter recipe what went wrong, what did you learn from it and how did it turn out the second time around?

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

Used way too much Roasted Barley and Black Patent in my first porter. It tasted like ashes for a long time. Eventually mellowed out a bit but I learned that, in most things beer-related, less is more.

 

[TheBigLebrewsk1]

I've done an ancho chili porter, the heat came through but I'll probably never try that again.

 

[sky4meplease]

I would acidify the Sparge water. This was a Stout but similar SRM.
My mash PH was 5.5 which is fine but I left my Sparge water alone without acid and wound up preboil at 5.7.
Tannin extraction? We will see in a couple months. [emoji27]

 

[brrman]

There's not much in the way of variety in porter to be honest. The good thing is that you can get a good porter pretty easily and a basic recipe is fairly forgiving. Don't overthink it, stick to your basic brewing fundamentals, and porters come out tasting great. I have a recipe I have been brewing since 2007 and it always turns out amazing.

Sparge water at 5.7 should be fine, sky4meplease unless you over-sparged.

 

[ChelisHubby]

I upped the Base malt percentage 25 % and was smooth any more,

 

[feinbera]

Victory has this weird peanutty flavor. I mean, d'uh, right, it says right there on most malt references that it can impart a "nutty" flavor, should've been the first suspect, right? Took me until maybe my fourth batch to evict it from my grain bill.

But if you like peanuts more than I do, have at it.

 

[MindenMan]

A coffee porter that tasted like COFFEE!! That was the only thing, it was borderline nasty, and almost ruined my drinking any porter, nut brown, roasty anything that wasn't a regular cup of coffee for a long time. A year, yes, an entire year later I found a couple of bottles and chilled them with skepticism.
Damn!, what an AMAZING porter that nasty a$$ coffee crap turned into all those months later. My point is, do not "flavor to taste" in the bottling bucket or you may end up with something you may never want to drink. If there is a flavor you want to add at bottling time, I suggest you only add enough to barely taste it right then. I don't know why, but as time passes so many flavors concentrate and then most but not all, will mellow out.

 

[GrainToGlass]

Too much crystal malt with my first porter. I toned it down in my recent batches and it has improved.

 

[brittney81895]

I would acidify the Sparge water. This was a Stout but similar SRM.
My mash PH was 5.5 which is fine but I left my Sparge water alone without acid and wound up preboil at 5.7.
Tannin extraction? We will see in a couple months. [emoji27]

Can't wait to hear how it turns out!

 

[brittney81895]

A coffee porter that tasted like COFFEE!! That was the only thing, it was borderline nasty, and almost ruined my drinking any porter, nut brown, roasty anything that wasn't a regular cup of coffee for a long time. A year, yes, an entire year later I found a couple of bottles and chilled them with skepticism.
Damn!, what an AMAZING porter that nasty a$$ coffee crap turned into all those months later. My point is, do not "flavor to taste" in the bottling bucket or you may end up with something you may never want to drink. If there is a flavor you want to add at bottling time, I suggest you only add enough to barely taste it right then. I don't know why, but as time passes so many flavors concentrate and then most but not all, will mellow out.

Great point! I am at the point where I am going to create my own porter recipe and I would hate to waste the money on an overpowering flavored porter. Maybe a hint of coffee and vanilla.

 

[Callacave]

The one thing that will improve about most dark beers is to give them a lot of conditioning time. Most of my Porters/Stouts sit in a keg in my basement for about 3 months.

I sometimes read on here how people give their dark beers a few weeks and I cringe. I always find the wonderful chocolate/roast of the malts to come forward, and blend with the beer as a whole when proper conditioning time is given.

 

[McKnuckle]

With both porter and stout, too much roasted malt is not to my liking, especially brown malt and pale chocolate. Both of these have such a strong coffee taste that it overwhelms everything else. Stick to a really small percentage of brown malt in particular - 3 or 4% max.

If you ameliorate your brewing water, don't overdo it on the sulfate (gypsum). I'd aim for ppm of no greater than 150, usually half that.

Also, I agree with the poster above on aging. About 2-3 months of conditioning (cold is fine) smooths the rough edges and blends the flavors of these beers, particularly the roasty ones. They just keep getting better after that.

 

[brewcat]

The one thing that will improve about most dark beers is to give them a lot of conditioning time. Most of my Porters/Stouts sit in a keg in my basement for about 3 months.

I sometimes read on here how people give their dark beers a few weeks and I cringe. I always find the wonderful chocolate/roast of the malts to come forward, and blend with the beer as a whole when proper conditioning time is given.

Depends on the recipe. A basic stout can be ready to drink in the same time frame as any other ale.

 

[LostBoyScout]

I learned the hard way that you can't use a historic recipe verbatim. Brown malt is quite different these days.

 

[Hanglow]

I use brown malt up to about 20%. Fullers london porter is about 12% and it's a great beer. For me, a good dose of brown malt is essential for a porter .

 

[sky4meplease]

Great point! I am at the point where I am going to create my own porter recipe and I would hate to waste the money on an overpowering flavored porter. Maybe a hint of coffee and vanilla.

Get your hands on a copy of "Designing Great Beers" by Ray Daniels or "Brewing Porters and Stouts" by Terry Foster for some good reading on the style and information for recipe formulation.

 

[Stillraining]

I make lots of Porters..I have had a couple taste like vinegar cider right out of fermentation. I swore they must be infected even though there was no visible signs...Nope... It all gos away after 2 or 3 months conditioning. So I totally agree with don't go by taste (or smell for that matter) with dark beers...Time is what a lot of them need.

 

[MindenMan]

^^^ more dollars does not mean better beer, I agree implicitly. After 4 years of brewing I have approx. $300.00 invested including my chest freezer, and I won a contest 2 years ago with my low budget "brewin' ghetto" setup.