Had my first Porter beer the other day, RR Shadow of a doubt, and it was very good. Did not realize it was 9 plus % so it makes sense why I could have only one. LOL. Anyway, it got me to thinking that maybe a porter should be on my list of beers to brew. Any of you have any good porter recipes that you would like to share? Completely new to this style, so please share what you got. Thanks to all.
Porter style
- Thread starter redrocker652002
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
I've made this one at least three times, it's excellent.
Do you know about Ron Pattinson? He is a beer historian who researches brew log books from long gone London/UK breweries and translates the recipes to homebrew scale. If you are more interested in modern Porter then his info is probably not for you but if taking a look at recipes from the origins and heyday of Porter (once the most popular beer in the world with London breweries being the largest producers in the world) then check out his blog and search for Porter.
https://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/search?q=Let's+Brew+Porter
He also has books available. One of the best for its concentration of both info and recipes is The Homebrewers Guide to Vintage Beer.
I have collected a few hundred of his recipes and one of the best Porter recipes comes from the Whitbread Brewery in London and comes from their 1880 logbooks. Historical recipes are dead simple and contain only a handful of malts. There were three that cropped up in nearly every Porter recipe that Ron dubs the London Trinity... Pale, Brown and Black.
I posted this one in the recipe database about five years ago. Here is the gist of it...
----
Recipe Type All Grain
Yeast English Ale (Whitelabs #WLP002)
Yeast Starter 1.0 Liter
Batch Size (Gallons) 6
Original Gravity 1.053
Final Gravity 1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes) 60
IBU 34.4
Color 34 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp) 14 Days. 66F until day 12 when raised to 72F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp) none
Tasting Notes Roast and chocolate notes. Malt forward but only slightly sweet. Only a hint of hop bitterness. Silky smooth finish.
9 lbs Pale Malt
1 lb 12 oz Brown Malt
12 oz Black Malt (not patent)
2 oz East Kent Goldings (6.4%) boil 60 minutes
1 Liter starter using WLP002 English Ale Yeast
Mashed at 152 for 60 minutes.
My intent was to brew a traditional, English Porter as a starting point to build up a modern, robust porter. However upon first taste I don't think I want to change this recipe much if any. The recipe is one of Ron Pattinson's historic recreations based on Whitbread brewing logs.
https://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/search?q=Let's+Brew+Porter
He also has books available. One of the best for its concentration of both info and recipes is The Homebrewers Guide to Vintage Beer.
I have collected a few hundred of his recipes and one of the best Porter recipes comes from the Whitbread Brewery in London and comes from their 1880 logbooks. Historical recipes are dead simple and contain only a handful of malts. There were three that cropped up in nearly every Porter recipe that Ron dubs the London Trinity... Pale, Brown and Black.
I posted this one in the recipe database about five years ago. Here is the gist of it...
----
Recipe Type All Grain
Yeast English Ale (Whitelabs #WLP002)
Yeast Starter 1.0 Liter
Batch Size (Gallons) 6
Original Gravity 1.053
Final Gravity 1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes) 60
IBU 34.4
Color 34 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp) 14 Days. 66F until day 12 when raised to 72F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp) none
Tasting Notes Roast and chocolate notes. Malt forward but only slightly sweet. Only a hint of hop bitterness. Silky smooth finish.
9 lbs Pale Malt
1 lb 12 oz Brown Malt
12 oz Black Malt (not patent)
2 oz East Kent Goldings (6.4%) boil 60 minutes
1 Liter starter using WLP002 English Ale Yeast
Mashed at 152 for 60 minutes.
My intent was to brew a traditional, English Porter as a starting point to build up a modern, robust porter. However upon first taste I don't think I want to change this recipe much if any. The recipe is one of Ron Pattinson's historic recreations based on Whitbread brewing logs.
Based on the thread you linked it has to stay in the keg for two months? I don't mind that at all now that I am able to do so.
It's quite good even when young. But with a couple months or more it really hits its stride. The only problem is I've had a hard time keeping it around that long.
I'll second that. It's a solid recipe.
I have made this historical porter a few times...1744 Porter It's from Terry Foster's Porter book. Have had good success with it in comps as an English Porter and as a Pre-Prohibition Porter. I believe a few years back someone won gold at Nationals with the same base recipe.
Porters do extremely well with extended aging. I try to keep mine in the keg 6 months before serving but a year or longer deepens the flavors even more. And for an extra special experience add Brettanomyces after primary fermentation is done and let that work on it for 12+ months.
Thanks to all You guys have given me some great ideas and recipes. Gonna print them all and add them to my to brew list.
Mine is based on this recipe for Fullers London Porter
That's not a recipe from 1744. At that time, Porter was rewed from 100% brown malt. Black malt wasn't invented until 1817.
I'm not saying it's a bad recipe, just not anything like one from 1744.
Yeah definitely not. He did have this recipe in BYO in December 2013 and in the article he mentioned he was "reconstructing" a 1744 London Porter written by a William Ellis.
That would be from London and Country brewer, then. Pretty sure the recipe for Porter (though it isn't called that in the book) is 100% diastatic brown malt. I can understand you might want to try and create something similar with modern malts. But black malt is totally inappropriate.
Not really. Imperial is more like high-dried malt.
Northern_Brewer
British - apparently some US company stole my name
Personally I find Brett on its own dries it out too much, the sweet spot is something like 2:1 fresh:aged-Brett beer IMO.
You have the actual Fuller's brewbook for their Imperial Porter here, along with the Twitter-length version of the London Porter recipe :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...m-the-horses-mouth.642756/page-3#post-8674860
I have only had one beer with the Brett in it, and I really did not like it. I don't remember what it was, but it tasted a bit off to me. Might be a bit of an acquired taste?
Northern_Brewer
British - apparently some US company stole my name
Some Brett species can be very full-on, for British beers you're better with Brett clausennii, which is more subtle.
duelerx
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2015
- Messages
- 235
- Reaction score
- 85
Is it the one that Fermentis sells? Also, what does Brett contribute to the flavor profile of an English Porter?
Northern_Brewer
British - apparently some US company stole my name
No, BR-8 is the "normal" Brett species, bruxellensis, albeit it seems to be somewhat milder than most. White Labs do it as WLP645 but it's one of those that
is only sporadically available to homebrewers.
It dries it out, and makes the flavour more complex, with notes of leather, plum, etc.
worlddivides
Well-Known Member
It's definitely an acquired taste, but it's one of my favorites. It's possible you've had it in beers (and wines too) just without knowing it. For example, Lambics contain Brett (among many other microorganisms). I remember about 10 years ago or so some breweries making 100% Brett beers, which were pretty intriguing and tasted nothing like the more typical kinds. A rather famous example of a non-Lambic beer with Brett in it would be Orval. And, as mentioned in this thread, you can also find Brett in some traditional English ales.
I honestly don't remember which one it was. I saw it at Total Wines and more and decided to give it a try. It has been a while so I honestly don't remember what I did not like about it, just that I did not like it. Was it the yeast? Who knows, I just remember thinking that it was something I just did not care for. If I see something again, I will pick it up and give it a go.
Do a 10 gallon batch and invade the young porter corny as little as you can, but hey... It's there if you need a sip. And let the other corny age peacefully.It's quite good even when young. But with a couple months or more it really hits its stride. The only problem is I've had a hard time keeping it around that long.
That link provided above looks like a great recipe. Yum!
There are a ton of awesome beer recipes in the dark American Brown Ale - Porter SRM range. Most of my batches are in the 6.7-7.2 ABV range - my personal palette sweet spot. YMMV
worlddivides
Well-Known Member
Since it is an acquired taste, it's possible you might never like it or it's possible it might take more than two beers including it to grow to like it.
Similar threads
