Robust Porter for Comments

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Hops-a-Lot

Active Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
I plan to brew a new style for me, robust porter, this coming week and I am looking for some comments/suggestions on the recipe I have constructed. It is based on a one that I found on the BeerTools website with a couple of minor modifications.

Vanilla Mocha Cream Porter

Partial mash, 5-gal final volume 3.5-gal boil.

0.5lb Flaked Wheat
0.5lb Flaked Barley
0.25lb American Chocolate Malt
0.5lb Belgian Special B
0.25lb Carafa Type III
0.25lb American Black Patent Malt
0.25lb Roasted Barley
3lb Briess Golden Light DME
3lb Briess Traditional Dark DME

Minimash grains at 1.5qt/lb in 155-160F water for 45 min. Sparge with 5qts at 180F.

Wyeast 1028 London Ale

Hop Schedule

1.0oz Millenium (13% AA) @ 60min
0.5oz Cascade (7.4% AA) @ 30min
0.5oz Nugget (5%AA) @ 5min

Primary Fermentation:
2 weeks @ 70F
Secondary Fermentation:
1 week @ 70F with three split and scraped vanilla bean pods
Bottle conditioning:
2 weeks
 
None of the grains have any enzymes and all you are doing is a big steep. Without any 2-row, trying to mash that bill won't work.
 
None of the grains have any enzymes and all you are doing is a big steep. Without any 2-row, trying to mash that bill won't work.

Yep, this would be a good candidate for a partial mash......get rid of a couple lbs of that DME and get an equivalent amount of 2-row or other base malt and perform a mini-mash......if that seems like an overwhelming task, check out DeathBrewer's Partial Mash technique.....
 
actually, taking another look at this......you can steep everything on your grain bill except the flaked wheat and the flaked barley....if you want to do away with the flaked barley you could use a lb of wheat DME in place of a lb of Light DME to cover the wheat and you'd be close, then you could steep the rest.

that said, This beer would only benefit from going the partial mash route and keeping the flaked barley (add's great texture), but it's doable with a little creative flexing.....
 
Man I love this board. Such fast responses. So of I am reading this correctly, if I replace two lbs of the DME with a 2-row malt (1:1 weight wise) and keep the rest of the bill the same I should see a much better end result? Anybody have a suggestion for what type of base malt I should use with this style? I was thinking U.K. Maris Otter Malt (2-Row) to give it a nice British edge. Thoughts?
 
Marris Otter has a relatively low enzyme content for converting all those specialty grains, I'd suggest either american 2-row, as stated, or even some 6-row, as it contains more enzymes for converting.
 
It's not exactly a 1:1 ratio either......I'd add 3lbs of grains for 2lbs of DME. I punched it into beersmith and 3lbs of 2-row adds .016 points to the gravity, while 2lbs of light DME adds .017 points.....close enough.
 
It's not exactly a 1:1 ratio either......I'd add 3lbs of grains for 2lbs of DME. I punched it into beersmith and 3lbs of 2-row adds .016 points to the gravity, while 2lbs of light DME adds .017 points.....close enough.

Thanks for the response. At the moment, I happen to have only two lbs of American 2-row on hand so I am going with that. Given the 3:2 ratio I will remove about 1.3lbs of DME in the recipe. Should this be enough with which to mash the flaked barley and wheat?
 
I have made some changes to the original recipe based on some of the comments.

Vanilla Mocha Cream Porter


Partial mash, 5-gal final volume 3.5-gal boil.

2lb American 2-row
0.5lb Flaked Wheat
0.5lb Flaked Barley
0.25lb American Chocolate Malt
0.5lb Belgian Special B
0.25lb Carafa Type III
0.25lb American Black Patent Malt
0.25lb Roasted Barley
3lb Briess Golden Light DME
3lb Briess Traditional Dark DME

Minimash/steep grains at 1.5qt/lb in 155-160F water for 45 min. Sparge with 5qts at 180F.

Wyeast 1028 London Ale

Hop Schedule
1.0oz Millenium (13% AA) @ 60min
0.5oz Cascade (7.4% AA) @ 30min
0.5oz Nugget (5%AA) @ 5min

Primary Fermentation:
2 weeks @ 70F
Secondary Fermentation:
1 week @ 70F with 3tbsp pure vanilla extract and 4oz lactose
Bottle conditioning:
2 weeks
 
If you mash at 155 to 160, you're might not need any lactose. The higher mash temps will result in more unfermentable sugars, leading to a higher final gravity.
 
Damn this is a good one. I just cracked open the first bottle after a week of conditioning and I am blown away. Subtle vanilla aftertaste with huge coffee and chocolate notes. The lactose has done a great job adding just a bit of sweetness and mouthfeel to the brew. If it's this good at one week I can't wait for week two. A slight modification to the recipe above, I chose not to secondary and held for two full weeks in the primary. I racked onto the lactose and vanilla extract before bottling. I highly recommend this recipe.
 
Back
Top