# Too late for a Porter?



## peekaboo_jones (5/7/16)

It's cold and wet in Melbourne and I should have had a porter ready to drink but I haven't been organised.
Oh well, I put this down July 2.

King Brown Porter - 22L batch size

Coopers English Bitter
Coopers Amber malt 1.5kg
500g Caramalt (steeped)
200g Dark Brown Sugar
30g Fuggles, 10g Azacca, 10g Cascade @ 5 mins & 10 mins steep

OG = 1055

Fermenting at house ambient temp with US-05 (thought I had Nottingham but didnt).
Will dry hop with something, not sure yet. Maybe 10g each of the above…

I'm thinking now that I should have left out the dark brown sugar.


----------



## Lethaldog (5/7/16)

I was the same and put an all grain choc vanilla Porter in just over a week ago but then thought by the time I get to drink it ya da ya da probably should have done it a few months ago [emoji23][emoji23]

But it's never too late for a Porter [emoji39][emoji2]


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (5/7/16)

Yes, it is never to late for Porter


----------



## Jens-Kristian (5/7/16)

A good porter works anytime! Yours looks great, Peekaboo. 

I always do the same thing; I tend to brew according to what I feel like having, which means I'm always a few months out of sync with what I actually have. Oh well, good beer is good beer anytime.


----------



## manticle (5/7/16)

I'd drink porter in every season.

As long as it's delicious.

**** whether it's too late for a porter. Ask yourself 'is it too early for a porter'?

If you're out of bed, answer is 'probably not'.

For your recipe, I would have dropped your caramalt by half and steeped something slightly roast like choc in there. I like a blend of roasts in mine - just judiciously balanced.


----------



## peekaboo_jones (5/7/16)

manticle said:


> I'd drink porter in every season.
> 
> As long as it's delicious.
> 
> ...


Fair call manticle! and agreed, Sir!
Great advice, next time round I'll tweak it with a blend of spec malts.
Cheers


----------



## LAGERFRENZY (6/7/16)

Been inspired to do a similar brew today sans the brown sugar and with Fuggles, Challenger and EKG as the hops. If I lower the Caramalt down to 250 grams would say 50 grams of the Roast Chocolate provide a decent sort of balance?


----------



## Coodgee (6/7/16)

It's not too late to add some chocolate malt. I think the beer would be better for it. Right now it will probably turn out more like an american amber ale. Also it's always cold in Melbourne so i don't think you are too late.


----------



## wereprawn (6/7/16)

LAGERFRENZY said:


> Been inspired to do a similar brew today sans the brown sugar and with Fuggles, Challenger and EKG as the hops. If I lower the Caramalt down to 250 grams would say 50 grams of the Roast Chocolate provide a decent sort of balance?


100g will give a nice mild choc/roast flavour although I've used up to 400g in a 20 ltr batch and it turned out very nice. As Manticle said, a mix of darker spec malts is the go. Things like caraaroma, caramunich, brown malt and carared in conjunction with,but not all in the same beer at once, the choc, have worked well for my tastes.


----------



## Danscraftbeer (6/7/16)

Good time to brew them with lager yeast. Store them for next winter. That way you could think its getting in early.


----------



## Lord Raja Goomba I (6/7/16)

It is too early for a porter. I made mine early (to account for surgery meaning no brewing) and between the occasional tipple, the Mrs using the porter for making various beer based stews (so losing bottles to non-drinking attrition), I'm out of Porter now and I want something malty to drink and have none of my own.

'Twere a 50/50 split coffee vanilla porter, brewed on Belgian Abbaye yeast or overpitched Notto. Both beers got better with time but really happy with the Belgian after a couple of months.

So, to answer Mants' question - yes, there is such thing as too early for a porter.


----------



## AJS2154 (6/7/16)

The concensus is that the time is always perfect for a porter....no arguments from me on that score. Just to throw an idea at you regarding winter brewed dark beer. Schwarzbier! 

I love schwarzbier, am about to make another this weekend. There is a cracking recipe in Classic Brewing Styles. Willing to share if you PM me. 

Cheers, Anthony


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (6/7/16)

One of my old Porter's


Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 23.50 Wort Size (L): 23.50
Total Grain (kg): 5.06
Anticipated OG: 1.052 Plato: 12.83
Anticipated EBC: 67.0
Anticipated IBU: 38.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 77 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes




Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
39.5 2.00 kg. JWM Traditional Ale Malt Australia 1.038 7
47.4 2.40 kg. Weyermann Munich II Germany 1.038 24
5.1 0.26 kg. TF Crystal UK 1.034 135
2.0 0.10 kg. Weyermann Carafa Special II Germany 1.036 1100
4.4 0.22 kg. TF Chocolate Malt UK 1.033 940
1.6 0.08 kg. TF Black Malt UK 1.033 1270

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
5.00 g. POR Pellet 9.00 5.8 50 min.
15.00 g. Sticklebraet Pellet 12.40 25.8 60 min.
21.00 g. Willamette Pellet 4.30 4.2 20 min.
22.00 g. Willamette Pellet 4.30 2.2 5 min.


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (6/7/16)

And another


Batch Size (L): 22.00 Wort Size (L): 22.00
Total Grain (kg): 4.70
Anticipated OG: 1.052 Plato: 12.74
Anticipated EBC: 63.8
Anticipated IBU: 43.7
Brewhouse Efficiency: 78 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential EBC
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
76.6 3.60 kg. JWM Traditional Ale Malt Australia 1.038 7
9.6 0.45 kg. Weyermann Caraaroma Germany 1.034 350
7.4 0.35 kg. JWM Chocolate Malt Australia 1.032 750
6.4 0.30 kg. JWM Caramalt Australia 1.036 56

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
20.00 g. Sticklebraet Pellet 11.90 35.3 60 min.
20.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 6.45 6.4 20 min.
10.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 6.45 1.9 10 min.


----------



## manticle (6/7/16)

OP is kit/extract DS


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (6/7/16)

manticle said:


> OP is kit/extract DS


He needs to kick that habit


----------



## niftinev (7/7/16)

never too late for a porter, prob my favourite beer along with stout

drinking one made september last year and it's frickin delish :chug:


----------



## peekaboo_jones (7/7/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> He needs to kick that habit


In due course I'll be moving to AG. Currently time poor, even extract is generally after 9pm on a weekend. 
You guys are great, given me spark to do another partial mash 
Time to get a ball valve for my 35L techni-ice esky


----------



## panzerd18 (7/7/16)

And I'm fermenting a lager in the dead of winter!


----------



## Ducatiboy stu (7/7/16)

panzerd18 said:


> And I'm fermenting a lager in the dead of winter!


Fool

Should be doing Scottish Ales in winter


----------



## Jens-Kristian (7/7/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Fool
> 
> Should be doing Scottish Ales in winter



Scottish Ales. :chug: :icon_drool2:


----------



## panzerd18 (7/7/16)

Ducatiboy stu said:


> Fool
> 
> Should be doing Scottish Ales in winter


Yum Malty Ale!


----------



## Gigantorus (8/7/16)

There will always be a place for a porter either late in the evening or on a cold & windy day.

I also enjoy blending with my porters - maybe half Baltic porter and half amber ale, or half porter and half pale ale. It makes for an interesting drink. Particularly if you are bored with the range you have on hand - blending creates new worlds.

Cheers,
Pete


----------



## LAGERFRENZY (8/7/16)

Last night I ended up brewing:
Mangrove Jacks London Bitter pouch
Tin of Amber Ale extract
250 grams of Caramalt and 100 grams of Chocolate steeped for an hour in 2 litres water @ 75 degrees
20 grams each of Fuggles and EKG added to the last ten minutes of the boil in strained steep water with half the liquid malt
Kit comes with excellent MJ Burton Union yeast (10 gram pkt) and is chugging away already this morning
Might dry hop on day four. Thanks to OP for the idea as well as suggestions from others re the malt selection.


----------



## Gigantorus (11/7/16)

LAGERFRENZY said:


> Last night I ended up brewing:
> Mangrove Jacks London Bitter pouch
> Tin of Amber Ale extract
> 250 grams of Caramalt and 100 grams of Chocolate steeped for an hour in 2 litres water @ 75 degrees
> ...



LF,
What can you tell me about the MJ Burton Union yeast thanks? I'm looking for something to use on an English Brown Ale and wondering if this could be the one for it? 
Cheers,
Pete


----------



## LAGERFRENZY (11/7/16)

Gigantorus said:


> LF,
> What can you tell me about the MJ Burton Union yeast thanks? I'm looking for something to use on an English Brown Ale and wondering if this could be the one for it?
> Cheers,
> Pete


Hey Pete - if I had to buy a packet of yeast for an English Ale my first choice would be Nottingham as it has always worked exceptionally well for me. Others swear by Windsor or S04 but I have not had much to do with them. I have used the MJ Bitter pouch kit twice and the yeast has performed well (once rehydrated) both times. These kits are quite a deal more expensive than much of the competition but I think that they are premium product and the manufacturer should get kudos for supplying 10 grams of a high quality yeast that you know will get the job done.
Cheers
Doug


----------



## Gigantorus (12/7/16)

Thanks, Doug.

Cheers,
Pete


----------



## LAGERFRENZY (14/7/16)

Dry hopped this on day 4 with 20 grams each of Fuggles ad EKG and took a reading and a sneaky taster tonight and ended up guzzling a couple of glasses. No kit twang to speak of and the spec malts seemed just the right balance. The MJ yeast fermented out nicely down to 1008 and did not take away any of the hoppy yumminess.


----------



## peekaboo_jones (16/7/16)

Sounds great LagerFrenzy!
Mine is sitting at 1012. Stuck the heater pad under it with a power point timer, 1hr on 1hr off.
Dry hopping with 20g Fuggle, 20g Cascade and about 15g of leftover Azacca.
Tastes really great, more like a hoppy northern English brown ale though. No complaints here 

[Edit]
Will cold crash a few days from now


----------



## LAGERFRENZY (16/7/16)

Looking good Peek - mine's a little bit darker than yours but likewise is still more of a Brown Ale. I put the darkness down to the Chocolate Malt and I am glad that I only used 100 grams as it is just threatening to dominate. Bottled mine up tonight without cold crashing because I want it all in my belly as soon as possible :chug:


----------



## peekaboo_jones (25/7/16)

Hey guys, bottled this over the weekend. Unfortunately I didn't cold crash as I've had the fermenting fridge used for something else last week.
Tastes lovely, the hops seemed to have worked well although next time I'll make without the dark brown sugar and I'd like to do a mini mash with some MO or brown malt.
FG for this was 1008, so it's finished well with trusty old US-05


----------



## mofox1 (25/7/16)

Need to get on it and brew up a porter, been a little while since I've had one on tap. Definitely recommend brown malt (with a bit of choc, no rb!), although I find that the slight bitter/astringent taste I get from the brown needs to be offset a bit with some crystal malts.

Brown sugar can work... but after a very unhappy experience with dark brown sugar, I'm unlikely to ever use any kind of brown sugar in the foreseeable future. I wasn't kegging at that point, and watching all that effort being tipped down the sink was just heart breaking.

Note on the brown, it needs mashing so a partial with some MO is a good choice as it has the diastatic power to convert itself with plenty of enzymes left over for the brown. Alternately American pale malts, or gladfields pale malts are good too.

*Edit:* The dark brown sugar experience was with a stout, not a porter... but horrible nonetheless!


----------



## LAGERFRENZY (25/7/16)

peekaboo_jones said:


> Hey guys, bottled this over the weekend. Unfortunately I didn't cold crash as I've had the fermenting fridge used for something else last week.
> Tastes lovely, the hops seemed to have worked well although next time I'll make without the dark brown sugar and I'd like to do a mini mash with some MO or brown malt.
> FG for this was 1008, so it's finished well with trusty old US-05


Good to here it worked out well Peek - looking forward to hearing the tasting notes when it conditions.


----------



## LAGERFRENZY (11/8/16)

Three weeks in the bottle and very pleased with the end result. Warmer weather already starting in Brissie so will have to get these down smartish.


----------



## Wolfman1 (14/8/16)

Try demarra sugar instead of brown sugar. It's like a darker raw sugar which worked well in my last porter


----------



## Wolfman1 (18/8/16)

I was inspired by this thread and just put a porter down.
Coopers English Bitter can + Mangrove Jack Amber can, 375g demarra sugar. 300g crystal, 500g smoked and 100g choc all Mashed for 90 mins at 66 and 15g of Styrian Goldings boiled for 5 mins.
Gravity was 1060, so it should finish up around 6.5% when bottled.

The smokey taste was coming through in the gravity sample so it might have been a bit much. I was inspired by Smog town smoked porter and almost 30% of their grain bill is smoked. 

I'll bottle it and stick it to the back of the beer cupboard and it should be just right for next winter. Seeing as the blossoms are on the trees, its time to get prepared


----------



## peekaboo_jones (18/9/16)

Hey guys, glad a made it nice and hoppy! It's probably even more towards a hoppy American brown ale to be honest.

I just got a Robobrew, so looking forward to exploring the goods of grain brewing soon. Thanks for the recipe suggestions at the start of the thread. I'll have a crack


----------

