# 2018 Stout/porter brewing



## SnailAle (21/9/17)

Gday all, 

Just wondering, if I want a nice stout/ porter for next winter should I be brewing it soon to give it 6-8 months to age in the bottle?

Cheers


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## good4whatAlesU (21/9/17)

Good question ! .. 

Musing the same thing myself. It depends on the recipe quite a bit I think .. some age better than others. 

I nearly threw a couple early ones out (they were pretty bad) but then 12 months later they turned out nice. Another couple tasted good at the start but then lost their zing later on. 

Possibly the higher the alcohol and bolder you are with the hops and dark grains - the longer it takes for the flavours to settle down. The better they age.


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## Stouter (21/9/17)

My standard Stout recipe appears to need at least two months, but at 4 months it's much nicer. My taste buds tingle at the thought of leaving it for 6-8 months and that's what I'm trying to do.
I've started putting away a few bottles from each batch I do, but it's so bloody tempting to drink them.
6 P's? Prior planning and patience produces perfect Porter??


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## Andy_27 (21/9/17)

I've only done 1 porter and it was pretty nice about a month after bottling, but I just drank the last one yesterday after 4 months and it was bloody amazing. The flavours had mellowed and it was such an easy drinker.So much depth to the flavour with coffee, chocolate etc.


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## SnailAle (21/9/17)

I was tempted to try an oatmeal stout. I'll make sure I have enough other beer to hold me over so I don't crack it too early. 

Any recipes you guys would recommend for a first time stouter?


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## Andy_27 (21/9/17)

Not an oatmeal, but its good!

Robust Porter
25L batch

4.8kg Maris Otter
600g Chocolate
420g Biscuit
110g Melanoidin
110g Oats

50g EKG @60
10g Northern Brewer @ 60
10g Target @ 60
20g EKG @ 5

Wyeast 1084

Mash @ 66.7

OG: 1.055
FG: 1.014
IBU: 45
ABV: 5.4%
EBC: 77.4


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## good4whatAlesU (21/9/17)

Base malt + roast barley 10 - 15% and you can't go too wrong.

Nottingham yeast works well, keep the temps down though. If it gets hot it throws out paint stripper.


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## manticle (21/9/17)

My stouts are ready for kegging about a week after ferment starts. Good straight away, better when the yeast drops.

They age well if looked after.

Recipe and process dependent.

Yes you can wait, no you shouldn't have to.


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## manticle (21/9/17)

To answer your question above about recipes - I rarely measure anything these days so my recipe is an approximation but I've repeated similar approximations multiple times.

5kg maris or golden promise (known quantity from hbs)
About 100g eyeballed biscuit or victory
100 or less of heritage crystal or simpsons dark. Can be omitted.
900-ish g of roast malts made up of:

~150 black
~250 choc
~250 roast barley
~250 simpsons brown (incredible malt)

Roast malts are crushed fine, steeped in cold water anything between 2 and 24 hrs. Add to last 10 mins of mash.

Cal chloride to mash and boil, challenger hops to guesstimate 35 ibu with a small whirlpool addition and wlp london ale started at 17 and bumped to 22 incrementally over the course of a week. 17 for 2 days before raising. That yeast is a cracker.

In my opinion, unlike the kiss approach that works with many other styles, stouts lend themselves to multiple (still judiciously added) malt types - especially roast. Go pale choc, choc, roast, brown, black.


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## Stouter (21/9/17)

SnailAle said:


> I was tempted to try an oatmeal stout. I'll make sure I have enough other beer to hold me over so I don't crack it too early.
> 
> Any recipes you guys would recommend for a first time stouter?


Ducatiboy stu has one in the recipe section here called Pillar of Stout. That was my starting point, and I tweaked it with what I had on hand. You could make an addition of rolled oats into that grain bill.


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## SnailAle (22/9/17)

Stouter said:


> Ducatiboy stu has one in the recipe section here called Pillar of Stout. That was my starting point, and I tweaked it with what I had on hand. You could make an addition of rolled oats into that grain bill.


Fyi on this recipe I found the thread but it was up to Poo a bit. Was all written in code.


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## Meddo (22/9/17)

I brewed @Ducatiboy stu's pillar of stout as my first stout, buggered up my calcs though and brewed it with about double the amount of each of the various black malts compared to the original recipe. It turned out.... aggressive. After about six months it's calmed down half a notch and I'm really enjoying it - still a pretty brutal beer but I'll be sad when the keg blows.


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## Ducatiboy stu (22/9/17)

Pillar of Stout does well with oats.

And yes, it needs a few months in the bottle to smooth out

Try it with W1728 Scottish Ale yeats

KG Fermentable
4.4 kg BB Ale Malt
0.34 kg JWM Roast Barley
0.15 kg JWM Chocolate Malt
0.15 kg Weyermann Carafa Special II
0.1 kg TF Black Malt
Hops 
34 g Pride of Ringwood (Pellet, 9.0AA%, 60mins)
30 g Pride of Ringwood (Pellet, 9.0AA%, 20mins)

23L
Batch Size

Brew Details
Original Gravity 1.053 (calc)
Final Gravity 1.013 (calc)
Bitterness 51.2 IBU
Efficiency 75%
Alcohol 5.2%
Colour 98 EBC


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## SnailAle (1/11/17)

Gday all, I ended up brewing a lighter summer porter and had a carbonation question. Keen to try Manticle's recipe next!

I'm still using glass and PET bottles (almost got a kegerator until we went and bought a house).

Just wondering, if I want to stay in that low to moderate range of carbonation should I just use half the carb drop recommendation for Normal carb level beers?


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (1/11/17)

SnailAle said:


> Gday all, I ended up brewing a lighter summer porter and had a carbonation question. Keen to try Manticle's recipe next!
> 
> I'm still using glass and PET bottles (almost got a kegerator until we went and bought a house).
> 
> Just wondering, if I want to stay in that low to moderate range of carbonation should I just use half the carb drop recommendation for Normal carb level beers?



Batch priming is your friend. That way you can control your sugar per litre in a better format than "1 drop or 2?".


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (1/11/17)

All my porters and stouts have been better after a minimum of 2 months, but ideally not drinking until 4+.


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## SnailAle (1/11/17)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> Batch priming is your friend. That way you can control your sugar per litre in a better format than "1 drop or 2?".


I have read that most people do do that. I wouldn't know how to go about it and I'm worried I'd stuff it up and end up with a glass bottle fireworks show in the spare room and a fuming missus! Haha 

Mostly though I was given a heap of carb drops when I first got into brewing from a mate that doesn't do it any more.


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## Rocker1986 (1/11/17)

I don't think I'll do one this year. I need the brew fridge to keep up with my usual beers and I'm not gonna ferment at ambient now because it's too hot, but next year I'll do one around September so it can be fermented separate at ambient temperature which should hold it around 20-22 degrees. Keg after two weeks and let sit until the following May/June.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (1/11/17)

SnailAle said:


> I have read that most people do do that. I wouldn't know how to go about it and I'm worried I'd stuff it up and end up with a glass bottle fireworks show in the spare room and a fuming missus! Haha
> 
> Mostly though I was given a heap of carb drops when I first got into brewing from a mate that doesn't do it any more.



Basically calculate out (brew mate will do the trick, as will online calculators such as this https://www.brewersfriend.com/beer-priming-calculator/ ).

Way I do it, is dissolve the sugar first in hot water, then put into sterilised fermenter and run the beer through a tube onto it - the gentle swirling action will mix it up nicely, and I've never had a bomb from it).


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## SnailAle (1/11/17)

For the meantime while I don't have a secondary or a siphon can someone recommend how many carbonation drops to add into a porter?


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (1/11/17)

One for me but that's personal taste.

Syringe hand pump after pour finishes it for me.


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## wheat and hops (1/11/17)

One drop in a 750ml or larger bottle will be fine for a porter.


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## TheSumOfAllBeers (2/11/17)

Lord Raja Goomba I said:


> One for me but that's personal taste.
> 
> Syringe hand pump after pour finishes it for me.



What kind of syringe do you use? I have used a 100ml syringe for priming but I am trying to save time on packaging day.

Would love syringe with a trigger action that dispensed a measured dose e.g. 5ml if primer.

It's looking like I may have to go the way of carb drops otherwise, and I didn't get into this hobby so that I could spend 1600% markup on plain sugar.


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## manticle (2/11/17)

He's talking about cheapskate handpump technique. Pour a low carbed beer, suck up a bit in a syringe and squirt back in.

Depending on protein/dextrin levels, you can get a nice stable head form and retain.


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## Rocker1986 (2/11/17)

I have a 3mL syringe I use for that hand pump thing, it works really well actually. I also found it an effective method of degassing overcarbonated bottled beers.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (2/11/17)

TheSumOfAllBeers said:


> What kind of syringe do you use? I have used a 100ml syringe for priming but I am trying to save time on packaging day.
> 
> Would love syringe with a trigger action that dispensed a measured dose e.g. 5ml if primer.
> 
> It's looking like I may have to go the way of carb drops otherwise, and I didn't get into this hobby so that I could spend 1600% markup on plain sugar.



After you pour a beer from the bottle into the glass, you do what Mants says. Suck up about half a syringe and push back into the beer now in the glass. It give a pretty good imitation of the creamy guinness style head without the need for a handpump or Nitro.


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## SnailAle (2/11/17)

Thanks for the help guys, when I get to drinking this batch I'll try the syringe method too [emoji106]


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (2/11/17)

And I generally nick a kid's panadol syringe for the job.


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## BrockHops (2/11/17)

+1 for the syringe method, such a simple thing to do.


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## pcqypcqy (2/11/17)

I do one drop in a grolsch bottle, but you could probably go to 1 drop in a proper tallie as others have suggested and it'd be fine. I've never had issues halving drops with a sharp knife if you want finer resolution than this but don't want to bulk prime.


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## SnailAle (2/11/17)

I've got 330 stubbies, 740 PET and some 750 coopers sparkling long necks. Might go half a drop in the 330, 1 in the PET and 1 1/2 in coopers bottles and see how that turns out. 

Once I move into my new house, setup the shed and sell our current place I'll look at buying more more gear to bulk prime, have secondaries, get a kegerator etc. At the moment though while money is so tight I'm going to stick with what I have. 

Thanks for all the help everyone, appreciate it [emoji106]


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## Rocker1986 (2/11/17)

Secondaries aren't really needed for conditioning but bulk priming is a lot easier with a second fermenter.


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## Lord Raja Goomba I (2/11/17)

SnailAle said:


> I've got 330 stubbies, 740 PET and some 750 coopers sparkling long necks. Might go half a drop in the 330, 1 in the PET and 1 1/2 in coopers bottles and see how that turns out.
> 
> Once I move into my new house, setup the shed and sell our current place I'll look at buying more more gear to bulk prime, have secondaries, get a kegerator etc. At the moment though while money is so tight I'm going to stick with what I have.
> 
> Thanks for all the help everyone, appreciate it [emoji106]



What Rocker said. 

Plus, Bunnings has a fermenter that will do the job for approx $20-25. It'll save your money on carb drops too.

Another thing with bulk priming is that if you have mixed bottle sizes (I've done one batch with 500ml, 568ml little creatures, 640ml craft tallies, 750ml regular tallies and 800ml VB tallies), you don't need to recalculate for each bottle, as you're priming the entire batch.

Big advice I can give though - make sure the fermenter is fully sterile and the tubing is sterile. Do not (I had my brother do this) shake up the fermenter to get the sugar mixed in, you'll oxidise it. Just use plastic clear tubing that's long enough to gravity feed and coil around the 2nd fermenter a couple of times on the inside to induce "gentle swirling action" that mixes, without adding extra unnecessary oxidisation.


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## Rocker1986 (2/11/17)

That Bunnings 'fermenter' is exactly what I used for bulk priming when I was bottling. It did the job well and I still have it although it doesn't get any use at the moment. Mine is the normal white plastic but they seem to only have blue ones now.


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