Baltic Porter

[drtomc]

Hi All,

I'm thinking about doing a Baltic Porter soon. After a bit of searching, I've noticed that a lot of the recipes have lots of specialty malts in them. I usually like to keep things fairly simple so I'm thinking along the following lines:

Maris Otter 45%
Wey Vienna 45%
Wey Caramunich 7%
Wey Carafa special II 3%

Perle or similar to about 30-35 IBU

Maybe a bit of 10-20 min Saaz

I don't really have a setup to deal with lager yeasts, so I was thinking US-05 for simplicity.

Comments? It's not a style I've had before, so I'm quite possibly way off the mark.

T.

 

[haysie]

Just wondering what the og is on that grist, You should be looking for some legs(alcoholic) for the style. US05 wouldnt cut it imo, strip the malts of what your showcasing. A neutral lager yeast Wyeast2201, Dry 189 would do far better. A good baltic is a real good baltic 12-18 months later.

 

[drtomc]

Beer Alchemy claims an OG of 1.063 for my quantities and batch size. I might up it somewhat, which is trivial. The BJCP guidelines say 1.060 - 1.090.

I reckon I can manage to ferment around 16-17, will a lager yeast behave well that warm?

T.

 

[haysie]

Beer Alchemy claims an OG of 1.063 for my quantities and batch size. I might up it somewhat, which is trivial. The BJCP guidelines say 1.060 - 1.090.

I reckon I can manage to ferment around 16-17, will a lager yeast behave well that warm?

T.

I havent brewed a lager at 16-17 before, but had really good results at 11-12 , Melbourne here. Saying that, I believe Bacchus Brewery aka Craftbrewer ferment all their lagers at around the 15 degree for incredibly great results. Never know if you dont give it ago, at the worst with a lager yeast at 17 it maybe a little fruity and would suspect diacytel, but the end result for a baltic would be far better than a us05 stripping the malt.

 

[drtomc]

Cheers. And you reckon the grist will have the right balance?

T.

 

[Barry]

Could use the Calf Common lager yeast (WLP810 or the Wyeast equivalent). This time of the year you should find a cool/cold spot that would stay in the low teens. This lager yeast is AOK up to 15-16oC.

 

[argon]

I havent brewed a lager at 16-17 before, but had really good results at 11-12 , Melbourne here. Saying that, I believe Bacchus Brewery aka Craftbrewer ferment all their lagers at around the 15 degree for incredibly great results. Never know if you dont give it ago, at the worst with a lager yeast at 17 it maybe a little fruity and would suspect diacytel, but the end result for a baltic would be far better than a us05 stripping the malt.

Ross does all his beers at 19C even the lagers using S189. They come out nice and clean and you'd never pick they were done this warm.

I did a Baltic Porter about 18 months ago and blew the second keg about 8 weeks back... as Haysie said it's the type of beer that just gets better with age. You want those dark fruit, plum, coffee and chocolate flavours to come through. I really should have bottled it and let it sit for a bit longer.

Looking at my notes now,

Initially chocolate and chewy.... after a few weeks plum, dark fruit, port?? starting to warm up a bit with a little alc.

My OG was 1066 finished at 1015 and did the first keg with US05 (before lagering capabilities and the second on a yeast cake of WY2633= big pitch. Ended up beautifully clean fermented at 10C for 4 weeks and lagered another 4weeks. The lager keg was miles ahead of the US05 version. Started drinking really well about 6 months after kegging.

My recipe below;

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Baltic Porter
Brewer: Argon
Asst Brewer:
Style: Baltic Porter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) Initially chocolate and chewy.... after a few weeks plum, dark fruit, port?? starting to warm up a bit with a little alc.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 31.00 L
Boil Size: 31.44 L
Estimated OG: 1.066 SG
Estimated Color: 39.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 31.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.20 kg Munich I Malt (Weyermann) (7.4 SRM) Grain 55.03 %
3.30 kg Pilsner Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 34.92 %
0.40 kg Carafa Special T2 Malt (Weyermann) (583.Grain 4.23 %
0.40 kg Chocolate Malt Pale (Thomas Fawcett) (329.Grain 4.23 %
0.15 kg Caraaroma Malt (Weyermann) (203.0 SRM) Grain 1.59 %
42.00 gm Hallertau Aroma [9.00 %] (60 min) Hops 24.4 IBU
33.00 gm Hallertau Mittelfrueh [5.20 %] (20 min) Hops 6.7 IBU
1.00 tsp Koppafloc (Boil 10.0 min) Misc

1 Pkgs Oktoberfest Blend (Wyeast Labs #2633) [StaYeast-Lager


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 9.45 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
90 min Mash In Add 28.35 L of water at 74.0 C 67.0 C
10 min Mash Out Add 9.83 L of water and heat to 75.075.0 C


Notes:
------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[drtomc]

Looks terrific. I'll follow that, though I might aim for a somewhat higher OG.

Cheers,
T.

 

[argon]

one thing i neglected to mention though... this beer was "Eised" somewhat unintentionally. I use an upright freezer for fermentation and somehow, when i was lagering i must have dropped it too cool and froze the fermenter. I think i ended up losing about 3-4L to the ice block that formed in there. So i guess that would have bumped my ABV up by 1%... an effective OG bump from 1.066 to 1.073. Whatever i did... it ended up great.

Edit: So if you ended up bumping the OG up i reckon it'll come out very nice. As i said i pitched on to a yeast cake (of a Munich Helles IIRC)... so make sure you have plenty of yeast if you end up doing a lager at 10C.

 

[np1962]

:icon_offtopic: Just taking this slightly off topic but as drtomc is looking at emulating the recipe may be helpful.
While the recipe looks nice and simple, sometimes the best way IMO, I am wondering how your actual figures come in.
The reason I ask is the volumes don't seem correct. 31L Batch with a pre boil volume of 31.44L? I can't see this being right.

Ross does all his beers at 19C even the lagers using S189. They come out nice and clean and you'd never pick they were done this warm.

I did a Baltic Porter about 18 months ago and blew the second keg about 8 weeks back... as Haysie said it's the type of beer that just gets better with age. You want those dark fruit, plum, coffee and chocolate flavours to come through. I really should have bottled it and let it sit for a bit longer.

Looking at my notes now,

My OG was 1066 finished at 1015 and did the first keg with US05 (before lagering capabilities and the second on a yeast cake of WY2633= big pitch. Ended up beautifully clean fermented at 10C for 4 weeks and lagered another 4weeks. The lager keg was miles ahead of the US05 version. Started drinking really well about 6 months after kegging.

My recipe below;

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Baltic Porter
Brewer: Argon
Asst Brewer:
Style: Baltic Porter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) Initially chocolate and chewy.... after a few weeks plum, dark fruit, port?? starting to warm up a bit with a little alc.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 31.00 L
Boil Size: 31.44 L
Estimated OG: 1.066 SG
Estimated Color: 39.5 SRM
Estimated IBU: 31.2 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.20 kg Munich I Malt (Weyermann) (7.4 SRM) Grain 55.03 %
3.30 kg Pilsner Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 34.92 %
0.40 kg Carafa Special T2 Malt (Weyermann) (583.Grain 4.23 %
0.40 kg Chocolate Malt Pale (Thomas Fawcett) (329.Grain 4.23 %
0.15 kg Caraaroma Malt (Weyermann) (203.0 SRM) Grain 1.59 %
42.00 gm Hallertau Aroma [9.00 %] (60 min) Hops 24.4 IBU
33.00 gm Hallertau Mittelfrueh [5.20 %] (20 min) Hops 6.7 IBU
1.00 tsp Koppafloc (Boil 10.0 min) Misc

1 Pkgs Oktoberfest Blend (Wyeast Labs #2633) [StaYeast-Lager


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 9.45 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Full Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
90 min Mash In Add 28.35 L of water at 74.0 C 67.0 C
10 min Mash Out Add 9.83 L of water and heat to 75.075.0 C


Notes:
------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[argon]

:icon_offtopic: Just taking this slightly off topic but as drtomc is looking at emulating the recipe may be helpful.
While the recipe looks nice and simple, sometimes the best way IMO, I am wondering how your actual figures come in.
The reason I ask is the volumes don't seem correct. 31L Batch with a pre boil volume of 31.44L? I can't see this being right.

I used to do a 4L preferment water top-up due to equipment size restrictions. Post boil (preferment) was more like 27L.

You're right though... always make sure you scale to your equipment/process, ingredients and efficiencies when taking up someone else's recipe.

 

[drtomc]

Hi All,

For the record, I racked the porter yesterday, and the sample from the hydro jar was fantastic. The final recipe was:

Wey Munich I, 4kg
Simpson's MO, 4kg
Wey Carafa II 400g
Simpson's Choc 400g
Wey Caraaroma 150g

BIAB mash at 65C for 90mins

EKG 5.5% 80g @ 90min
Hallertau 3.0% 20g @ 10min

Wyeast Oktoberfest blend 2633 (yeast cake from an okky fermented for the purpose)

Yield 23L

OG 1.071

Fermented 2 weeks at ~13C + a few days at 14-15.

SG at racking (probable FG) 1.017

Wonderful coffee/chocolate aroma. Deep roasty coffee flavour with only the smallest hint of astringency. Mild bitterness. Gentle sweetness - subtle, not sticky or cloying.

Big success. I'll leave it in secondary for a couple of weeks (heading to Europe for work, including a tour of the Meantime brewery in London, then to Vienna - where should I drink there?), then bottle. Just as well I'm going away, or I'd have to keep checking to see if the SG was moving.

T.