Boosting ABV in a Porter Recipe

[LewisA]

Hello Homebrew Forum,

I'm hoping to get some guidance on adjusting a recipe to increase the ABV without changing the overall flavor profile too much. I’m currently brewing a porter that’s around 5% ABV, but I’d like to bring it up to over 8% so it qualifies as an imperial stout for an upcoming homebrew contest. I’m using the following grain bill:

• Pale Ale
• Flaked Barley
• Smoked Malt
• Roasted Barley

To achieve the higher ABV, should I primarily increase the Pale Ale and Flaked Barley, or would it be better to adjust all the malts proportionally to maintain the same level of smokiness and overall balance etc?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Larse]

Did you try putting it through a brewing calculator like Brewfather? If it was me, I'd increase everything proportionally or if that means an unmanageable volume of wort, just leave as is and reduce the wort volume by boiling longer or sparging less.

 

[foxy]

To achieve the higher ABV, should I primarily increase the Pale Ale and Flaked Barley, or would it be better to adjust all the malts proportionally to maintain the same level of smokiness and overall balance etc?

Thanks in advance!

No, the more grain going in the less the efficiency. To make a BIG beer use a reiterated mash.
https://byo.com/article/reiterated-mashing-multiple-mashes-for-massive-brews/

 

[peterpiper]

Yes proportional.
Though I went with de-husked roast barley (7%), which is meant to give less harsh astringency (tea-bag tannin flavour).

But rather than struggling with a big mash, maybe do a partial mash recipe. Replacing part of pale malt grain, with LME or DME added during boil.

For my Award Imperial Stout, 21L 17% ABV. I mashed 5.7kg of grain, then added 3kg of TMM premium light LME at boil, and 1.2kg dextrose as ferment progressed (in 200g additions at days: 2; 6; 9; 11; 12; &15).
I tweaked the recipe (pale malt grain %) in Brewfather, so I'd use a full 3kg of LME.
The stout's been maturing on oak strips, since January, for sharing this Christmas.

You should make sure there's plenty of oxygen at start of ferment, with a whisk or bubbler; include yeast nutrient; and use a starter (so yeast isn't stressed by a high initial OG).

Prepare starter two days earlier- preferably from a boiled DME base with OG 1.040-1.050. Chill starter in fridge (the night before needed); once settled pour off liquid; then allow slurry to reach 19°C before pitching. ( I did a 1 gallon starter, with Nottingham yeast).
Alternative to starter, is to use the yeast cake from a previous batch of small beer (= low-med OG).

With strong beers, allow more headroom, for a larger Krausen. For the 17% stout, it needed double the volume! And on day two, I had to split the 21L batch between twio 26l bins.

 

[MashBag]

I would go for proportional, be a bit on the cautious side and then adjust in the fermenter with little sugar if you need to. I am not a purist or numbers brewer I prefer to do things by taste.

 

[foxy]

I would go for proportional, be a bit on the cautious side and then adjust in the fermenter with little sugar if you need to. I am not a purist or numbers brewer I prefer to do things by taste.

Proportional won't work, what will work is splitting a grain bill mash one first then mash again using the wort from the first mash as the liquor for the second mash. Adding sugar or dextrose to a stout just thins it out, not wanted in a stout.

 

[MashBag]

I agree it may thin it. But I am suggesting it to guarantee the numbers, and then only a smidge not a full sugar wash

 

[foxy]

I agree it may thin it. But I am suggesting it to guarantee the numbers, and then only a smidge not a full sugar wash

We don't know what the poster is brewing in, I would hazard a guess a small unit. If his grain bill is 5.5kg for a Porter/Stout then he will definitely have the capacity to double that without a massive loss in efficiency. In a small unit efficiency will drop dramatically.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Hello Homebrew Forum,

I'm hoping to get some guidance on adjusting a recipe to increase the ABV without changing the overall flavor profile too much. I’m currently brewing a porter that’s around 5% ABV, but I’d like to bring it up to over 8% so it qualifies as an imperial stout for an upcoming homebrew contest. I’m using the following grain bill:

• Pale Ale
• Flaked Barley
• Smoked Malt
• Roasted Barley

To achieve the higher ABV, should I primarily increase the Pale Ale and Flaked Barley, or would it be better to adjust all the malts proportionally to maintain the same level of smokiness and overall balance etc?

Thanks in advance!

I would just increase the base malt because I assume you are looking for the same volume but higher ABV. Increasing the smoked malt may make the beer too smoky and more roast barley might make the beer too roasty or even bitter.

Do remember you will increase absorption by the increased grain so you will need more water for the same batch size.

If you can’t fit all the grain in your mash vessel do two mashes and combine the wort for the boil. Use some of the wort from the first mash in the second to make up the volume if you don’t have enough water for the second mash.