Porter recipe advice please

[Oneflewover]

Evenin'

I have little (actually none) experience of brewing darker ales AG. I have a couple of dark beers lined up, but just want some advice - the recipe I'm looking at seems to have a lot of speciality grains, almost 25%, and I'm concerned it's too much:

75.5% MO
7% brown malt
7% chocolate malt
7% dark crystal
3.5% black malt

OG 1.069 / FG 1.016

Bittered to 48 IBU with Magnum at start of boil and 15 / 10 / 5 and dry hop bramling cross additions. Closely based on a supposed clone of The Kernel India Export Porter

Thanks!

 

[Sadfield]

That recipe is correct and the actual Kernel recipe from the Craft Brew book. However, this is Kernels modern take on a 19th century porter and is a big, flavoursome beer even at 6%. For a supermarket, standard cask porter, it is a lot of dark malt. If that's more your target, I'd cut all the chocolate, black and brown malt, back by about 50%.


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[Oneflewover]

That recipe is correct and the actual Kernel recipe from the Craft Brew book. However, this is Kernels modern take on a 19th century porter and is a big, flavoursome beer even at 6%. For a supermarket, standard cask porter, it is a lot of dark malt. If that's more your target, I'd cut all the chocolate, black and brown malt, back by about 50%.


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Thanks @Sadfield, I appreciate your thoughts. I am aiming for a biggish beer, hence looking at that recipe, but even so it struck me that it might end up overly cloying with that amount of dark malt. Cheers

 

[divrack]

Thanks @Sadfield, I appreciate your thoughts. I am aiming for a biggish beer, hence looking at that recipe, but even so it struck me that it might end up overly cloying with that amount of dark malt. Cheers

that's a good beer. I've brewed it pretty much. found mine a bit heavy on the black stuff, id maybe cold steep the chock and black malt and add at the end of boil if I did it again.

 

[Sadfield]

It shouldn't be cloying as there is only a moderate amount of crystal malt and the gravity isn't that high. The Brown, Chocolate and Black won't add much sweetness, the effect is more like heavy roasted coffee and dark chocolate, so they bring those depths of flavours and bitterness. I expect, similar to espresso it'll be rich, thick, full flavoured and roasty. (Disclaimer: I don't drink coffee, so this could be BS).

I've not brewed this recipe, I've had the Kernel beer a few times and it's lovely, although IIRC they use Centennial hops in it.

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[MyQul]

It shouldn't be cloying as there is only a moderate amount of crystal malt and the gravity isn't that high. The Brown, Chocolate and Black won't add much sweetness, the effect is more like heavy roasted coffee and dark chocolate, so they bring those depths of flavours and bitterness. I expect, similar to espresso it'll be rich, thick, full flavoured and roasty. (Disclaimer: I don't drink coffee, so this could be BS).

I've not brewed this recipe, I've had the Kernel beer a few times and it's lovely, although IIRC they use Centennial hops in it.

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Your right, they use bramling X and centennial for the india exprot porter (it says it on the back of the bottle)

 

[Oneflewover]

Thanks all. I'll give it a whirl then. The recipe in Craft Brew suggests that they don't fix the hop additions and use a variety of hops to achieve different results at different times. They recommend columbus too from memory. It only stipulates bittering to 48IBU and the timings of the additions.

Out of interest, what difference would it make subbing either carafa 3 or roast barley for the black malt (I don't have any to hand...)

Cheers.

 

[BeerCat]

Did you ever brew this mate? I fancy having a crack at another porter.

 

[Oneflewover]

Did you ever brew this mate? I fancy having a crack at another porter.

I did. I thought that it was a cracking beer. The bramling cross worked really well, but if I was to brew it again I would be tempted to use a new world hop as suggested above.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

You might want to give this a go, the Fuller's London Porter recipe pretty much from the horse's mouth :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...m-the-horses-mouth.642756/page-3#post-8674860
14% crystal, 10% brown, just 1.5% chocolate to 1.056 OG and around 5.4% ABV - so no black required. It's the brown malt that is the real distinguishing feature of London porters, but it's one of those Marmite ingredients.

 

[BeerCat]

You might want to give this a go, the Fuller's London Porter recipe pretty much from the horse's mouth :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...m-the-horses-mouth.642756/page-3#post-8674860
14% crystal, 10% brown, just 1.5% chocolate to 1.056 OG and around 5.4% ABV - so no black required. It's the brown malt that is the real distinguishing feature of London porters, but it's one of those Marmite ingredients.

Thanks NB. Happy with my stouts but never brewed a porter i have enjoyed. Can i get away with extra dark crystal or is it too much at that rate? I am presuming i like brown malt, probably not used it to its full potential yet.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Can i get away with extra dark crystal or is it too much at that rate? I am presuming i like brown malt, probably not used it to its full potential yet.

Extra dark crystal compared to what? 14% of dark would be getting too much.

 

[divrack]

You might want to give this a go, the Fuller's London Porter recipe pretty much from the horse's mouth :
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...m-the-horses-mouth.642756/page-3#post-8674860
14% crystal, 10% brown, just 1.5% chocolate to 1.056 OG and around 5.4% ABV - so no black required. It's the brown malt that is the real distinguishing feature of London porters, but it's one of those Marmite ingredients.

I always shyed away from brown not really liking coffee tasting beers, then suddenly I realised it's a fantastic ingredient. Now I wouldn't make a porter without it

 

[TheOsprey]

Funny this has come up, the India Export Porter is exactly what I'm fermenting at the moment. Had a little taste after 3 days (checking OG as using s04 yeast, as it was open) and tastes great already!

 

[Sandimas]

I always shyed away from brown not really liking coffee tasting beers, then suddenly I realised it's a fantastic ingredient. Now I wouldn't make a porter without it

It's a key ingredient in Fullers London Porter, which is one of my favourites to brew.

 

[Hazelwood Brewery]

Evenin'

I have little (actually none) experience of brewing darker ales AG. I have a couple of dark beers lined up, but just want some advice - the recipe I'm looking at seems to have a lot of speciality grains, almost 25%, and I'm concerned it's too much:

75.5% MO
7% brown malt
7% chocolate malt
7% dark crystal
3.5% black malt

OG 1.069 / FG 1.016

Bittered to 48 IBU with Magnum at start of boil and 15 / 10 / 5 and dry hop bramling cross additions. Closely based on a supposed clone of The Kernel India Export Porter

Thanks!

My plum porter recipe (slightly adjusted since last time) is not so far away from this:

Maris Otter 69%
Brown malt 9.4%
Dark crystal 6.6%
Chocolate 6.6%
Flaked oats 5.6%
Roasted barley 2.8%

Fuggle and Bramling Cross hops
“Special Ingredients” plum flavouring
MJ Empire ale yeast