Thursday, March 18, 2010

Porter Brewday

Since I underplanned and was below the mark for the OG on last week’s IPA, it makes perfect sense that I overplanned and was way over on the OG for today’s Porter. Stupid poetic justice...

65. Porter
Mini-mash:
1 lb. Rahr White Wheat malt
1 lb. Crystal malt 60° L
1 lb. Breiss 2-row malt
8 oz. Breiss Chocolate malt
8 oz. Dingeman’s Chocolate malt
8 oz. Dingeman’s Cara 8 Belgian malt
2 oz. Simpsons Black Patent malt

Mashed @ 154° F for 60 minutes; raised to 168° F
Sparged with 1 gallon of 168° F water

Added fluid to brew kettle, brought to a boil (90 minute) and added:
6 lbs. Breiss Golden Light DME
.6 oz. Galena pellet 14.1% AA

w/45 minutes to go (I forgot it earlier):
1 teaspoon gypsum

w/30 minutes to go:
.5 oz. Cascade pellet 7.5% AA

w/15 minutes to go:
1 tsp. Irish Moss

w/5 minutes to go:
.5 oz. Tettnanger pellet 4.7% AA
1 lb. Sunshine’s Organic Blackstrap Molasses

Cooled wort, racked to bucket, and pitched White Labs 007 Dry English Ale Yeast

Brewed: 3/18/2010 started @ 64° F
Secondary: 3/28/2010; currently 1.020
Bottled: 4/3/2010 with 4.8 oz. Breiss Golden Light DME

OG: 1.074
FG: 1.020

Tasting Notes 8/15/2010: Pours a rich chocolate with a minimal head that quickly rings the glass; the nose is dark, rich malty sweetness mixed with molasses and brown sugar and just a touch of the sulfur that you get in molasses accompanied by some earthy hop aromas. Flavors start with chocolate, coffee, and a roastiness before giving way to a richer, sweeter middle, with brown sugar and molasses. There is some sort of slightly harsh metallic tang that appears at the tail end of the middle as the beer moves into the finish; it lingers through the finish on the back of the tongue, mixing with the dryness and bitterness that also emerges. The body is medium and has a slightly vinous and thick mouthfeel. There is also some warming from the alcohol at the back of the throat—probably a bit too much, in fact. The carbonation is a bit light as well. While the flavors are good, they are a bit uneven, and the harshness that appears does detract from the overall impression of the beer. The flavors imparted by the molasses from the last five minutes also took this beer pretty much out of the Robust Porter parameters, leaving it somewhere in between a porter and a stout; I’m going to try entering it as 13D. Foreign Extra Stout.

Competition:
Dayton Beerfest (9/11/2010; as 13D. Foreign Extra Stout): 31.5

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