Home Brew Forum

Decided to have another go at one of these historical porters on Ron Pattinson's blog. This one is the 1817 porter, one of the first porter's Whitbread brewed using black malt (judging from info on Ron's blog - not from my own research). I also brewed the 1811 porter to compare as this was before black malt had been invented, so i was interested in the colour.

The 1817 is basically pale, brown and just under 1% black. The 1811 is just pale and brown. However the brown malt probably wasn't like the brown malt we have now. texts of the period describe brown malt being cured over hardwood fires of hornbeam, or occassionally oak or beech, so i made some brown 'porter malt' over oak.

Here's a few pics of the grist and brown malt:



and closeup:



I brewed 43L of the 1817 as i planned to mature this in an oak firkin, and 23L of the 1811. the 1817 was a bit of a mission: 4 gyles and 4 boils of 1, 1.5, 1.5 and 3 hours with the gyles all being combined at the end. One of the elements died in the boiler so i had to spend another 2 hours boiling the wort down to hit my target of 1.055. IBU was 40 worked out on the assumption of 1/3 'new' hops, 1/3rd last season, 1/3 'old' (24 months), with a third of each 'vintage' being added to each gyle as it was boiled. For the 1811 i just did a standard 60min infusion mash at 69C and batch sparge in 2 steps with 90 minute boil.

shot of first runnings (1817):



the Burton yeast in the 1817 went crazy, so i skimmed several large bowls worth from the top and stored for later use. pitched the 1811 on the pancake of the 1817. Here's the 1817 after about 10 hours or so of pitching:



After primary fermentation i racked the 1817 into a oak firkin and let it 'work' for about 3 days before hammering down the hard spile and moving it to a cold room to condition. I'm planning on bottling this after 3-4 weeks, then maturing some months in the bottle. The firkin was coopered by Alastair Simms (who I understand to be the last 'master' cooper of beer casks in the UK). The cask itself has been fashioned from a whisky puncheon that apparently was 60-100 years old when it was dismantled in Scotland and the wood sold to Wadsworth brewery for casks. Alastair is happy to provide oak pins and firkins at reasonable prices if anyone is interested.





Finally here are a few comparisons of four porters i've made to compare against each other:

'Original' Porter circa 1736 (100% brown malt)



The 1811 (but made with a diastatic '18th century style' brown malt):



The 1811 (this time made with the brown 'porter malt'):



and finally the 1817:



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Now that is taking your research seriously, Keep us informed.

UP

So how did they compare in taste? Do you think that "modern" tastes make it too difficult to compare how we fel about it and how they would of felt about it in the 19th C?

Excellent work. How have you sanitised the Wooden cask?

I'm just a little bit in awe of this - top class work.

It's fascinating to dip into the past like this and that level of dedication to the brewing arts is rare. Home kilned malts, the multiple gyle technique, firkin maturation - these are all things you're just never going to see in a contemporary commercial and at the end of the day - you'll be tasting something that hasn't passed anyones lips for a century.

bravo.

well done matey! love a good porter and you look to have 4! nice work indeed!

thanks for the feedback folks. I haven't had a chance to sample these properly yet. the photos of the 1817 and 1811 (porter malt version) are of the wort post boil, prior to pitching the yeast. The 1811 made with diastatic brown malt (the reddish looking beer) is ready for drinking mild (young), and i've kegged this to be bottled. I was going to bottle condition it, but i'm less interested in this particular version and have higher hopes for the version using porter malt. it tastes ok, but more in line with a rich strong bitter, like 'speckled Hen' or similar. Not a bad pint at all, but not really what i was expecting. In contrast the 'original porter' is still maturing but i have sneaked a few samples from the demi-johns using a turkey baster as a 'pipette'. the flavour is unlike anything i've had before - smoky, then dark bitter coco followed by a mellow, sweeter toast-like flavour and a long dry finish. The flavours continue to change and historically it required 4 months minimum (currently at 2 months old). Currently though i'd say it is a flavour that people would either really like or hate. i happen to really like it, but i think that's because i've adjusted my pallette over a few small tastings and now know what to expect. it always suprises me when i first try it, and then 1/2 way through the first sip i start to enjoy the powerful flavours that are coming through. a very interesting beer, but very different to our modern porters and stouts.

regarding sanitising the cask - Alaistair suggested filling completely with boiling water in between cleaning out the cask and refilling with beer and letting it stand a while (i've left it for 45 min). He provides detailed instructions for different scenarios - bottoms can be left in for up to 7 days if the cask is empty, otherwise he provided a special agent to add to the cask to keep it sweet. ideally you should empty the cask, wash it, sanitise with boiling water, then refill straight away. Alaistair also provides instructions for treating a new cask and cleaning it if you need to give it a more thorough wash. i used to use oak pins and had no problems with infections (just with over oaked beer!). So far the firkin has been great and pretty easy to use with a little bit of planning re. brew schedules.

cheers,

ben

Wow!! Most impressive! You must keep us posted on how these taste and how they compare to each other.

I would very much like a 10 to 15 gallon wooden barrel. Any chance of you PM'ing contact details for the cooper to me?

Loving the look of your porters and the yeast sculptures, class!

Good work!

R-e-s-p-e-c-t

Yes I was thinking about the sanitising of the cask too ...... Steam cleaner would be handy!

Hiya,

yeah i think a steam cleaner would be the best option, although when Alastair mentioned cleaning he first said to use very hot water, when i mentioned filling it to the brim with boiling water he was even happier with that idea. i just fill my boiler and then when its boiling away, run it into the cask.

pantsmachine: pm on the way!

ta,

ben

Hats off to a good effort.

Here's a little snippet from my bookmarks... on barrel maintenance. it's Wine/French oriented but still some good reading for those interesting in barrel maturation of beers.

http://www.sirugue.com/anglais/utilisation.html

Jesus.........Wow...........!

Impressed i am muchly

Methinks you've taken the word "hobby" to new levels!