how does this sound for a porter?!

[benna]

Hello experience beer makers!

I'm thinking of making a porter for my first all grain. My wife's due to give birth in April and so I need to make something black and nurishing, nursing mother and all... maybe its an excuse but still I'm sure a good healthy pint can't be too bad!!

So anyway I was thinking about doing an oatmeal stout but then I got thinking to porter since I tend to prefer porters anyway (not that I've ever actually tried an oatmeal stout). Below is what I was thinking, lot's of different things in there admittedly, I was trying to go for quite a complex malty beer and I like the sound of the brown and amber malts... what do you guys think? what should I increase what should I decrease? since I don't really know what they are all adding to the flavour its a bit difficult!

Thanks in anticipation!!

Fermentable Colour lb: oz Grams Ratio
Pale Malt 5 EBC 8 lbs. 13.0 oz 4000 grams 66.1%
Black Malt 1300 EBC 0 lbs. 3.5 oz 100 grams 1.7%
Crystal Malt, Pale 60 EBC 0 lbs. 8.8 oz 250 grams 4.1%
Chocolate Malt 1050 EBC 0 lbs. 8.8 oz 250 grams 4.1%
Munich Malt 20 EBC 1 lbs. 3.4 oz 550 grams 9.1%
Brown Malt 150 EBC 0 lbs. 15.8 oz 450 grams 7.4%
Amber Malt 60 EBC 0 lbs. 15.8 oz 450 grams 7.4%


Hop Variety Type Alpha Time lb: oz grams Ratio
Fuggle Whole 4.9 % 90 mins 0 lbs. 2.0 oz 56 grams 100%


Final Volume: 23 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.016
Alcohol Content: 5.4% ABV
Total Liquor: 34.4 Litres
Mash Liquor: 15.1 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 75 %
Bitterness: 27.5977974360312 EBU
Colour: 175 EBC

[HighHops]

Hi benna!

There's no right or wrong way really. Just try it and if you like it then it's right for you. If this is your first attempt at a porter then you might want to keep it simple though with less ingredients and then next time add another ingredient which will add another layer of complexity. Your hops look fine BTW. Personally I try to keep my porters lighter than my stouts. The last one I did was only 65EBC which was more of a dark ruby than black.

Ruby Porter
4.20 Kg Maris Otter pale malt
0.30 Kg Crystal malt 40L
0.13 Kg Chocolate malt
0.30 Kg Oats
0.03 Kg Black treacle

The oats make it much smoother I find. This is a lovely pint IMO.

If you want to use brown malt which is more like how porters were made in olden days then Flag Porter might be a good guide of how much of what to use to get a good balance.

Flag Porter

Pale Malt 4840 grams
Crystal Malt, 265 grams
Chocolate Malt 165 grams
Brown Malt 200 gram

Golding 90 mins 32 grams
Fuggles 20 mins 17 grams

Final Volume: 23 Litres
Original Gravity: 1.053
Final Gravity: 1.013
Alcohol Content: 5.2% ABV
Total Liquor: 33.8 Litres
Mash Liquor: 10.9 Litres
Mash Efficiency: 75 %
Bitterness: 28 EBU
Colour: 80 EBC

This is a cracking brew that I made recently from a book called Clone Brews which as well as having loads of recipes, I find is useful as a guide to developing your own recipes within a certain style.

Good luck!

[dave-o]

I would say you have too many different dark/roasted malts, and too much. About 20% of the grain bill! With all that amber it may be a while before you can drink it.

Perhaps go for a traditional porter, using only brown malt and pale? 400-500g of brown will be quite enough for a porter colour. Perhaps a bit of crystal if yuo like it sweeter.

[benna]

Ah thanks guys, yes perhaps a tad too complex and too much roasted malts. It's interesting actually because that flag porter is almost exactly the same as the beer I did last week (although with pale extract), just I didn't use any brown malt. Maybe I don't really understand the difference between a porter and a stout. I really want to make something which is dark and quite thick (so to speak) but which is dry, maybe I am talking about a stout? I like the idea of using the brown malt though definitely, I think I'll just give something a go along the lines suggested and see how it turns out. Thats the great thing about this hobby, there's always an excuse to brew another batch of beer in the quest for knowledge! (or something like that anyway!)

Why do you say about it being a while before you drink it with the amber?

Thanks!

[dave-o]

Amber can be a bit dominating and take a while to become pleasant.

Have you used that much amber before?

[benna]

No I haven't used it at all! I just like the sound of it! Perhaps I should just stick to one new malt each time to give me a better idea of what gives what flavour.

[dave-o]

That's generally a good idea when you are relatively new to the hobby.