Dark Porter

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clibit

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Somewhere between a porter and a stout, a lot of dark crystal, and some hoppiness.

Batch Size (L): 10.0
Total Grain (kg): 2.150
Total Hops (g): 24.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.051
Final Gravity (FG): 1.012
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.16 %
Colour (SRM): 36.1
Bitterness (IBU): 41.3
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 75
Boil Time (Minutes): 75

1.300 kg Maris Otter Malt (60.47%)
0.240 kg Crystal 120 Dark (11.16%)
0.180 kg Caramalt (8.37%)
0.120 kg Black Malt (5.58%)
0.120 kg Brown Sugar, Dark (5.58%)
0.120 kg Torrified Wheat (5.58%)
0.070 kg Brown Malt (3.26%)

14.0 g Cluster Leaf (9.2% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.4 g/L)
10.0 g Challenger Leaf (9.3% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil) (1 g/L)

Mash at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 18-20°C with Ale yeast (I prefer quite neutral yeasts in dark beers, but you choose). US05, Nottingham, Mauribrew Ale. WLP004 perhaps.
 
I've used US-05 on three or four stouts lately, and found it very successful. Always wanted to try a porter, this could be just the thing!

Never even heard of Cluster hops, though, and I don't have any brown malt, but I've got everything else and should be able to get close.


[edit]

Further reading suggests the brown malt is a pretty integral part of a porter, so perhaps I'll leave it until I can source some.
 
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I've used US-05 on three or four stouts lately, and found it very successful. Always wanted to try a porter, this could be just the thing!

Never even heard of Cluster hops, though, and I don't have any brown malt, but I've got everything else and should be able to get close.


[edit]

Further reading suggests the brown malt is a pretty integral part of a porter, so perhaps I'll leave it until I can source some.
Lots of porters don't have brown malt, but it makes a noticeable difference. I can't actually remember this beer mind. I used Cluster to bitter it obviously but bittering hops are pretty interchangeable, especially in a dark beer. I've pretty much stopped using US-05 myself, but this is all personal preference. Verdant IPA yeast makes a great porter.
 
I've used US-05 on three or four stouts lately, and found it very successful. Always wanted to try a porter, this could be just the thing!

Never even heard of Cluster hops, though, and I don't have any brown malt, but I've got everything else and should be able to get close.


[edit]

Further reading suggests the brown malt is a pretty integral part of a porter, so perhaps I'll leave it until I can source some.
I can let you have some brown malt from our stock here
 
Brown malt is distinctive. It brings a lot to the party in a porter even in small quantities. In my experience it takes time to condition but always adds depth to the flavour, and in small quantities elevates other dark malts.
 
Never even heard of Cluster hops, though, and I don't have any brown malt, but I've got everything else and should be able to get close.

They're the traditional bittering hop of the US, they were >90% of US hop acreage for much of the 20th century. But since they're only being used for bittering here, you can substitute with pretty much anything - Fuggles, Goldings, Challenger, anything like that you have to hand.

Further reading suggests the brown malt is a pretty integral part of a porter, so perhaps I'll leave it until I can source some.

It's a bit of a marmite thing but it's the defining ingredient of a London porter (eg the Fuller's porter has 10%) whereas it's fairly rare among US porters so you can just call it a US porter if you don't have any to hand.
 
Well as it turned out, I paid a visit to my local home-brew shop this morning, and not only did they have some brown malt, they even had the Cluster hops! So I'm good to go! athumb..
 
Just noticed the crystal and caramalt come to 20% which is a fair amount. Don't think I ever made this. A yeast like 05 or Notty feels like a good idea with that much crystal. I reckon it'll be really good. I'd be inclined to increase the Challenger. Double it perhaps. Not a major decision though. Good luck!
 
Thanks! I have all the ingredients listed, so I'll definitely be giving it a go! Maybe next week. Knowing my low efficiencies, I'll probably up the quantity of MO a bit, though. I think I've got plenty of Challenger.
 
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