Smokey Porter 2018 Review

Aroma: Slightly acrid smoke aroma. Malty background, light sweetness. Hint of chocolate / dark roast. Hop aroma very low.


Appearance: Tan head with rocky texture, ok retention, dark black body.


Taste: Light malt sweetness, somewhat acrid smoke, moderate woody bitterness. It taste a little tart. Bitterness is moderate. Has kind of a woody note.


Mouthfeel: A little thin. Carbonation is low. Slight astringency at the end.

Overall: Ok but not super characterful. I'd like a little more sweetness, more body, and more complexity. Use more hops at the end. Perhaps use some Munich or Maris Otter malt, and higher mash temp.

Oaky Smokey Porter Review

Aroma: A combination of oak chips and smoke, but dominated by oak. A bit one dimensional. Some toasty Munich malt in the background. Hop aroma is none. Sweetness is low.

Appearance: Very dark with some ruby highlights. Thick, persistent head with small bubbles.

Taste: Starts with some toasty and bready malt notes, crystal sweetness, and surprisingly only a hint  of smoke. Dark coffee or chocolate note as well. At the end, an oaky quality. Not super tannic or tart. The oaky quality is one dimensional, I find. Bitterness is moderate with some earthy hop character.

Mouthfeel: Pretty thick and chewy. Carbonation is low to moderate. Oak leaves a dry impression on the aftertaste.

Overall: OK. I wish the smoke came through more and that the oak character was more complex and subtle.Next time will use cubes of varying toast instead of chips.

Wit & Smoked Porter Brewday

Double brew-day on July 3, 2017. 

Recipe: Wit Beer
Style: Witbier
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.64 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 3.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 19.7 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 85.2 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
6 lbs                 Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM)            Grain         1        58.5 %       
4 lbs                 Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM)                Grain         2        39.0 %       
4.0 oz                Acid Malt (3.0 SRM)                      Grain         3        2.4 %        
1.00 oz               Tettnang [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           4        14.7 IBUs    
0.50 oz               Saaz [3.75 %] - Boil 30.0 min            Hop           5        4.7 IBUs     
0.30 oz               Ginger Root (Boil 5.0 mins)             Herb          6        -            
0.30 oz               Coriander (Boil 5.0 mins)           Spice         7        -            
0.30 oz               Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 mins)      Spice         8        -            
0.50 oz               Saaz [3.75 %] - Boil 1.0 min             Hop           9        0.3 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               Belgian Ale (White Labs #WLP550) [35.49  Yeast         10       -            

Mash Schedule: 150F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 10 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 13.81 qt of water at 162.7 F                     150.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 8.20 qt of water at 204.1 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 3.61gal) of 168.0 F water

Notes:
Coriander was just ground coriander seed from the grocery store, orange just normal orange from grocery.
------
6/28/17: Starter with WLP550 from a previous batch, 1.5 liters. Very active fermentation by 6/30.

7/3/17:  Brewed, mash temps hit, slightly under volume at 7.5 gal pre-boil, but gravity was 10.6B or 1.0425 SG.

Boiled 1 hour 20 minutes, got 13.9B / 1.056 SG, a bit high, at 6.5 gallons. Added chopped ginger, orange peel, and coriander in the last few minutes of the boil.

Cooled to 120F, racked to plastic carboy, and let sit overnight at 70F ambient.

7/4/17:  Oxygenated 1 min, pitched decanted starter.

7/5/17: 7am: Very active fermentation. 6pm: Yeast cake was coming out of the bottle, the bung was blown out. Extremely active fermentation, huge krausen. Cleaned up, replaced bung and airlock.

----------------------------------------
Recipe: Locally Smoked Porter
Style: Classic Style Smoked Beer

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.26 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.51 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimated Color: 43.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 42.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 85.2 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU        
8 lbs                 Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)           Grain         1        66.7 %       
2 lbs                Oak Smoked Triticale (3.0 SRM)              Grain         2        16.7 %       
8.0 oz                Black Malt (Thomas Fawcett) (660.0 SRM)  Grain         3        4.2 %        
8.0 oz                Carafa Special III (Weyermann) (470.0 SR Grain         4        4.2 %        
8.0 oz                Chocolate Malt (Simpsons) (430.0 SRM)    Grain         5        4.2 %        
4.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)    Grain         6        2.1 %        
4.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)   Grain         7        2.1 %        
1.00 oz               Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min        Hop           8        39.2 IBUs    
1.00 oz               East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop           9        3.0 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               S-05  Yeast         10       -            
2.00 oz               American Oak Cubes - Medium Toast (Secon Flavor        11       -            


Mash Schedule: 152F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 16.00 qt of water at 165.1 F                     152.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 9.60 qt of water at 199.8 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.55gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
Smoked and Crystal malt from Valley Malt grain share.
Oak cubes in secondary.
-------

7/3/17: Brewed. Mash temp too low somehow, maybe 151F. Got 7.5 gal of 13B / 1.023 SG wort. Tasted good, not super smokey.

Cooled to 100F, racked to plastic carboy, let sit overnight at 70F.

7/4/17: Oxygenated 30 seconds, pitched 1 pack of rehydrated S-05.

7/5/17: 7am: Light activity in the airlock.6pm: Good activity, moderate krausen.

Smokey Porter Reivew

Appearance: Thick tan head with good retention and lacing. Dark brown body with amber highlights.

Aroma: I get toasty brown malt, earthy hop notes, some coffee and barely noticeable smoke - probably couldn't tell the smoke is there if I didn't know the recipe included some Rauchmalt. Some crystal malt sweetness as well.

Taste: Bready brown malt, crystal sweetness, and bitter chocolate with some acridness. Dryer than expected.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and smooth. Good carbonation.

Overall: Not really a smoked porter since the smoke is barely noticeable. A bit stout like since there is a dry, roasty quality. Probably my mash was a little too low. I wish it had a little more sweetness to balance the roast. Still pretty pleasant and my wife likes it a lot.

Smokey Porter Dec 2016

Brown Porter recipe with 1/3 of the base malt as smoke malt, and Carafa III-Dehusked for the dark malt.


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Smoke Porter Dec 2016
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.00 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.25 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal 
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 38.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.3 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 76.4 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU       
5.50 gal              Boston, MA                               Water         1        -           
6.00 g                Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)        Water Agent   2        -           
3.00 g                Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 mins Water Agent   3        -           
5 lbs                 Maris Otter Malt (Muntons) (3.0 SRM)     Grain         4        44.4 %      
2 lbs                 Brown Malt (65.0 SRM)                    Grain         5        17.8 %      
1 lbs 8.0 oz          Smoked Malt (Briess - Cherry)  (9.0 SRM)  Grain         6        13.3 %      
1 lbs 8.0 oz          Smoked Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM)        Grain         7        13.3 %      
8.0 oz                Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)          Grain         8        4.4 %       
8.0 oz                Carafa Special III (Weyermann) (470.0 SR Grain         9        4.4 %       
4.0 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)   Grain         10       2.2 %       
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min          Hop           11       15.1 IBUs   
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min          Hop           12       11.6 IBUs   
1.00 oz               Fuggle [4.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min          Hop           13       5.5 IBUs    
1.0 pkg               S-04 [23.66 ml]       Yeast         14       -           


Mash Schedule: 154F, Mash Out, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 4.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time   
Mash Step               Add 15.06 qt of water at 167.4 F                     154.0 F       60 min      
Mash Step               Add 9.00 qt of water at 195.9 F                      168.0 F       10 min      

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 2.58gal) of 168.0 F water
Notes:
------

Brewed 12/10/16. Mash temp a bit low - maybe 151F - 152F.

Got 7 gallons of 1.049 wort, and 5.9 gallons of 1.054 wort. 5.5 gallons into the fermenter at 110F, allowed to cool in the 25F ambient air, pitched rehydrated yest when 66F. Active fermentation ~20 hours later.

12/24/16: Kegged with sugar, aiming for 2.25 volumes.

No Quarter Smoked Porter Review

Appearance: Deep mahogany body with thick tan head, which persists nicely and sticks to the side of the glass. Opaque.

Aroma: Smoky but not the smack in the face of smoke that a classic rauchbier could have. It's mixed in with some sweet maltiness and earthy hops. Overall moderately intense aroma.

Taste: Sweet malty, smoke seems subdued to me. Kind of some bready, roasty notes, mixed with smoke. Quite bitter in the aftertaste but the bitterness does not taste as strong as a DIPA. The bitterness blends well with the other flavors, perhaps surprisingly. Not too removed from a more normal robust porter.

Mouthfeel: Thick and chewy. Low-moderate carbonation.

Overall: It's very good, but I don't think it's as smokey as some of my previous smoked beers. The flavors blend surprisingly well, since I didn't think a the smoke would go well with the high bitterness.

I am beginning to think that flavors in beer are often more about the balance of flavors than their strength. Here, although it's very bitter, my tongue cannot simultaneously perceive very bitter and very smoky - instead the kind of blend into one. This same recipe but with less bitterness probably would taste smokier. You cannot turn everything to 11.

Double Brew Day - Smoky Beers

Double Brew Day
I did my first double brewday this weekend, brewing a Classic Rauchbier using the Brewing Classic Styles recipe and the other a scaled version of the No Quarter Smoked Porter  recipe that I found on the AHA's website. The experience was pretty fun since I was with two buddies who were also brewing, but also a bit hectic. Not to mention that I was moderately hungover in the morning.


BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Classic Rauch, 5 Gal BCS
Style: Classic Rauchbier
TYPE: All Grain

--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.74 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.62 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 4.85 gal
Estimated OG: 1.063 SG
Estimated Color: 16.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 28.1 IBUs
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type       
5 lbs 9.6 oz          Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)                 
4 lbs 8.0 oz          Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM)                           
1 lbs 12.0 oz         Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                        
12.0 oz               Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM)                  
4.0 oz                Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM)                      
2.0 oz                Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)      
       
1.50 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min        
0.50 oz               Hallertauer [4.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min 

1.0 pkg               German Lager (White Labs #WLP830)            


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 15.6 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                             Step Temp Step Time    
Mash In                 Add 16.22 qt of water at 168.5 F        156.0 F       45 min       
Mash Out                Add 6.49 qt of water at 202.4 F         168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 3 steps (Drain mash tun , 1.31gal, 1.31gal) of 168.0 F water

4/11/15 - Bottled today. I must have really fucked up the volumes since I ended up w/ 4 gallons in the bottling bucket, and I added priming sugar for 5 gallons. I will likely release some of the gas by cracking over the bottles slightly in order to avoid over carbonation and bottle bombs.Yikes!!

Brewed 2/28/15
Made starter with WLP830 saved from my Schwarzbier on 2/25/30.

Didn't take gravity readings. Boiled for 90mins. It went smoothly. Cooling was fast with the cold weather and ice-cold cooling water.

I believe I undersparged, and ended up with about 4.25 gallons in the fermenter. Cooled to about 50F, blasted with 30 sec Oxygen, then pitched. Placed in fermenting fridge pre-programmed for a lagering schedule, at about 10pm. The following morning, no activity, but good fermentation by Monday evening.

Topped off with 1 gallon boiled and cooled water to reach correct volume. 

No Quarter Smoked Porter - 3 Gal
Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 4.71 gal
Post Boil Volume: 3.59 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 3.25 gal  
Estimated OG: 1.085 SG
Estimated Color: 50.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 118.3 IBUs

Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                 
7 lbs 4.0 oz       Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)             
2 lbs 6.0 oz          Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM)                       
1 lbs 4.0 oz          Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)                
14.0 oz               Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)
       
1.21 oz               Chinook [13.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min           
1.21 oz               Cascade [5.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min           
1.21 oz               Willamette [5.50 %] - Steep/Whirlpool  6 Hop   
    
1 pkg               Safale American  (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)  Yeast    


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Full Body
Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs 12.0 oz
----------------------------
Name                    Description                             Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash In                 Add 14.69 qt of water at 168.2 F        156.0 F       45 min       
Mash Out                Add 5.88 qt of water at 202.4 F         168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 0.98gal) of 168.0 F water

Brewed 2/28/15
Mashing and sparging went well, hit my temps OK and got the right volume of wort, though my MLT was quite full and drained slowly. I suspect I may need to adjust my mill for a slightly coarser grind.

Pre-boil gravity was about 1.072, so pretty good.

Cooled to 110F, racked to better bottle, and allowed to cool overnight to ~60F. Pitched on Sunday morning.

By Monday afternoon, good activity, in 65F ambient air.

Smoked Porter 4 Review

I've been pretty busy over the last few weeks. Went on a ski-weekend, got a tooth pulled (which sucked, so brush your teeth and floss more diligently than I have been), recovered from the tooth extraction, stewarded a home brew competition, brewed last weekend (write-up early next week) and this weekend going away. Plus, I may have a bit of a cold. So this review might not be up to my usual standards, which my army of faithful readers know are very insightful, masterfully written, and demonstrate my world-class palate, along with my humility.

Plus, this review might be slightly biased, for more than the obvious reasons. 

Appearance: Dark mahogany. Not black, especially when held up to the light, but basically opaque. Thin tan head that does not last. The head retention is a little bit disappointing.

Aroma: Smokey but not like bacon or other smoked meat. I get some roasty or chocolate notes in there. Not overpowering smokiness, but then again my sense of smell is not functioning at 100% today. I don't get much if any hop aroma, but if it's there, it's kind of earthy.

Taste: A pretty good balance of smoke, roasty notes, chocolate / coffee, and a slight sweetness in the background. Hop presence is low, but may come through a bit as a spicy or earthy note. The smokiness is pretty smooth. I think for this reason I could drink more than one glass of it, unlike the Bamberger Rauchbiers.

Mouthfeel: Pretty low carbonation, moderate body bordering on slightly thin. I think it has a thinner body than my previous smoked porter. Aftertaste is smoke, slight bitterness, and a combination of roasty sweetness. A little bit of astringency in the aftertaste.

Overall: A "balanced" smoked porter which combines smoke and roasty flavors in pretty equal portions. Slight sweetness and bitterness, but some earthy / spicy hop qualities.

Special Feature: This beer scored a 35 at a local competition, and won 3rd place in the Smoked Beer Style (Category 22). The judges' comments about the beer more or less are consistent with my own impression. I am pretty happy with the results here, though I wish I had gotten something from the judges about how I could push the score "to the next level".

For Next Time: Play around with it. Perhaps use Marris Otter malt as a base for some extra complexity. Or try some German beechwood smoked malt instead of the Cherry-smoked malt. Or perhaps use an English yeast such as S-04. We'll see.

Smoked Porter #4

The Boston Homebrew Competition is coming up. This year, I have decided to enter a smoked porter, not just before it is a favorite style of mine, but also because my wife really likes it and because I think I can brew it relatively well.

For this brew, I'll be changing the recipe slightly in order to make it a little less sweet than my previous brew of this style. Last month I had a sample of Alaskan Smoked Porter, which was delicious, but less sweet than my own brew - not more acrid exactly, but a little roastier and dryer than my own. Basically, I knocked down the amount of Crystal malt a little, and added more chocolate and black-patent malt to achieve the desired dry-roasty quality, while keeping the base malt and the percentage of Cherry-smoked malt the same.

Smoked Porter #4
3 Gallons

5.125# US 2-Row
2.5# Cherry Smoked Malt
10oz Munich I
8oz Crystal 40
8oz Chocolate
6oz Crystal 90
5oz Black Patent Malt

1oz Goldings, 60min, pellet, 5% AA
.5 oz Willamette, 45min, 4.9% AA
.5oz Willamette, 10min, 4.9% AA
.5oz Goldings, 5min, 5% AA
.5oz Willamette, 5min, 4.9% AA

Expected OG / FG/ IBU/ ABV: 1.068, 1.017, 42, 6.6%

 Mash at 152F, 60 minute boil

Made a starter with washed US-05 on 1/19/14

Brewed 1/20/14

Mash temp was good, in the 152F -150F range depending on where in the mash I placed my thermometer. Used my 5-gallon round cooler with the CPVC manifold this time. No stuck sparges, though a pretty small leak in the manifold of the MLT.

Got about 4.25 gallons of pre-boil wort, at an OG of around 1.055.

Used a calibration stick to measure the volume of wort, and then adjusted the boil to try to hit my target volume. At the end of the boil, there was around 3.25 gallons of wort, so I seem to have measured things right.

Cooled, using the rig pictured, to around 90F, then racked to a PET carboy. Let stand in 35F - 40F ambient air for a few hours to cool. Pitched at around 65F, and let the  bottle sit in 62F ambient air. Fortunately this time the sump-pump was working properly.

Because I racked when the wort was still relatively hot, it was not as clear as I was hoping. I did leave about a quart of trub in the bucket, which I then poured into a pitcher. After a while some clear wort was on top - enough for a hydrometer sample reading 1.070. Yay, hit my target OG pretty spot-on.

2/2/14- Bottled today with 2 oz of sugar. Fermentation seemed to have been quick but did not generate a very large krausen, likely because of the restrained temperatures, in the 60F - 64F range. Measure FG at 1.018.

 

Smoked Porter 3 Review

My third attempt at the smoked porter style follows the recipe in Brewing Classic Styles. My previous two attempts to brew this style sadly didn't turn out as smoky as I was hoping. Probably the smoked malt had in both cases lost some of its smoky flavor during storage. Fortunately, the malt used in this beer was likely fresh, as the beer is indeed smoky.

Appearance: Very dark brown but not quite black. Tan head that fades fairly quickly but leaves lacing where the glass meets the beer.

Aroma: Smoke dominates, but I do get some earthy hops in there. I don't get the
bacon-like smoke that some smokey beers have.

Taste: The taste is less smoke-dominant than the smell. I get some chocolatey or coffee like notes blended with the smoke. It does not have any bacony notes; in fact I would say the smoke is quite noticeable but not acrid or meaty. There's some sweetness in there too. The aftertaste is dominated by smoke and does have a slightly acrid note, in addition to some earthy hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Chewy, medium-low carbonation, pretty thick in body. But I don't think it has as much thickness some of my brews with oats.

Overall: To my palate, a medium smokey porter with a good balance between smoke character, coffee or chocolate character and sweetness. I like it quite a bit. A good beer for the fall and winter.

Smoked Porter #3

I've brewed three attempts at smoked porter before. Neither of them came out as smoky as I would like. In fact in both the smoke was a subtle background flavor, if noticeable at all. Why that was I'm not sure, but I would guess that it may have been inadequate percentage of smoked malt, older malt whose smoke flavor had faded, or a combination of both. In any case, I hope that this one will have a more prominent smoky flavor. The recipe is from Brewing Classic Styles with scaling to 3 gallons, substitution of US 2-Row for British malt, an increase in percentage of smoked malt, and Briess cherry-smoked malt instead of beechwood.

Smoked Porter #3

After racking onto a yeast cake.

5.125# US 2-Row
2.5# Cherry smoked malt
12oz Munich
10oz Crystal 40
10oz Crystal 80
8oz Chocolate
4oz Black patent

1oz Kent  Goldings, 5.4%AA, 60 min
.5oz  Willamette, 5%AA, 35min
.5oz Kent Goldings, 5.4%AA, 15min
.5oz Kent Goldings, 5.4% AA,  0min
.5oz Willamette, 5%AA, 0min

Danstar Dry-97 yeast

Mash at 154F for 75 minutes

Water treatment: Brookline, MA water with 1/4 tsp  each of gypsum and calcium chloride

Brewed 9/23/13

Hit my mash temps pretty much dead on. Yay!

Got 1.8 gal first runnings and 3.9 gal total after the sparge.

Preboil OG was  1.058. Too low efficiency. I gotta do something  about this.

About 3 gallons of  beer  when racked  into the fermenter. Yeast cake from the  IPA was still at the bottom of the 5 gal better bottle. It looked pretty nasty but apparently this is a good way to get a strong fermentation started early.

On 9/23/13 at 5:30pm the Better  bottle  was sitting  in 66F water and the airlock was slowly bubbling. A nice krausen had formed but it did not seem to be at high krausen yet.

10/8/13 - Bottled with 2oz brown sugar, going for 2.15 volumes of CO2. Almost exactly 3 gallons were in the bottling bucket. About 12oz were left over in the bottling bucket afterwards. I was under some time pressure this evening and didn't take a hydrometer sample.

Smoked Porter Review

A little more than a month ago I brewed a Smoked Porter based on a clone recipe for Alaskan Smoked Porter. This type of smoked beer is reputed to age pretty well as the smoke flavors blend with the chocolatey, roasty, coffee tastes. I'll plan to hide away a few bottles to taste from time to time. Of course I'll post the results here.

Appearance: Dark black when poured into a pint glass, with dark brown highlights. Thin tan head that slowly dissipates but sticks to the side of the glass.

Aroma: Subtle hints of smoke. Not like bacon but a little more woody somehow. Mostly it smells like coffee or chocolate.

Where there's smoke there's fire.

Taste: Again, mostly tastes like a pretty normal porter with the complex blend of roasted, coffee and chocolate notes with a bit of smokiness. More smoke in the taste than in the aroma, with lingering smokey aftertaste. Some sweetness as it does not taste like black coffee. Minimal acrid or harsh tastes. It has some bitterness but it blends quite well with the emphasis on the roast quality. 

Mouthfeel: Moderate body and carbonation. Smooth.

Overall: A complex beer with a blend of smoke and roasted malts. Smokiness is subtle but adds to the complexity. Maltiness dominates but some bitterness in the finish. This is definitely on the top end in terms of the quality of my home brew. My wife really likes it too. Better than my previous attempt at the style.

For Next Time: While I really like the complexity of this beer and find that it does not have the undesirable acrid notes of my previous attempt at smoked porter, I was hoping for a more assertive smokiness. So, on the next brew of this style I will up the percentage of smoked malt. The freshness of the racuhmaltz also has something to do with it, since the smokiness deteriorates over time.

 

Smoked Porter Brewday

I have been studying for the Massachusetts bar exam for the last two months. Fortunately I have made it through the hazing ritual (whether or not successfully, I don't know) intact enough to spend the next few days relaxing and brewing beer.

I have attempted this recipe before but the resulting beer did not have any hint of the smokey flavor that it should have. It was chocolatey, coffee-like and roasty. It got a 35 in a local competition in the porter category. What most likely happened was that the local home brew store sold me the wrong grain. Instead of rauchmaltz I ended up with amber malt or something. This time I bought my grain from Brewmaster's Warehouse. The Brewbuilder feature of that store is pretty cool since it lets you build and buy your own recipes, each of which will come in its own sealed plastic bag. Anyway, I hope this attempt will yield a prominent smoked flavor like the Alaskan Smoked Porter. (The Stone Smoked Porter is good too but has only a subtle background of smoke, in my view.) The recipe comes from an old issue of BYO. You can easily find it on the interwebs.

Alaskan Smoked Porter Clone 
3.25 gallon batch

4# 8oz Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt
1# 10oz Briess Smoked Malt
1# Weyerman Pale Ale
0# 8oz Crisp Chocolate Malt
0# 6oz Briess Caramel 40L
0# 4oz Crisp Black Patent
---
8# 4oz Total Grain

0.5oz Chinook, 13.9%AA, 60 min
0.5oz Willamette, 7.5% AA, 15 min

Safale US-05

Anticipated OG / FG: 1.063 / 1.017 (70% Mash efficiency)
Anticipated IBU: 51 (Tinseth)
Anticipated SRM: 45

-----------------
7/27/12
Dough-in with 2.58 gallons of 165F water. Wow, got a nice whiff of smokey almost bacon like smell. 10 minutes later the actual mash temp was 152F. A couple of degrees lower that target, but that will probably be OK.

Got my first runnings. Ended up with 2.8 gallons or so. I must have screwed up the measurements for the mash-out water volume because I was only supposed to get 1.88gal of 1st runnings. Crap! Added 2nd runnings water, reduced so that I hope to get only 3.75 gal of pre-boil wort. If more I can boil longer to reduce the volume of wort and hit the right OG.

Got about 4.3 gal of pre-boil wort - more than I calculated. Boiled for 90 minutes.

Put almost exactly 3 gallons into the 3-gal Better Bottle when the wort was around 85F. Let sit in 65F water to cool to pitching temps.

Did not take a gravity reading. That was dumb. Also some equipment issues because my wort chiller was leaking a bit at the intersection b/t the plastic tubing and the copper tubing.

Ack, a dog hair may have gotten into the fermenter! Or maybe it is a long string of coagulated trub protein.

Pitched around 11:15pm, when beer was at about 72F. Let sit in 65F water bath.

7/28/12, 4pm
Krausen is forming. May have to bust out the blow-off tube pretty soon.

7/29/12, 6:30pm
Very active fermentation with a think brown krausen. Surprisingly though it is not blowing an schmutz out of the airlock.

8/11/12
Bottled today with 2oz sugar. FG was 1.015. Got 28 bottles, plus about 14oz of beer left in the bucket / hydrometer sample. The uncarbonated beer tasted like a mix of chocolate, coffee and smoke. Tasting to come in a week or two.