Recipe Advice Thread

[denimglen]

Thought it might be handy to have a thread for some of the more advanced brewers to give some advice on recipes.

Let's see how it goes eh...

[Richard Deeble]

If you like Fullers Porter, there is a good recipe here: http://byo.com/stories/issue/item/2318-fuller%E2%80%99s-the-pride-o... 

It uses a fair bit of brown malt with some chocolate, along with 5% crystal 75. I love that beer but it is more of a brown porter than a Robust type. 

Your recipe above looks pretty good, although I would be tempted to sub out some marris otter (maybe 3-5%?) for a little more mid-level crystal like Thomas Fawcett. Then again, I tend to like a bit more sweetness to balance the roast in dark beers than some others who like a more aggressive roast character. 

[Ralph]

In my experience brown malt is more like treacle than toffee. I think the toffee notes seem to come more from the darker type crystal malts? 

[Tilt]

I'd be wary of that amount of brown malt if you don't like astringency. 

My recent porter uses 80% base + 10% munich  and about 2% chocolate, 4% pale choc and a mix of medium and dark crystal to 6% total.  I added 50g carafa special III to adjust colour.  Then just watch the dark crystal amount - too much can give you deeply caramelised burnt sugar/ bitter rather than smooth sweet caramel toffee.

I haven't tried reducing a portion of the wort down but know others who swear by it.

[Tilt]

Missed your post before replying, sorry  - I'd be mixing the 5% crystal,  2.5 each of  medium and dark.

[Josh C]

OK so how about this.

Maris otter 85%

light choc 10%

Crystal 60L 2.5%

Crystal 120L 2.5%

[Tilt]

Drop your pale choc to 6% raise your base malt to compensate, use a sprinkle (<1%) of black patent or carafa special for colour and you'll be sweet.   And if you like malty sub out 10% of your base for some Munich. 

[Josh C]

I found this link which is interesting http://ryanbrews.blogspot.co.nz/2010/11/black-color-without-roast-f.... Could be worth a try to get more colour from the carafa special

[Tilt]

Yep - that technique works well - so does cold steeping some black malt overnight in the fridge in a coffee plunger then filtering and tipping it into your boil.  I reckon that with such a small amount it isn't worth the bother.  Give it a go though - nothing like working up your own in-house techniques.  Good luck with it.

[Josh C]

Thought I would try it but with 3% got an even darker colour

[jt]

I'd leave the brown in there, not 100% sure about the amount, but it looks a lot like a Fullers Porter recipe.
Should be good

[Josh C]

OK so I will confirm what I have so far come up with: 

5.00 kg	Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC)	75.8 %
0.60 kg	Munich Malt (16.0 EBC)	9.1 %
0.40 kg	Chocolate Malt (650.0 EBC)	6.1 %
0.20 kg	Carafa Special II* (Weyermann) (1150.0 EBC)	3.0 %
0.20 kg	Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (250.0 EBC)	3.0 %
0.20 kg	Caramunich III (Weyermann) (150.0 EBC)	3.0 %
15.00 g	Pacific Gem [15.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min	21.8 IBUs
8.00 g	Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min	3.9 IBUs
12.00 g	Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min	2.9 IBUs
12.00 g	Pacific Gem [15.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min	8.7 IBUs
1.0 pkg	Thames Valley Ale (Wyeast Labs #1275) [124.21 ml]	-

*The Carafa special II will be crushed in a coffee grinder and added on top of the mash after draining and before sparging so as to get colour only

[Scarrfie]

I think that will be fine. Good call by Tilt on the addition of Munich, I was thinking the same. My schwarzbier that drinks like a porter (supping on one now :-) has 2% choc and 5% pale choc, so I think you will achieve your aim with that recipe.