CS9 - Tykes Brown Porter

[Tilt]

Brewed with a vague idea of Terry's Chocolate Orange (a fine Yorkshire invention) in the back of my mind, I was looking for a smooth choc style porter that wouldn't clash with the citrussy hops. 

I'm interested in folks thoughts on the two different yeasts so would appreciate it if you could say which one you're drinking with your tasting notes.

Bottles are marked with:

A: BRY-097 US West Coast, or

B: WLP006 Bedford British

Cheers and drink up lads!

Tykes Brown Porter

Recipe
--------------------------
Batch Size: 40.00 L
Boil Size: 54.5 L
Estimated OG: 1.049 SG
Estimated Color: 27.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 42.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
6.10 kg Marris Otter  73 %
0.90 kg Munich II  11 %
0.50 kg Pale Chocolate  6 %
0.35 kg Medium Crystal  4 %
0.17 kg Caramalt  2 %
0.17 kg Carafa Special III  2 %
0.17 kg Dark Crystal  2 %

60min 17g Centennial  12.5 IBU + 16g Northern Brewer  12.5 IBU
15min  20g Centennial 3.9 IBU  + 40.00g Perle 7.6 IBU
  5min  20g Centennial 2.5 IBU + 30g Perle 3.5 IBU

[Tom C]

Varient - UK Yeast

Appearance Deep ruby/brown,  Good clarity, Sadly no head

 

Aroma Dried fruit (cake?), Dusty roasted malt, Licorice, Slight hop note behind the malt but hard to define.

 

Flavour Grainy roasted malt, Chocolate, coffee & vanilla, Berry fruit & citrus.  After reading the notes I thought I could get "Terry's Chocolate Orange" in the aftertaste, but that could be the power of suggestion!

 

Mouthfeel Medium/light body in contrast to full rich flavour, Moderate carbonation, Dry finish

 

Overall Very rich and satisfying for a relatively light beer, Lovely for sipping in front of the fire but a session would be too much.  Maybe some wheat/carawheat in the grist would help form a head as that's all that was missing.

Varient - UK Yeast

Appearance Deep ruby/brown,  Good clarity, Sadly no head

 

Aroma Dried fruit (cake?), Dusty roasted malt, Licorice, Slight hop note behind the malt but hard to define.

 

Flavour Grainy roasted malt, Chocolate, coffee & vanilla, Berry fruit & citrus.  After reading the notes I thought I could get "Terry's Chocolate Orange" in the aftertaste, but that could be the power of suggestion!

 

Mouthfeel Medium/light body in contrast to full rich flavour, Moderate carbonation, Dry finish

 

Overall Very rich and satisfying for a relatively light beer, Lovely for sipping in front of the fire but a session would be too much.  Maybe some wheat/carawheat in the grist would help form a head as that's all that was missing.

[DP]

Varient
US Yeast

Appearance
Deep brown. Poured vigorously and got a head that lasted nicely. Good lacing. Crystal clear.

Aroma
Rich chocolate and I couldn't decide whether it was a roasty or hoppy smell but it was good and I'm going to go with hops after looking at the recipe.

Palate
Full bodied. Soft carbonation

Flavour
Slightly acidic. Finished dry. Very flavoursome.

Overall
I really enjoyed this. I was reeling a bit at the time from the Happy Monday IPA just prior and didn't keep very good notes but remember ooo-ing and ahh-ing a bit. Nice work.

[Tilt]

Hey thanks fellas.  You're right on the money with the dryer finish and lighter mouthfeel.  This started life as a Robust porter but somewhere between the Beersmith theory and the missed strike temp, different sparge technique and a new 70L kettle it became a lighter weight brown.  The plan next time will be to beef the grist amount up by 5 grav points and do a hotter mash.  I get the dried fruit too Dash which had me thinking it might be the mix of the three crystals in combo with the yeast.  I'm still undecided about which yeast I like more so keen to hear what others think.

[Luke Davey]

Varient: B 

Appearance: crystal clear, dark red, small fine light brown head that lasts the glass, no sediment. 

Nose: Heavy roast malts, with a faint chocolate note.

Taste: Nice balanced roast malts, hints of a citrus and mild hop taste that carries through, mild chocolate notes.

Mouthfeel: Nicely carbonated, medium body. 

Overall: A very impressive beer. I wouldn't have picked it as Terrys Chocolate Orange without reading your recipe beforehand. However, keeping that in mind I could identify the chocolate and citrus notes. Cheers Tilt! 

[Matt Smith]

Just what I needed on this dark cold evening. British yeast, served straight from my cellar (aka my ridiculously cold spare room that is perfect cellar temperature). I get a nice dried cocoa note in the aroma with a hint of orange/jaffa in the background. In the flavoury a very nice milk chocolate type sweetness comes first then gets dried out on the back of the tongue as the roast kicks in. Body is great, not too sweet or cloying or too roasty dry either.  I'd be interested in where this finished out.

A great little rich and restorative beer. Cheers!

[Tilt]

Thanks Matt,  FG on this was 1.012.  I've come to the conclusion that the body, mouthfeel and esters on the British yeast version were better - more fullsome and chocolatey, but unsurprisingly the hop brightness and slightly thinner consistency of the BRY 97 made for a crisper brown porter with more of that dusty cocoa sensation.  I like both and am now contemplating which yeast to try the recipe with next.  Maybe Denny's or Wyeast 1469?

[paul m]

Hi Tilt,

this ones been lurking in my fridge from the onset. Your bottle had no label on neither did an other. So i drank yours with no expectation. It had a white cap and D2 PORTER. Am i right?  First impressions were this tastes like Boundary Road Chocolate Moose. And yours is ball parks better.  yours is more suble and less in your face than the boundary road offering. I'd never buy chocolate moose again. Pretty sweet, What does the Carafa special three do? good clarity. thanks

[Tilt]

Thanks Paul - but I can't claim credit for that one - the D2 bottle was MattD2's brown porter.  I thought I'd written on all of mine with black caps - that other one you've got is probably the one

[paul m]

sweet, yours is the last one left. cheers Paul

[Stu H]

Variant: UK yeast.

Appearance: Very very very dark red/black. Clear, very small head.

Aroma: A little smokey, roasty, spicy. Didn't really get any hops.

Flavour: Very delicious! Not too bitter, nor astringent. Somewhat sweet. Long on the palette which I enjoyed!

Mouthfeel: I felt it was pretty full bodied, low carbonation.

Overall: I really enjoyed this, and could definitely session a few. Thanks!

[Dan]

This one slipped through the cracks and was forgotten at the back of the fridge for the last 4 months! It took a while to figure what it was, as I haven't brewed anything dark for a while, I knew it wasn't one of mine.

I didn't write anything down or try to over-analyse it. I really liked this beer though. It had a beautiful brown/red colour and crystal clear. Carbing was spot on - nice lacing to the bottom of the glass. Roasty with choc, toffee, toasty goodness.

All round a great beer mate - cheers!

[Tilt]

Sorry Dan - just saw your reply.  Thanks mate, I'm keen to do the next variation on this one over autumn so your post reminded me to get it into the lineup.