CS9 - Smoked Robust Porter

[Luke Davey]

First swap for me boys and girls.

This is a smoked robust porter. I had seen the smoked malt available but had not tried it (or any smoked beer for that matter), so the goal became find a recipe that uses smoked malt. I've heard good things about the smoked porters, so decided on a recipe from Brewnosers: http://www.brewnosers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3206&p=40848

Recipe Specifications

Method: BIAB

Bottling Volume: 19.5L

OG: 1.065 (measured)

FG: 1.02 (measured)

ABV: 5.78% (measured)

Estimated Color: 35.2 SRM

Estimated IBU: 36.3 IBUs

Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Grain Bill:
3.4kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 54.0 % 
1.2kg Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 2 19.0 % 
0.4kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 30L (30.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.3 % 
0.4kg Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.3 % 
0.4kg Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 5 6.3 % 
0.3kg Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 6 4.8 % 
0.2kg Black Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 7 3.2 % 

Hop Bill:
42g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop 8 21.4 IBUs 
21g Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 9 9.1 IBUs 
21g Willamette [5.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 10 5.8 IBUs 
12g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Aroma Steep Hop 11 0.0 IBUs 
12g Willamette [5.50 %] - Aroma Steep 0.0 min Hop 12 0.0 IBUs 

Finings: Irish Moss at 50mins.
Mash temp: 73degC (start), mashout at 75degC
Yeast: Safale American (DCL/Fermentis #US-05)

Yeast pitched at 21degC, and fermented in primary at 21degC for 6 days, racked to secondary for 6 days then bottled. Primed and bottled on 17th April.

Disclaimer (in keeping with Dan's): this is my first porter. Nuf said.

[paul m]

Hi Luke, I drank yours first off on a friday night. It didn't really touch the sides. Lets just say it went down quick and i thoroughly enjoyed it! I didn't get too much smoke- i'd agree with other comments that it might be too subtle. Tasted pretty flawless to me. A big thank you!

[DP]

Appearance
Pours inky black with a rocky, tan head that lasts for a while.

Aroma
I struggled to identify the aromas here. Definitely caramel and perhaps chocolate/dusty. I let it warm up as per Dash6's suggestion and I reckon I got a bit of acetaldehyde hiding.

Palate
Well carbonated. Feels a lot drier than the FG would suggest. Balanced bitterness.

Taste
Not a lot of sweetness but also not too bitter. 

Overall
I didn't get a lot of smoke in either smell or taste on this but it may have contributed to the dryness I picked out. Cheers!

[Stu H]

After conditioning in my fridge a couple of months it's gone beautifully clear. Very dark, with a tan head which is hanging around in a thin layer on the top of the beer. Looks great!

In the nose I get roasty toffee. Flavour-wise it big and malty, not astringent, not too sweet. Glad it hasn't gone thin and astringent after this time: A sign your sanitation regime is pretty solid. The smoke flavour is pretty subtle - though something I'm going to take away from this is that adding a touch of smoked malt lifts a stout - kind of like adding butter to a soup!

Okay enough babbling, thanks very much!

[Dan]

Alright - I admit it, I drank this one a few weeks ago and been too lazy/busy to right it up!

My notes are a little vague, but good enough.

Appearance: Nice head that lasted well and lacing to the bottom of the glass. Very dark with a nice red tinge when held to the light. Very clear.

Aroma: roastyness, coffee, sweet. I thought I smelled some smoke - but it may have been suggestion.

Flavour: Very subtle smoke. Roast and burnt with a bit of sweetness.

Mouthfeel: silky finish.

Overall: Really nice beer. The smoke was a bit low, but it would pass as a good example of a standard Porter. Well done mate!