Original gravity: 1.0670
Final gravity: 1.0236
Alcohol by volume: 5.70%
IBU: 30
Main ingredients:
Yeast: English ale
Hops: Fuggle, East Kent Golding
Malts: Crystal caramel, Chocolate, Victory, Black
9 comments:
I had a co-brewer for this project (my colleague Ken D.) and we received supervision from a professional. An exhilarating process during which I learned quite a bit about beer. The final product was quite good. -----------------------------------------B.A.
I highly endorse this product.
Thanks, man. I think a very stout porter was produced. I appreciate your kind words. BA
Welcome...
Mr Deutsch, your brews represent very high standards -- and I thought of you when brewing this stout porter. I have very fond memories of a stout you brought over I believe for a party in Carlsbad -- I remember how great that was, truly great. Thanks for the word of welcome! ----BA
Glad it worked out. What was 1) the best aspect of the beer? and 2) the thing that most needed improvement?
The beer turned out very solid. It was definitely a "stout porter" -- in that it was "fortified" beyond what a typical English porter would be, and it contained most of the qualities of a stout, except the more modern / "of late" addition of unmalted roasted barley. It was chewy. The bottle conditioning was just right -- the carbonation was not overwhelming and yet it stayed with the beer from beginning to end. I have been tasting many English porters (and other porters) this same week, to compare, and I honestly feel like it hangs with the best. By that, I mean Fuller's London Porter, Sam Smith's Taddy Porter, and so forth. The flavor was full, thick, and balanced. It was "very good overall" as the kids say.
As for improvement -- I have slight quibbles. It was a little sweet. Also the cap didn't last very long. At heart, as we all know, I'm a stout drinker, and so the next beer I brew will be an American stout. As such, I'd like to bump up the ABV a little bit. But these are slight quibbles. The final product was very strong, and I learned a lot from engaging in it.
--------------BA
The beer emanated a very pleasing, mildly vanilla, almost coconut nose and maintained it's flavor over the course of 30 minutes of sipping/nursing -- that is, it warmed quite well to the room (and I second DG's note re: the carbonation). Perhaps my "best aspect" of the beer was the very slight tightness that it led to, weighing in at 5.7%. It's a good time beer.
I might agree with DG's statement concerning the thin, perhaps loose, cap, but I will credit it with that it did swish around quite nicely, producing aesthetically pleasing, almost astronomical, patterns up top. This was no watery beer. Every sip contained a complete and balanced set of flavors. Quality product.
I appreciate M.C.'s comments -- agreeing for the most part with all of them.
Rather than seeking individual elements of "nose" or flavor, I was more concerned with the big picture: cohesion; straight-ahead-ness; darkness; a pleasant plain bouquet; a chewable mouthfeel; nothing skunky on the end of swallowing the beer; and so forth. Sessionability. Plain character to flavor and plain roasts.
I myself did not get the coconut, and of course, we didn't make a vanilla porter, but I don't argue against the presence of those flavors in the tasting. In fact, what I'd say mostly is -- it had a complex array of flavors, and that might have to do with the fact that we added an extra malt to the steeping grains that we employed.
In any event, the cap was very nice at first, but it did drift away, and I'd like the next beer to drop the hint of sweetness. 5.7% was good, but I'm interested in an ABV of 6 to 6.5, somewhere in there. Anyhow, I'm pretty happy -- and much more educated.
BA
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