Modern Homebrew Recipes (30 page)

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains and crystal malt added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

154°F (68°C) 60 minutes

168°F (76°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8 gallons (30 L)

Boil length:

75 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

66°F (19°C)

Sensory description:
Roast, bitter, and fruity with bread and toast base notes and the big flavor of brown and black malts. Light hop flavor adds some complexity.

Formulation notes:
Be careful with this yeast! Give it plenty of oxygen and make sure it completely finishes or it can throw a significant amount of diacetyl. Taste it before you rack it; it might need additional time on the yeast to clean up. Raise the temperature to 72°F (22°C) for a few days if needed. However finicky, it gives a unique (and very British) fruity quality. The use of pale, brown, and black malts to produce a porter is very classic formulation, while the extra dark crystal malt provides a touch of additional complexity.

Variations:
If the black malt is too strong for your taste, try debittered black malt instead, or cold steep it; that will produce a very different beer since the black malt carries much of the flavor. If you have issues with the yeast, feel free to substitute any good English ale yeast. I like the fruitiness from the yeast, but hate diacetyl.

ROBUST PORTER

This is a fairly typical traditional robust porter, with an emphasis on the flavors of the specialty malts. The bitterness and strength are not too high, which allows the malt flavors to stand out. Uses a combination of English and American ingredients to both pay homage to the history of the style while putting a bit of a New World spin on it.

Style:
American Porter (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
A modern American porter with the classic chocolate and roasty, burnt dark malt flavors, and some caramel sweetness to help take the edge off the finish. Lightly fruity with some spicy and citrusy hop aromatics.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

154°F (68°C) 60 minutes

170°F (77°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (32 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

66°F (19°C)

Sensory description:
Lightly fruity profile with a light bready and caramel base under a dark chocolate finish. The beer is substantial and has a fuller body, but the dryness from the dark malts provides balance. A light spicy, citrusy hop finish adds some complexity.

Formulation notes:
I didn’t want the base malt to have too much of a bready flavor, so I use mostly US two-row. The dark malts and crystal
malts are added late to keep the harshness down. I use classic American citrusy hops for the aroma but want to avoid that in the flavor since I think it can clash with the dark malts. I think the English dark malts have a smoother, less harsh quality, and a more potent taste than American versions, so I prefer them.

Variations:
Sometimes I make this as a single-hop beer with all Northern Brewer, trying for an Anchor Porter like profile. The hop profile can be traditional English as well, using Fuggles and Goldings in any combination. I also have made this with all New World hops, favoring the tropical and stone fruit hops, like Amarillo, Galaxy, and Citra. Ahtanum is another good choice for a late hop, with its floral, citrus profile. If you want to experiment with cold-steeping grains, this is a good recipe to use; just steep the dark malts overnight, strain, and then add the liquid to the last 5 minutes of the boil.

AMERICAN PORTER

American porters have a stronger character than modern English porters (which is true for most American adaptations of traditional English styles). The challenge in making this style is to not have overly burnt flavors dominate, and not have the hops clash with the dark malts. This one uses roasted barley instead of black malt, and the hopping includes some orange and apricot flavors.

Style:
American Porter (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
Interesting in between type of porter that uses many traditional English ingredients but is more recognizable in balance today to the American style.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

154°F (68°C) 60 minutes

170°F (77°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8 gallons (30 L)

Boil length:

75 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

64°F (18°C)

Sensory description:
Balanced roast with a bready base malt, slightly fruity fermentation character, and earthy hops. Moderately strong with a dry finish, malty and roast aftertaste, and balanced bitterness.

Formulation notes:
Fairly straightforward composition, featuring mostly English ingredients. The base malt and yeast are more neutral than an English version, which lets the specialty malts and hops be prominent. The hop flavor is higher on this version, with the first wort hops providing a woody, earthy note, while the later hops give more apricot and orange notes (which I think plays well with the chocolate and light coffee character). Strength and body are on the higher side. The dry hopping is optional, but I fresh hop character as an extra aroma dimension.

Variations:
I also like using noble hops as the late finishing hops instead of the Styrians; I sometimes use Tettnanger, Halltertauer, or some of the US versions such as Vanguard or Santiam. If you really want to stand out as an American style, you can also use classic hops like Cascade and Centennial late. I normally use Cascade at knockout instead of the 5
minute addition and dry hop with Centennial. With fairly simple grist, this beer is also a good baseline for matching other beer flavors to source ingredients. Look for the deep caramel, chocolate, and coffee flavors and adjust the quantities based on what you prefer. I would adjust each of those specialty grains no more than 50% up or down as you experiment. I think this beer is also good with a lower bitterness level (in the mid 20s). I tend to mash a couple degrees lower when making aversion with lower bitterness (like 151°F/66°C). I’ve also made a more session strength version of this, reducing everything proportionally to be a 4% ABV beer and omitting the dry hopping altogether. A stronger 7% version is also good; I sometimes make that version to age.

AMERICAN BROWN ALE

There is disagreement on the standard flavor profile for American Brown Ale. Homebrewers seem to think it’s a Brown IPA, but commercial craft brewers often treat it almost like a dark American lager. I think there is a happy medium: a beer with a rich malty profile with chocolate and caramel flavors, that is still moderately bitter with a noticeable late hop character.

Style:
American Brown Ale (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
American ingredients get a little bit of international help to balance chocolate and caramel flavors with a stronger hop character. Clean base malt with caramelly and chocolate flavors, with a fruity and spicy hop character.

Ingredients: