Tag Archives: porter

Bear Butte Porter

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Porters are a classic homebrewing style, and they are an accessible entry point for newer brewers because their rich flavors are simultaneously enjoyable and also able to cover the results of overheated fermentations. As my brewing has progressed, and my fermentation temperature control has improved, I come back to them again and again as an enjoyable winter beer.

Last year I made a Sierra Nevada Porter clone, and this year I delved into a clone recipe for Deschute Brewing’s Black Butte Porter. The version I had was pulled from the Brew Your Own Big Book of Homebrewing (2022 updated edition), with some small modifications for hops and yeast on-hand on-hand as well as some very slight malt quantity adjustments. Instead of Galena as the bittering charge, I subbed in Chinook, which seemed like a reasonable swap, and I used Mangrove Jacki’s M36 Liberty Bell ale yeast instead of Lalbrew’s Verdant strain. Again, this seemed to be a reasonable swap that would get me into the same flavor zone. Interestingly, I learned via David Taylor’s Yeast Master List that M36 is a blend of M42 (New World/Nottingham) and M15 (Empire/Windsor); the reported fruitiness of the strain seemed like a good fit for this particular batch.

It’s interesting to note that the BYO clone recipe is very different from an AHA clone recipe. The AHA version uses chocolate wheat malt instead of chocolate malt, 80L crystal instead of 60L crystal, and a bit of dextrine malt, and it also calls for WLP002. Hops include Hallertauer instead of Tettnang. I’m not sure which version is more “authentic,” and I suppose it doesn’t really matter in the end! As another aside, I brewed a version of the AHA recipe back in 2021, as Turtle Toe Porter.

Because this is not a direct version of the clone recipe, and in honor of a landmark in my home state, I have called this batch “Bear Butte Porter.” I also used some South Dakota-grown hops from my dad, another fitting addition to the beer.

Bear Butte Porter

  • 10.25 lb. 2-row brewer’s malt (Great Western)
  • 0.75 lb. crystal 60L (Briess)
  • 0.75 lb. chocolate malt (Simpsons)
  • 0.35 oz. Chinook hop pellets (12.3% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 2 oz. Cascade whole hops (3.5% est. alpha), 20 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 2 oz. Tettnang hop pellets (2.4% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Liberty Bell ale yeast (Mangrove Jack’s M36)

Target Parameters

  • 1.052 s.g., 1.012 f.g., 5.4% abv, 33 IBU, 33 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 152° for 60 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • Claremont tap water with Campden tablet, with approximate ppm of 110 Cl, 50 SO4, 40 Ca, 156 HCO3, 12 Mg, 87 Na

Procedure

  • I heated 7.5 gallons of Claremont tap water, with Campden tablet, to 158°, before adding the grains as well as 6 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the mash pH. I held the mash at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation, before raising the temperature to 168°. After 10 minutes at the mash-out temperature, I removed the grains and heated the runnings to a boil.
  • In total, I collected 6.7 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.043, for 68% mash efficiency.
  • Once the runnings were boiling, I added the hops and finings per the recipe. After 60 minutes on the boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 78° before transferring to the fermenter and dropping to 66° in the fermentation chamber.
  • Once the beer was at 66°, I pitched the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 25 October 2024; it had a starting gravity of 1.057.
  • I fermented the beer at 66° until 28 October 2024, when I pulled it to ambient (~70°). Active fermentation seemed mostly done, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt it to sit at ambient for awhile.
  • I kegged the beer on 16 November 2024. Final gravity was 1.016, for 5.4% abv. This was around 71% measured attenuation. It’s on the lower end that Mangrove Jack’s reports for the strain (74% to 78%), but in my experience I’ve often had lower attenuation with the Windsor strain that comprises part of this blend.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Deep, deep brown beer with dark garnet highlights, very clear. Pours with a persistent and creamy tan head. Beautiful! Great lacing down the side of the glass.
  • Aroma
    • Moderate dark chocolate: coffee aroma, a touch of earthy hop character.
  • Flavor
    • Slightly roasty and bitter chocolate malt character, a bit of dark sugar character; medium bitterness. A medium bit of dark dried fruit yeast character, but it’s in the background.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium carbonation, medium-full body, off-dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • I love this beer! It’s a perfect American porter, and wonderfully drinkable. Porter is such an underappreciated style; this version looks great and tastes great!
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Sierra Nevada Porter Clone

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I love American porters, and they are among the first beers I ever brewed (all the way back to 2009!). Sierra Nevada’s porter is a great one, a classic in the American porter style, as listed by the BJCP 2021 style guide. The BJCP also indicates that this style is “becoming increasingly hard to find.” That’s a good reason to make a homebrew version!

I did some searching to find an appropriate recipe, which landed on one that is allegedly directly from Sierra Nevada. I adjusted the grains very slightly to get more even amounts, and I also upped the Carafa Special III and black malt, in order to darken the beer. Oddly, the grain-only version was lighter than consistent with the style (noted by folks at the original link), so I added Sinamar to bring things into line. The original recipe called for Sterling and Aurora hops, neither of which I had on-hand. So, I substituted Mandarina Bavaria and Elixir. They’re not the same, but should be enough in the ballpark.

This was an enjoyable recipe to brew. It didn’t require dry hopping or whirlpooling, and I didn’t bother with a closed transfer. Other than using Sinamar, the ingredients and techniques were dead-basic.

Sierra Nevada Porter Clone

  • 10.25 lb. 2-row malt (Briess)
  • 1 lb. Munich I malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.5 lb. caramel malt – 60L (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. chocolate malt (Bairds)
  • 1 oz. black malt (Briess)
  • 1 oz. Carafa Special III (Weyermann)
  • 1.5 oz. Sinamar (added at end of boil)
  • 1 oz. Mandarina Bavaria hop pellets (6.7% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Elixir hop pellets (5.1% alpha), 15 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Elixir hop pellets (5.1% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. California ale yeast, dry version (White Labs WLP001)

Target Parameters

  • 1.056 s.g., 1.014 f.g., 5.7% abv, 35 IBU, 40 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, held at 154° for 60 minutes and 168° for 10 minutes
  • Claremont tap water with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • I heated 7.5 gallons of water to 160°, and added the grains for a mash temperature of 154°. I added 5 mL of 88% lactic acid to adjust the pH, and held the mash at 154° for 60 minutes.
  • After 60 minutes, I raised the mash to 168° for 10 minutes, before pulling the grains and heating to a boil.
  • The mash yielded 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.050, for 71% mash efficiency.
  • I boiled the wort for 60 minutes, adding finings and hops per the recipe.
  • After the boil, I chilled to 70° and transferred to the fermentater.
  • I brewed the beer on 2 December 2023. Starting gravity was 1.058, just a touch above target.
  • I fermented the beer at 66°, and kegged on 31 December 2023. Final gravity was 1.016, for 5.5% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • The beer is a deep, deep brown, almost black, with a persistent tan head.
  • Aroma
    • Dark chocolate and coffee–very roasty! Resiny hop character. Very nice!
  • Flavor
    • Rich, chocolate and coffee malt notes. Medium-high bitterness with a resiny and piney character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, moderate carbonation, slightly dry finish.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • Yes! This is a fantastic American porter, simultaneously rich and drinkable. It has interesting character, and is just a nice beer. I don’t know how it would stack up against Sierra Nevada’s product, but even on its own this recipe is pretty nice.
  • Overall
    • 10/10

Turtle Toe Porter

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As the weather swings cooler, my tastes swing to darker beers–porters, stouts, and such. So, I found a clone recipe for Deschutes Black Butte Porter on the AHA website and made a few modifications for yeast (American ale instead of English ale) and hops (to use up on-hand varieties).

The name comes from a fossil specimen in the museum lab at the moment–it’s a ~67 million year old turtle from Wyoming, which unexpectedly had complete hands and feet. “Turtle Toe Porter” is a very alliterative title for a beer, so the name stuck!

beer label image, showing foot skeleton of turtle on left side, text saying "Turtle Toe Porter" on right side, and "Farke Brewing, Claremont, California" at the bottom.
(bone image from Williston’s 1925 Osteology of the Reptiles)

Turtle Toe Porter

  • 9.5 lb. California Select 2-row malt (Great Western)
  • 14 oz. chocolate wheat malt (Weyermann)
  • 10 oz. 80L crystal malt (Warminster)
  • 4 oz. carapils malt (Briess)
  • 0.75 oz. Magnum hop pellets (10.1% alpha), 90 minute boil
  • 1 oz. Cascade whole hops (5.5% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 0.5 oz. Mt. Hood hop pellets (8.0% alpha), 5 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. US-05 American ale yeast (DCL/Fermentis)

Target Parameters

  • 1.050 s.g., 1.011 f.g., 5.2% abv, 39 IBU, 30 SRM
  • Full volume mash at 152° for 60 minutes, with 10 minute mash-out at 168°
  • Claremont tap water, treated with Campden tablet

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.5 gallons of water heated to 157°, to hit a target mash temperature of 152°. I added 5 mL of 88% lactic acid to bring down the mash pH. I recirculated the mash at this temperature for 60 minutes, before raising the mash to 168°. Then, I removed the grains and brought the runnings to a boil.
  • In total, I collected 6.4 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.044, for 69% mash efficiency.
  • I brought the kettle to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After a 90 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to ~80°, before transferring to the fermenter. I chilled the wort the rest of the way in the fermentation chamber, before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 11 September 2021. Starting gravity was 1.051, and I fermented it at 66°.
  • On 18 September 2021, I pulled the beer out to ambient, around 70° to 72°, to finish out fermentation.
  • I kegged the beer on 24 September 2021. Final gravity was 1.014, which works out to 4.9% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Brilliantly clear, deep brown beer with garnet highlights, that pours with a decently persistent tan head.
  • Aroma
    • Roasty aroma of coffee and chocolate at the front. No significant hop or yeast character evident.
  • Flavor
    • Roasty and cocoa notes dominate, with a touch of dark caramel behind that. The base malt profile has a slightly grainy character. Bitterness is moderate and fairly clean, with perhaps a slight woody character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium body, moderate carbonation, dry finish.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • Yes! This is exactly the American porter that I wanted. It is flavorful, yet very drinkable. I like the roasted character in it, and it is a good beer to bridge the summer to fall transition. If brewed as a winter beer, I might add a bit more character by using Maris Otter, but that’s a fairly mild critique in the scheme of things.
  • Overall
    • 10/10

London Porter

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Because I purchased a 55 pound sack of Maris Otter a few months ago, I have been on a bit of an English ale kick. Next stop: porters! I don’t brew this style nearly often enough, especially in its English incarnation. The particular recipe here was modified from the London Porter in Gordon Strong’s Modern Homebrew Recipes. I adjusted the base recipe slightly for the malt brands I had on-hand, and reduced the amount of brown malt slightly to account for my in-house supply. At the end of 2020, I found a bunch of 1 lb. bags of Warminster malts on sale, so loaded up on those for this recipe. I hadn’t used that brand before, and thought a good English malt would be a match for this one.

London Porter

  • 8 lb. Maris Otter ale malt (Crisp)
  • 1 lb. brown malt (Warminster)
  • 1 lb. Crystal 60 malt (Warminster)
  • 0.75 lb. Munich Light malt (Chateau)
  • 10 oz. chocolate malt (Dingemans)
  • 6 oz. Crystal 80 malt (Warminster)
  • 1 oz. Fuggles hop pellets (4.7% alpha), 60 minute boil
  • 1 oz. East Kent Goldings (EKG) hop pellets (5.0% alpha), 10 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 5 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. London ESB English Style Ale Yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 1.051 s.g., 1.013 f.g., 5.0% abv, 23 IBU, 27 SRM
  • Full volume infusion mash, 153°; 60 minute boil
  • Claremont water, with 2 g of gypsum to get water profile with 96 Ca, 64 SO4; added Campden tablet to remove chloramines.

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.5 gallons of water at 160°, to achieve a mash temperature of 153°. After 60 minutes, I raised the heat to 168° and held it there for 15 minutes before removing the grains.
  • In total, I got 6.45 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.043, for 65% mash efficiency. I had used the small-batch adapter ring for my Foundry, because some have anecdotally said it made a difference. I didn’t notice any change, at least for this batch.
  • I brought the runnings to a boil, adding finings and such per the recipe.
  • After a 60 minute boil, I chilled and transferred to the fermenter.
  • Starting gravity was 1.050, with 5.5 gallons transferred into the fermenter.
  • I brewed this beer on 8 January 2021.
  • I fermented at 66° for the first two days, which was ambient in the garage. The temperature dropped a bit on the third day, so I moved it inside to ~65° on 10 January 2021.
  • I kegged the beer on 24 January 2021, after 16 days of fermentation. Gravity at this point was 1.025, way higher than I expected. I suspect the yeast had crashed out a bit early. I added 3 oz. of corn sugar boiled in 1 cup of water, for carbonation.
  • It seems that the beer kicked off fermentation in the keg again, because gravity measured 1.020 on 4 February, when I checked it again. That works out to 4.0% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • The beer pours with a thick tan head that subsides moderately quickly, with good retention. The beer itself is dark brown, with a fair bit of yeast haze. I’m pretty disappointed with the lack of clarity…I suspect this is due in part to the ESB yeast (which has given me issues previously), and a potentially stalled fermentation that kept things in suspension longer than usual.
  • Aroma
    • There is a roasty toasty malt character at the forefront–really nice. The hop character is slightly earthy, with a low level of dried stone fruit (?cherry) in the yeast character.
  • Flavor
    • The beer has a roasty, slightly nutty flavor, with a medium-high level of maltiness. The balance is tilted towards the malt, with a medium-low bitterness on the back end. The beer brings out a bit of a caramel character along with an interesting dried stone fruit character as it warms up in the glass. There is a very slight sweetness, as well as a subtle licorice character.
  • Mouthfeel
    • Medium-full body, with medium-low carbonation.
  • Would I Brew This Again?
    • This is a good enough beer, but not fully to my tastes. The malt and hop character are pretty great (I would use Warminster malts again for any English beer!), but the yeast was a complete disappointment. I am fairly shocked that it was still in suspension nearly 6 weeks after kegging and conditioning in the keg. I probably should have used a bit of gelatin earlier in the process; but that’s just not typical for my dark beers! I might make this recipe again, but would probably stick with Nottingham or something that clears up a bit more quickly.
  • Overall
    • 6/10 (main deductions for clarity)

Kitchen Sink Porter

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Continuing in my “kitchen sink” series of beers, I brewed a porter recently; it was really a session porter in the end, which has been nice for easy quaffing during the winter months.

Kitchen Sink Porter

  • 7 lbs. Maris Otter malt (Crisp)
  • 1 lb. Munich II malt (Weyermann)
  • 0.75 lb. caramel 60°L malt (Briess)
  • 0.5 lb. pale chocolate malt (Crisp)
  • 5 oz. caramel 120°L malt (Briess)
  • 2 oz. chocolate malt (Bairds)
  • 1 oz. roasted barley (Bairds)
  • 2 oz. Bobek hop pellets (4.5% alpha), first wort hop and 30 minute boil
  • 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
  • 1 pkg. Windsor dry yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

  • 30 minute full volume infusion mash, 155°
  • 1.044 o.g., 1.012 f.g., 4.3% abv, 26 IBU, 23 SRM
  • Claremont tap water

Procedure

  • I mashed in with 7.5 gallons of water at 159.5°, to hit a 154° mash temperature.
  • After 30 minutes, I vorlaufed and collected 6.3 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.039, for 68% efficiency.
  • I brought everything to a boil, boiling for 30 minutes and adding hops and finings as required.
  • After a 30 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled down to 70°, before pitching the yeast.
  • I brewed this beer on 3 January 2019. It had a starting gravity of 1.043.
  • The beer was fermented at ambient temperature of around 60°. I pitched the yeast immediately after transfer into the fermentation vesel, and fermentation took off pretty quickly.
  • On January 6, ambient was down to around 58°, so I moved the fermener into the fermentation chamber, where I applied some heat and set the temperature for 66°.
  • I cold crashed the beer on 13 January 2020.
  • I kegged the beer on 15 January 2020. Final gravity was 1.015, for 3.6% abv.

Tasting

  • Appearance
    • Medium brown color, mostly clear (slight haze), with persistent tan head.
  • Aroma
    • Chocolaty, clean aroma. I’m not picking up much of the bread and biscuit aroma that a good English porter should have.
  • Flavor
    • Roasty, chocolate flavor, with a distinct (but not harsh) bitterness that persists on the tongue. As the beer warms up, some of the biscuity malt notes start to come through.
  • Mouthfeel
    • This is a little thinner than I would like; it needs some extra body, I think. Moderate carbonation, smooth and off-dry finish.
  • Would I brew this again?
    • There’s a fair bit happening in dark malt flavor, but the mouthfeel department needs some serious augmentation. I also feel like the lighter character malts (e.g., crystal malts) could be expanded a bit more, because the dark malts really take over. It’s not unpleasant, just a bit one-dimensional. This is a pretty drinkable beer–and the low abv certainly helps with that–but not a recipe I’m likely to do again. For a future iteration of this type of beer, I would definitely mash at a much higher temperature (maybe 158°?) and perhaps add in some biscuit malt and/or more crystal 120.
  • Overall
    • 5.5/10