My journey of trying to make a decent porter has been long and fraught with way too many mistakes, notably the last time I tried making a porter and used a stout grain profile! The idea of making a chocolate porter came from my desire to have a dessert beer - how many times have you gotten to the end of a meal and just wanted a finishing beer: heavier, darker, roasted, … [Read more...]
Black Ale BIAB – Almost there!
I have a thing about Black Ales - no idea why, I just love how the brain registers a roasted, burnt, heavy beer aroma and then you taste a light, refreshing, hoppy beer. My original Black Ale was based on an LME (Liquid Malt Extract) and mainly British hops (and yeast). Since moving to BIAB, I've been trying to recreate the finish I got from the LME without success, getting one … [Read more...]
Chocolate (ish) Porter (ish) Brewing Day
Too many times lately my Black ales have been getting a distinct porter edge to them after a few minutes in room temperature (which says something about my black ale!), so I wanted to actually try and make a porter, intentionally. The idea was to find a recipe for a porter and make it a bit more chocolaty, but I wasn't really successful here - it came out with a clear coffee … [Read more...]
Black Ale BIAB Brewing day
It has been a while since I tried brewing my black ale using the BIAB method due to the constant failure I have been experiencing: first it was totally undrinkable and went down the drain, and the second time I ended up with a mild. I took the plunge and tried again and I think I'm finally making some progress: a good porter that disguises itself as a black ale - not the best, … [Read more...]