Brewing Historical Porters & Stouts
I have attempted to brew versions of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century porters and stouts that do not always fit our modern definitions, but are simply good beers in their own right. In other words, you might find it rewarding to brew one or more of them. Although I have tried hard to reconstruct these beers as close to the original as possible, the new versions can never be completely authentic for a variety of reasons. Chief among these are that these old recipes are often obscure about details of the process, and that modern ingredients are different from their predecessors. This has meant I have had to interpret old recipes in the light of our modern knowledge of brewing procedures, and of the properties of modern ingredients, in order to achieve satisfactory results.
The reproduction beers were all produced in my own homebrewery The others are not “reproductions,” but are based on modern craft-brewed beers. As was the case with the earlier recipes, these are all based on a 5-gallon (19 L) batch size and are presented assuming a brewhouse efficiency of 65 percent. All of the other normal BYO assumptions also apply, including 25 percent utilization of hop-acids. Of course, the latter is based on guesswork as to what bittering levels the old beers might have had, which is something we shall never know, just as the brewers then never knew about hop-acids!
Amsinck No. 11 Dublin Stout
This brew is based on a nineteenth-century book (Amsinck, 1868). I throw it in here because it is a very simple recipe that reflects what an English brewer thought of as Irish stout at a time when Guinness had become the world’s major brewer of stout and porter. I had to guess at the mash temperature, because the brewer only measured it at the run-off taps at the end of the mash! It drinks very much like a dry stout, quite dry with substantial bitterness from the black malt and high hop rate. Indeed, the IBU level actually puts it in the region of a modern American stout.
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.085 FG = 1.026
IBU = 86 SRM = 30 ABV = 8.4%
Ingredients
17 lbs. (7.7 kg) Maris Otter 2-row pale malt (4 °L)
0.75 lb. (340 g) Bairds black malt (550 °L)
23 AAU Target pellet hops (90 min.)
(2.3 oz./65 g at 10% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP004 (Irish Ale) or Wyeast 1084 (Irish Ale) yeast (as a 1.5-qt./1.4-L yeast starter)
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 151 to 153 °F (66 to 67 °C) with 22 quarts (21 L) of water, and add all of the hops at the start of the boil. Boil the wort for 90 minutes.
When the boil is complete, chill the wort rapidly to yeast pitching temperatures. Pitch an appropriate amount of yeast using a yeast starter of 1.5 quarts (1.4 L), ferment, and mature for three to six weeks.
Amsinck No. 11 Dublin Stout
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grain)
OG = 1.085 FG = 1.026
IBU = 86 SRM = 30 ABV = 8.4%
Ingredients
12 lbs. (5.4 kg) Maris Otter liquid malt extract
0.75 lb. (340 g) Bairds black malt (550 °L)
23 AAU Target pellet hops (90 min.)
(2.3 oz./65 g at 10% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP004 (Irish Ale) or Wyeast 1084 (Irish Ale) yeast (as a 1.5-qt./1.4-L yeast starter)
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Steep the black malt separately in a muslin bag with 1.5 quarts (1.4 L) of water at around 160 °F (71 °C). Strain off the black malt and rinse the grains with two lots of 1.5 quarts (1.4 L) hot water and use this wort to dissolve the extract. Boil for 90 minutes, adding the hops at the beginning of the boil.
When the boil is complete, chill the wort rapidly to yeast pitching temperatures. Pitch an appropriate amount of yeast using a yeast starter of 1.5 quarts (1.4 L), ferment, and mature for three to six weeks then bottle or keg.
Barclay’s Imperial Brown Stout
This is my version of this beer, but another version is given by the Durden Park Beer Circle (1991). For the sake of uniformity, I have kept the batch size to 5 gallons (19L); however, because of the large quantities of malt involved, you may well find it more practical to reduce it to 3 gallons (11.4L). I have used an “unauthentic” American hop, simply because I wanted to use a high-acid hop, so as to limit the amount of trub in the boiler. The figure of 100 IBU I have given is a calculation, and it will probably be less than that, because of limits on the solubility of iso-alpha acids in this high gravity wort.
The significance of this beer is that it was one of (if not the) original Russian imperial stouts, exported by Barclay to Russia from London. The recipe here gives an excellent imperial stout, very full-bodied and chewy with background notes of toffee, licorice, roast coffee, and raisin, backed up by firm hop bitterness. I recently tried a 7-year-old sample, and it had lost nothing in the keeping!
An extract version is not practical, because the large proportion of brown malt would mean too great a scale for a partial mash to be carried out.
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.109 FG = 1.040
IBU = 100+ SRM = 56 ABV = 10.4%
Ingredients
13 lbs. (5.9 kg) Maris Otter 2-row pale malt (4 °L)
6.5 lbs. (2.95 kg) Crisp brown malt (65 °L)
3 lbs. (1.36 kg) Crisp amber malt (29 °L)
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Bairds black malt (550°L)
36 AAU Columbus pellet hops (90 min.)
(3 oz./85 g at 12% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) or White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale) yeast (as a 3-qt./3-L starter)
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 150 to 151 °F (66 °C) with
29 quarts (27 L) of water; you will probably need to sparge to collect at least 7 gallons (26.5 L) and boil down to 5 gallons (19 L) to obtain the target gravity. If so, add the bittering hops
for the last 90 minutes of the boil. At the end of the boil, chill the wort rapidly to fermentation temperatures and pitch the yeast. Ferment using a yeast starter of 3 quarts (2.8 L) from three packs of yeast, and mature
six months minimum then bottle or keg.
Pale Porter
This is here for a couple of reasons, the first being that it comes from a book published for Americans in America in 1815. The author, Joseph Coppinger, was an Englishman, but had lived in America for some years. It is not clear whether he actually brewed in the United States, however, and he makes a plea for the “citizens of the town” to set up a brewery, presumably in New York, as that was where the book was published. The second reason is that it cites the use of Essentia Bina, or porter coloring. This enabled him to offer a recipe for a beer based only on pale malt, and using no brown or porter malt at all. But do note that Coppinger referred to Essentia Bina as also being made from molasses, which would have been a very American approach, although he stated that using molasses gave a product inferior to that made from Muscovado sugar.
What of the beer itself? Well, my version was not the best beer I have ever drunk, although it was quite pleasant. Despite the numbers I have estimated for color above, this was relatively light-colored for a porter, although still with a nice warming red hue to it. It was quite malty, with some roasted/burnt notes from the Essentia Bina, and backed with very definite hop bitterness. Which leaves open the question as to how it might have tasted if I hadn’t been too much of a wimp to set my caramelized sugar alight, doesn’t it?
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.092 FG = 1.018
IBU = 90 SRM = 37 ABV = 10.7%
Ingredients
17 lbs. (7.7 kg) British 2-row pale malt (2 °L)
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) brown sugar as Essentia Bina* (see step by step)
24 AAU Columbus pellet hops (90 min.)
(2 oz./57 g at 12% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP004 (Irish Ale) or Wyeast 1084 (Irish Ale) yeast (as a 2-qt./1.8-L starter)
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
*Prepare the Essentia Bina as follows:
Take the sugar (use the darkest form you can find) and dissolve it up with about 1⁄4 pint of water in a shallow saucepan; boil the mixture until it starts to caramelize and bubble. Continue heating until a sample taken solidifies immediately when placed on the back of a cold spoon, and turn the heat off. Immediately add 1⁄2 pint of cold water, stirring vigorously so the whole mixture takes on the consistency of a syrup, adding more cold water if necessary. Note that Joseph Coppinger (1815) recommends setting fire to the mixture as the heat is turned off, and allowing it to burn for several minutes, and I have seen similar suggestions in several English references. You can try this if you want to; I did not, as I have seen how quickly sugar can burn, and I did not want a fire in my kitchen! I had no way to determine what the color of my Essentia Bina was, so the numbers given above are a pure guess, in which I assumed 100 °L for it (by visual examination). Note that the OG may be a little higher than I have given, depending upon how far you have taken the caramelization of the Essentia Bina.
Mash at 152 to 154 °F (67 to 68 °C) with 21 quarts (20 L) of water; add all hops at the start of the boil, and the Essentia Bina at the end of the wort boil. At the end of the boil, chill the wort rapidly to fermentation temperatures and pitch the yeast. Ferment using a yeast starter of 2 quarts (1.9 L) from two packs of yeast, and mature three to six weeks then bottle or keg.
Big Wood Porter
This is not a re-creation from the past, but an American beer brewed at BrüRm@BAR in New Haven, Connecticut and designed by assistant brewer and fireman Dave Wood (hence the title). Dave thinks of it as being a porter, but it could be described as an oatmeal stout also. I prefer to call it a brown porter, because the black malt flavors are quite soft and not harsh, so that it has only background roast flavor, with chocolate and coffee hints and a malty licorice character up front, together with slight spiciness from the late-added Goldings hops.
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.064 FG = 1.016
IBU = 53 SRM = 50 ABV = 6.4%
Ingredients
9 lbs. (4.1 kg) Briess Ashburne® mild ale malt (5 °L)
2.75 lbs. (1.25 kg) Crisp brown malt (65 °L)
1 lb. (0.45 kg) Briess Blackprinz® malt (500 °L)
0.5 lb. (227 g) Simpson chocolate malt (410 °L)
0.5 lb. (227 g) rolled oats
12 AAU Northern Brewer pellet hops
(1.4 oz./40 g at 8.5% alpha acids) (90 min.)
2.5 AAU East Kent Golding pellet hops
(30 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5% alpha acids)
1 oz. (28 g) East Kent Golding pellet hops (0 min.)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) or Wyeast 1968 (London ESB Ale) yeast (as a 3-qt./2.8-L starter)
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash in at 150 to 152 °F (66 to 67 °C) with 17 quarts (16L). Boil for 90 minutes, adding Northern Brewer hops at start, the first portion of Goldings at thirty minutes before the boil is finished, and the second portion at the end of the boil. At the end of the boil, chill the wort rapidly to fermentation temperatures and pitch the yeast. Mature two to four weeks then bottle or keg.
Russian Émigré Imperial Stout
This is my homage to Igor Sikorsky, the helicopter manufacturer whose factory sits at the bottom of the hill at the top of which I live. It was inspired by Stratford’s Two Roads Brewing and their imperial stout, Igor’s Dream. It is not a match for their recipe, but is simply something I put together after tasting the beer. Phil did emphasize the rye character of their beer, which was enhanced by aging it in rye whiskey barrels. That may not be practical for you, unless you want to experiment by adding a little (very little!) rye whiskey to your beer.
A key to this beer is good attenuation, because it should definitely not finish sweet, or the rye malt spiciness will not come through on the palate. For that reason, I went for a low roast chocolate and no black malt in the
grist, so the roast flavors sit in the background and do not dominate everything else.
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.101 FG = 1.020
IBU = 78 SRM = 39 ABV = 11.8%
Ingredients
12 lbs. (4.3 kg) US 2-row pale malt (2 °L)
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) Briess Munich malt (10 °L)
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) Briess rye malt (4 °L)
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) Fawcett crystal rye malt (75 °L)
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) Briess Carabrown® malt (55 °L)
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Fawcett pale chocolate malt (200 °L)
21 AAU Magnum pellet hops (90 min.)
(1.5 oz./43 g at 14% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale) or Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) yeast (as a 3-qt./2.8-L starter)
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 150 to 152 °F (66 to 67 °C) with 27 quarts (26 L) of water. You will need to sparge to collect 7 to 8 gallons (26 to 30 L) of wort, and then boil down to 5 gallons (19 L) in order to achieve your target gravity. Add the hops only for the last ninety minutes of the boil. After the boil cool and use a yeast starter of at least 3 quarts (2.8 L) made from three packs of yeast, and preferably to oxygenate the wort before pitching the yeast. At the end of the boil, chill the wort rapidly to fermentation temperatures and pitch the yeast. Mature three to six months then bottle or keg.
Russian Émigré Imperial Stout
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grain)
OG = 1.101 FG = 1.020
IBU = 78 SRM = 39 ABV = 11.8%
Ingredients
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) extra light dried malt extract
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Munich liquid malt extract
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) rye liquid malt extract
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Fawcett crystal rye malt (75 °L)
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) Briess Carabrown® malt (55 °L)
1.5 lbs. (0.68 kg) Fawcett pale chocolate malt (200 °L)
21 AAU Magnum pellet hops (90 min.)
(1.5 oz./43 g at 14% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP007 (Dry English Ale) or Wyeast 1098 (British Ale) yeast (as a 3 qt./2.8-L starter)
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Steep the crushed malt separately in a large muslin bag with 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water at around 160 °F
(71 °C). Strain off the grains and rinse them with two lots of 1 gallon (3.8 L) hot water and use this wort to dissolve the extract. You will need at least 6 gallons (23 L) of wort to boil down to 5 gallons (19 L) in order to achieve target gravity. Boil the wort for 90 minutes. Add the hops at the start of the boil. At the end of the boil, chill the wort rapidly to fermentation temperatures and pitch the yeast. Ferment using a starter of at least 3 quarts (2.8 L) made from three packs of yeast, and preferably to oxygenate the wort before pitching the yeast. Mature three to six months then keg or bottle.
Editor’s Note: Excerpted with permission from Brewing Porters and Stouts by: Terry Foster. Copyright 2015, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
