Kissmeyer Beer & Brewing: Baltic Porter clone
“Medium bodied, dry, with a crisp lager background. Medium bitterness, aroma and flavor dominated by roasted malts, noble hops, and a noticeable but not overpowering smokiness. The taste is rather long, crispy dry with intense roast maltiness, subtly enhanced by the addition of a little bit of raw licorice. Think: Your favorite Baltic porter with some extra layers of smoke, complexity and depth!” — Anders Kissmeyer
Kissmeyer Beer & Brewing: Baltic Porter
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.012
IBU = 45 SRM = 27 ABV = 8%
Ingredients
9 lbs. 14 oz. (4.5 kg) Pilsner malt
1.3 lbs. (0.58 kg) dark Munich malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) hand smoked lager malt (using alder as the wood, maximum smoke intensity)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) dark crystal malt
6 oz. (0.17 kg) pale wheat malt
6 oz. (0.17 kg) chocolate malt
4 oz. (0.11 kg) black malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) local honey (0 min.)
0.035 oz. (1 g) raw licorice root (0 min.)
12 AAU Perle hops (60 min.) (1.7 oz./49 g at 7% alpha acids)
1 AAU East Kent Golding hops (30 min.) (0.2 oz./5.7 g at 5% alpha acids)
1 AAU East Kent Golding hops (15 min.) (0.2 oz./5.7 g at 5% alpha acids)
0.2 oz. (5.7 g) East Kent Golding hops (0 min.)
0.2 oz. (5.7 g) Styrian Golding hops (0 min.)
White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or Wyeast 2124 (Bohemian Lager) yeast (12 qt./11 L yeast starter)
3⁄4 cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step by Step
Adjust your water to 60 ppm of calcium using calcium chloride (CaCl2). Mash in at 122 °F (50 °C), before raising to a saccharification rest at 147 °F (64 °C) for 45 minutes, then 158 °F (70 °C) for 15 minutes, before mashing out at 172 °F (78 °C). Alternatively, a single infusion mash at 151 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes is sufficient.
Boil 60 minutes with hop additions as specified. Add the honey and raw licorice at the end of the boil. Cool wort to 57 °F (14 °C), aerate, pitch yeast, and then ferment at 57 °F (14 °C) until fermentation is complete (7 to 10 days).
Cool beer to 41–46 °F (5–8 °C), leave at this temperature until all traces of sulfur and diacetyl are eliminated (5 to 10 days), then cool to just under 32 °F (0 °C) and cold lager for as long as possible (4 weeks will do, 8 weeks is better, 12 weeks is nice, 16 weeks near optimal). Aim for a carbonation level close to 2.5 volumes of CO2.
Partial mash option: Reduce the Pilsner malt in the all-grain recipe to 3.2 oz. (91 g) and add 2 lbs. (0.91 kg) Pilsner dried malt extract and 4.5 lbs. (2 kg) Pilsner liquid malt extract. Place the crushed grains in a large steeping bag and mash the crushed grains in 5.5 qts. (5.2 L) of water at 151 °F (66 °C) for 60 minutes. Recirculate (if possible) until wort runs clear, then begin running off wort. Rinse grain bed with hot water (around 180–190 °F/82–88 °C, but don’t let the grain bed exceed 170 °F/77 °C) until you have collected roughly 9 qts. (8.5 L) of wort. Add liquid and dried malt extract and water to make 5.5 gallons (21 L). Boil 60 minutes. Follow the remaining portion of the all-grain recipe.
