Papa Don’s Brown (English) Porter By Christopher LaSpada

Papa Don’s Brown (English) Porter
By Christopher LaSpada

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.014
IBU = 30 SRM = 29 ABV = 5.6%

Winner of New Jersey State Fair (Augusta, New Jersey: 340 entries)

Ingredients
8 lbs. (3.6 kg) Maris Otter pale ale malt
0.8 lb. (360 g) torrified wheat
0.8 lb. (360 g) UK brown malt
0.8 lb. (360 g) Victory® malt
0.8 lb. (360 g) pale chocolate malt
0.8 lb. (360 g) kiln coffee malt
6.25 AAU East Kent Golding hops (60 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 5% alpha acids)
5 AAU East Kent Golding hops (10 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1275 (Thames Valley Ale) or White Labs WLP017 (Whitbread II Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Two or three days before brew day, make a 2-qt. (2-L) yeast starter, aerating the wort thoroughly (preferably with oxygen) before pitching the yeast.

On brew day, mash in the malts at 152 °F (67 °C) in 18 qts. (17 L) of water with 1 tsp. calcium chloride added to the mash, and hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Sparge with 168 °F (76 °C) water until 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort is collected.

Boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops at times indicated in the ingredients list. Chill to 65 °F (18 °C). Oxygenate, then pitch the yeast starter. Ferment at 65 °F (18 °C) for 5 days, then let rise to 68 °F (20 °C) and ferment for 7 days. Rack the beer into keg or secondary. Prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate.

Papa Don’s Brown (English) Porter
By Christopher LaSpada

(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.055 FG = 1.014
IBU = 30 SRM = 29 ABV = 5.6%

Ingredients
5.2 lbs. (2.4 kg) Maris Otter liquid malt extract
0.8 lb. (360 g) torrified wheat
0.8 lb. (360 g) UK brown malt
0.8 lb. (360 g) Victory® malt
0.8 lb. (360 g) pale chocolate malt
0.8 lb. (360 g) kiln coffee malt
6.25 AAU East Kent Golding hops
(60 min.) (1.25 oz./35 g at 5% alpha acids)
5 AAU East Kent Golding hops
(10 min.) (1 oz./28 g at 5% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1275 (Thames Valley Ale) or White Labs WLP017 (Whitbread II Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Two or three days before brew day, make a 2-qt. (2-L) yeast starter, aerating the wort thoroughly (preferably with oxygen) before pitching the yeast.

Use 6 gallons (23 L) of water in the brew kettle; heat to 158 °F (70 °C). Place the malts and grains in a mesh bag, and steep in the hot water for 30 minutes. Remove the mesh bag, then turn the heat off. Add the liquid malt extract and stir thoroughly to dissolve the extract completely. You do not want to feel liquid extract at the bottom of the kettle when stirring with your spoon. Turn the heat back on and bring to a boil. Boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops at the times indicated in the recipe.

Chill to 65 °F (18 °C). Oxygenate, then pitch the yeast starter. Ferment at 65 °F (18 °C) for 5 days, then let rise to 68 °F (20 °C) and ferment for 7 days. Rack the beer into keg or secondary. Prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate.

Tips for Success:
This was Christopher’s first attempt at brewing this recipe, which is a variation of a proven English brown ale recipe with the addition of kiln coffee malt. Creating variations of proven winners is one of Christopher’s proven methods for winning medals. Porters are not technically challenging beers, however be sure to find a good malt balance. He also advises to take the time and spend the money to source proper English malts, hops, and yeast.

Terry Foster, author of Porter (Classic Beer Style) (Brewers Publications, 1998), advises that one reason why porter was historically well-suited to brewing in London was because the city’s water is high in temporary hardness (calcium carbonate). So long as your mash acidity is in the range of pH 5.2–5.5, however, you should be fine.