Piatz’s Historic Porter

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.082  FG = 1.012 IBU = 76  SRM = 65  ABV = 9.0%

Ingredients

8.75 lbs. (4.0 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.21 lbs. (0.54 kg) aromatic malt
1.58 lbs. (0.71 kg) crystal malt (40 °L)
0.48 lbs. (0.21 kg) chocolate malt
0.12 lbs. (0.05 kg) roasted barley
0.48 lbs. (0.21 kg) black patent malt
13.5 AAU Northern Brewer hops (90 min.) (1.53 oz./43 g of 8.8% alpha acids)
13.5 AAU Northern Brewer hops (20 min.) (1.53 oz./43 g of 8.8% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1026 (British Cask Ale) or White Labs WLP022 (Essex Ale) yeast White Labs WLP645 Brettanomyces claussenii

Step by Step

Mash at 153 °F (67 °C) with 1.33 quarts of water per pound of grain (2.8 L/kg). Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 70 °F (21 °C). The original batch was fermented with Brewtek CL-160 yeast and a Brewtek Brettanomyces strain was added after five days. You can use the English ale and Brettanomyces strains suggested above or ones of your choice. The beer was about 14 months old when it took 1st place at the 1999 AHA National Homebrew Competition. (Note: the extract efficiency in the original recipe is 90%; adjust the grain bill to match your system. For more on historic porter, see Steve’s article, “Brewing with Brettanomyces,” in the October 2005 issue of BYO.)