Sunday, July 09, 2006

Packs-A-Punch Porter

Yesterday morning I brewed a batch of beer for the first time in quite a while. It was a kit (I'm not a full mash guy) from Midwest Homebrewing Supplies - Packs-a-Punch Porter. It included not only six pounds of light extract, but also 3.3 pounds of porter extract. I hadn't used porter extract before - the stuff looked more or less like a cannister full of tar. I was afraid to get it near my white counters.

Here you can see it bubbling on the stove. It would be more amusing to see it bubbling out of the pot and all over my stove and the horrified expression on my face when it did (it's been a while since I had a boilover) - but at that point I was scrambling to get it off the burner before carmelized sugar leaked into places I couldn't reach it.

So...details - Saturday, July 8:
6# Light LME
3.3# Porter extract
8 oz. caramel 120 grain
4 oz. chocolate malt
4 oz. black malt
2 oz. Tettnang hops (bittering)
1 oz. Willamette hops (aroma)
Wyeast Londa Ale (#1028)

It wasn't percolating yet today, but it's fairly chilly downstairs, so it might take a while. The beer of choice for drinking while brewing (always a necessity - you must drink from a previous batch while creating a new one) was a Java Stout from December 2004. It was perfect...even chilled it had a great carbonation level, and the taste was exceptional - I always add a stronger batch of coffee to my coffee beers, and it gives it more body. It's particularly good that it turned out so well, because the IPA I brewed last time tastes a little off, like there was too much heat in the room while it was in the carboy - that'll always trigger a funny taste. I got the same taste with my Anchor-style ale the one time, which is an ale done with a lager yeast, which expects a lower temp (but is done at a higher temp, ale style) - carmel-ly and slick, to the point of overriding the hops - for a hophead, that's never a good thing.

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