Best in Show Brown Porter

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite style of beer is my response is always, "a brown ale". Quite simply the toasted and lightly roasted malt flavors balanced with a light hop flavor is what I crave to drink everyday. Looking back at my blog over the last (almost) three years I've brewed eight different brown ales using everything from buckwheat and wild rice to ancho chilies and chicory.  The first batch of home brew I ever brewed (September 8th 2006) was an English Brown Ale kit, five years later this post represents my 163rd batch of home brew on my journey to understanding the art and science of brewing. This brown ale sits at the intersection of brown and porter.

For the Tap Vermont tasting I presented this beer as, "An English inspired brown ale brewed with an array of specialty malts creates a garnet, russet colored ale with a biscuit, toffee, and chocolate flavor and aroma. Brewed with a new hop variety, Delta, an American grown descendant of traditional English hop varieties that lends an earthy backdrop for this toasty, malty, Mild."

Brown Porter

Briess Pale Malt

TF Brown Malt

Aromatic Malt

Flaked Barley

TF Crystal 45

TF Pale Chocolate

mash 154*f

Super Galena    :60   pellet   

Delta                :10   pellet

12.7*P (1.051sg)

Safale US-05

Judging

Aroma

#1- Roast and toasted malts up front. A little over the top. No hop aroma. No DMS. No diacetyl. Low fruity esters. No alcohol.

#2- Heavy roasted malts with toasted malts. No hop aroma.

Appearance

#1- Dark amber. Clear. Dense tan head with good retention.

#2- Good color with persistent head. Off white to tan in color.

Flavor

#1- Chocolate malt. No hop flavor. Low bitterness leaves a malty barely sweet finish, well balanced for a Brown Porter. Some caramel, bit of toast. No DMS. No diacetyl.

#2- Chocolate malt appears to dominate with caramel malts balancing out the chocolate. Medium to low bitterness with low hop flavor.

Mouthfeel

#1- Medium body and mouthfeel

#2- Appropriate body to style with no alcohol. No astringency. Carbonation is great.

Overall Impression

#1- Very drinkable well made example of a Brown Porter. Roast/toasted malts a bit high in aroma otherwise no problems. Just a hint of added bitterness and some hop flavor would add to depth of character.

#2- A well made brown porter. Balanced nicely with the malts. Drinkable, maybe increase hop flavor a tad but otherwise well made.

#1- Grand Master IV  39/50

#2- Non-BJCP           37/50

Overall 38/50---Excellent (38-44)

1st Place in category winning Best in Style also
Winning Best in Show at the Delaware State Fair Home Brew Competition

Needless to say I was ecstatic, elated and down right excited with the results. Next batch I'll up the ten minute hop addition to bring more "depth of character" as one judge said. The two hundred and fifty dollar prize is nice but the real joy is in my creation being blind tasted and judged to be the most delicious beer on that particular day (over 200+ beers entered). A priceless pat on the back for the work I've put in over the last five years burning the candle on both ends brewing ridiculous amounts of research and development batches at home while brewing professionally by day. 

Still trying to crack this Oatmeal Stout egg?

Stouts, especially Oatmeal stout are mysterious, full bodied, roasty, deliciousness. With this next batch for the To Style Series I brewed an Oatmeal Stout that I entered into two stout sub categories, Oatmeal Stout 13c and Dry Stout 13a. The results were a bit surprising.

Oatmeal Stout
Briess Two Row         53%
Flaked Oats               14%
Oat Malt                     7%
TF Roasted Barley      7%
TF Chocolate Malt      7%
TF Crystal 45              7%
Melanoidin Malt           5%

mash 152*f

Super Galena  :60    .5 oz.
Delta              :10      1 oz.

15.4*P (1.061sg)
Safale US-05

Judging

Entered in category 13 c Oatmeal Stout

Aroma

#1-Some coffee. Mild Roast character. Low hop aroma. Mild fruity ester. No diacetyl. Clean

#2-Roasty, Coffee, Sweet Malt.

Appearance

#1-Black color, ruby highlights, clear. Light brown head with moderate retention.

#2-Dark Brown/Black color. Good head/carb

Flavor

#1-A high level of roast character. Finish is dry from high roast level. Some malt sweetness in background. Moderate hop bitterness. Balance is toward roast but malty sweetness is not far behind.

#2-Roasty but to the point of being burnt, astringent. Don't get too much oat, silky, smooth flavor per the style

Mouthfeel

#1-Medium body. Light astringency from roast malt.

#2-Medium body. Sweet but not too creamy.

Overall Impression

#1-A very roasty yet sweet example of an Oatmeal Stout. Clean fermentation character. Try reducing roast malt addition and increasing body to bring this beer more in style. Needs more creaminess.

#2-ok, drinkable beer. A bit too much roast which leaves more of a burnt flavor vs. a silky chocolate coffee sweetness. Watch use of black malt, try de-husked dark malts instead. Mash at 152-154*f

#1-Certified  29/50

#2-Certified  25/50

Overall 27/50---Good (21-29)

Same beer entered as a Dry Stout in category 13a with the same judges.

Aroma

#1-Some roasty coffee aroma, light malt sweetness, slight fruity esters. No diacetyl. No hop aroma.
#2-Big roasty, coffee rich nose. Slightly burnt.

Appearance
#1-Black color, clear with garnet highlights. Low tan head with with low retention.
#2-Black color, opaque, tight bubble tan head with medium retention.

Flavor
#1-Moderate to high roasted malt character. Slightly burnt but not astringent. Dry, unsweetened chocolate. Clean fermentation quality. Some light fruit esters. Finished somewhat sweet with a roasty balance.
#2-Roasty malty but not as strong as the aroma was. Slightly bitter with chocolate aftertaste. Hop/malt background noticed. Smooth

Mouthfeel
#1-Medium to light body with low carbonation. Slight roast malt astringency but not overwhelming.
#2-Medium to light body. Dry finish but not too harsh.

Overall Impression
#1-A roasty, sweet, light bodied example of a dry stout. Could use a little more body. Try mashing higher. Clean well attenuated. Good job.
#2-Nice, drinkable beer. Big aroma with smooth balance with roast and malt. Might benefit from more roasty, coffee flavor.

#1-Certified 33/50
#2-Certified 33/50

Overall 33/50---Very Good (30-37)

Clearly if I want this recipe to be an oatmeal stout I must create more body. First step for next batch will be to raise the mash temperature up to 154-156*f from 152*f. I've been experimenting with Oatmeal stouts at home the last couple of years with some success but still missing the elusive full body character present in some of the best examples. At this point I think it's more than just a higher finishing gravity and it's not necessarily just oats in any form (flaked, malted, steel cut) that gives the necessary body. My next batch of Oatmeal stout will also contain some flaked barley and bumping up the melanoidin malt addition to help give the tongue something to hold onto. It also appears the roast character needs to be dialed back a little bit and/or I need to look into making water adjustments. I find it interesting that this beer scored higher as a dry stout than the oatmeal stout style I was aiming for. I think this illustrates the subtle differences in processes and ingredients that can separate styles.

Robust Smoked Porter

Next up in the to style series was a beer brewed for the other smoked beer style category 22b. With this category you can basically brew any base style and add smoked malt. Judges are looking for a balance of smoke in the base style and how the smoke blends into the balance of the style. Now I enjoy the smokiest of beers ie: Schlenkerla where many of the beers have nearly one hundred percent smoked malt but many people don't enjoy drinking liquid bacon cooked in a campfire. This robust porter was brewed with only a modest amount of smoked malt accounting for 25% of the overall grist bill.

For the Tap Vermont tasting I presented this robust smoked porter as, "Test Batch #161- This robust porter brewed with traditional German smoked malt creates a background of, bacon. Before the advent of in-direct fire malting techniques all beer had a smokey character. Brewed with English barley malt, pale chocolate malt, crystal malt, and flaked barley this 19th century London inspired ale transports you to another time." People enjoyed this beer but didn't love it. Many had never had a smoked ale before and enjoyed the barbecue flavors blending with the roastiness of the robust porter.


     Robust Smoked Porter
Briess Two Row
Best Smoked Malt      25%
TF Roasted Barley      8%
TF Pale Chocolate       8%
TF Crystal 45              7%
Flaked Barley              7%

mash 152*f

Super Galena  :75   .7oz pellet
Delta              :5      1 oz pellet

15.2*P (1.061sg)
Safale US-05

Judging 

Aroma

#1-Very Roasty - coffee, dark chocolate followed by a noticeable but not excessive smokyness

#2-Heavy chocolate & roasted malt; smoke is present, layers in nose, no diacetyl

Appearance

#1-Black nearly opaque, mahogany hues, thick tan head with good retention, legs, and lace work

#2-Black, opaque beer with nice clingy brown tan head

Flavor

#1-Lots of roast malt flavor, coffee, and dark chocolate. Lingering hop flavor in finish and aftertaste.

#2-Very rich chocolate initially, then complemented by smokyness; hops hard to distinguish from overwhelming chocolate flavor. Heavily malt flavored with little yeast character; no diacetyl

Mouthfeel

#1-thin body, moderate carbonation level. Some warming from alcohol

#2-Creamy and full bodied beer with no astringency. Slight alcohol warmth.

Overall Impression

#1-Well made beer, the smoke is not excessive. The roast malt is a tad strong for me maybe reduce roast slightly or replace with chocolate or de-bittered black malt. Raise mash temp.

#2-Interesting beer, I enjoyed it. Beer would benefit from less extreme chocolate slant, unless you were looking to develop a chocolate porter. Probably needs a cooler mash temp to loosen that body some.

#1-Professional Brewer  31/50

#2-Recognized               31/50

Overall 31/50---Very Good (30-37)

2nd Place in Category 22