Porter Day

So I finally gave in and set up a blog to record my brew sessions. Before doing this I had to seriously ask myself, "who really gives a fuck about what I have to say?" I still haven't come up with an answer to that question but I know I give a fuck. Its been decided that I needed some sort of forum to keep track of all the deliciousness (sort of) I've been brewing up in the kitchen of my small one bedroom apartment.

Anyway, not too long ago I decided that instead of brewing up crazy stuff with a bunch of unconventional ingredients, I should stick with traditional styles and try staying relatively close to the BJCP guidelines for the particular style. Mastering the classics and then adding my own tweaks will probably be the best way to go. Today I brewed up a robust porter. Here's the recipe:

8 lbs Marris Otter
8 oz Crystal 60
8 oz Honey Malt
12 oz Pale Chocolate
12 oz Chocolate
4 oz Black Patent

1 oz Northern Brewer @ 60 min
1/2 oz Northern Brewer @ 20 min
1/2 oz Northern Brewer @ flameout

1 packet Safale US-05 rehydrated

I was hoping to mash at 155F, but I checked the temp after 15 minutes and it had risen to 160F. Too hot. After adding about a quart of cool water, the temp leveled out to about 151F for the duration. After the boil my OG was 1.051, lower then I had wanted. That's alright, I wanted this one to be a little more sessionable than my last two batches. I put the carboy in a water bath that I'm trying to maintain at 65F by putting a frozen gallon jug of water in every day. Its melting alot faster than I had anticipated. Hopefully it still helps. I'll report back once fermentation starts. Now I'm off to bed.