Hello Everyone,
I’m looking to brew NB’s Dry Dock Urca Vanilla Porter in a couple of weeks (AG version). This will be my first time brewing a porter, I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions for someone brewing this style for the first time.
[quote=“Dan S”]Hello Everyone,
I’m looking to brew NB’s Dry Dock Urca Vanilla Porter in a couple of weeks (AG version). This will be my first time brewing a porter, I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions for someone brewing this style for the first time.[/quote]
I brew porters a lot, there isn’t much that you would need to change than a regular beer. Only thing I see is usually you can drink them a little greener than most beers. They usually have really good flavors early on. If you are brewing a kit nothing should be out of the ordinary.
Watch so your mash pH does not go too low. I prefer baking soda for adding bicarbs to offset the dark malt acidity. Very soluble and the sodium compliments the roast malt flavor.
It kind of goes without saying but IMO for a Robust Porter the key is the balance between the roast flavors and the caramel sweetness/malt flavor. You have a bit of leeway with the bitterness and roasted malts tend to accentuate the perception of bitterness anyway. I would recommend using at least 2 different roasted grains and about the same amount of crystal malt as the roasted grains. I like to make mine around 1.060 so that they can be a little more intense with the roast and not seem out of balance.
Hops can be English or American - I really prefer English b/c they meld with the overall beer flavor more and don’t cover up the roast aromatics as much. I use a blend of EKG and N. Brewer as a late addition.
You can use English or American yeast but they will make really different beers and you may have to tweak the grain bill around depending on which yeast you choose. English yeast tends to add to the malt impression and take the edge off of the roasted grain but you’re going to get more esters too. I prefer to go with 1056.
