…we’re preparing to brew a Brown Porter this weekend from a recipe we haven’t used since the 1990s; should I pre-steep the black patent malt in the mash water pre-dough-in, or should I mash it as has been done in the past; or, should I use a de-bittered Carafa black malt?
For 4.20 gallons
6 lbs pale malt
1 lb Dark Munich malt (30L)
12 oz. CaraPils
8 oz. Chocolate Malt
8 oz. Dark Crystal Malt
3.5 oz. Black Patent Malt
I guess it depends on what you want in the porter. For something more smooth, steep or use Carafa Special. For a little more bite, add to the mash. I generally think of porter being more smooth than stout but those are two styles that lack a distinct boundary.
More or less, yeah. In terms of brewing each style, the way I see it, stouts use roasted barley and chocolate, while porters use black patent and chocolate. But that’s just me. The two styles are pretty much the same. I guess if you look at Fuller’s London Porter as the definitive beer of the style, it’s much smoother in flavor than if you take Guinness to be the definite beer of stouts.
Yes, late addition or even cold steeping will give you nice results. I have a small one quart coffee press that I use exclusively for cold steeping and adding to the boil (sometimes very late in the boil or even in the fermenter).
