Brown porter is a lovely low alcoholic beer that serves as a refreshment after a hard day of work. This is the BIAB recipe, but you can adjust it to fit any brewing method you use.
Although you can expect the lower bitterness in original English Porters, (IBU below 30), I thought that increasing the IBU could make the brown porter more interesting to my preference, as I usually prefer bitter and hoppy beers.
However, you can drop the IBU if you want more of a traditional style. Northern Brewer hops fit quite well with stouts and porters and leaves the touch of earthy-minty aroma which I find lovely.
ABV 4.4 – 4.8 %
OG 1.044-1.048
Desired FG – 1.012
IBU 40
This is the exact recipe I used the last time for brewing 5 gallons (19 liters) of beer.
Ingredients
- 6.2 lbs. 3.020 kg (75%) - Maris Otter Base Malt
- 0.9 lb. 0.410 kg (10%) - Brown Malt
- 0.9 lb. 0.410 kg (10%) - Crystal Malt (60 Lovibond)
- 0.44 lb. 0.200 kg (5%) - Chocolate Malt
- 0.7 oz, 20 grams (50%) - Northern Brewer (for bittering)
- 0.7 oz, 20 grams (50%) - Northern Brewer (for aroma)
- Fermentis Saf Ale S-04 (1 package)
Instructions
- Mashing- Put 40% water of total volume you plan to brew in the kettle and bring it to 152.6°F (67°C), then put the brewing bag full of grains in. The temperature should stay as close to the anchor point as possible for 60 minutes, but if it raises or lowers for up to 3 degrees it's not a big deal, just try to anchor it for majority of time. Ensure there are no dry spots within the bag, so stir the grains during first couple of minutes.
- Squeeze the bag- Take the bag out and squeeze it inside the rest of wort to extract the absorbed wort and thus release trapped sugars. When you feel you squeezed most of liquid out of it, rinse the inside of the bag with extra water from above and squeeze again.
- Top up the volume- By now, you should have more than 40% of wort in the kettle (some evaporated, but you just rinsed the bag and that water is now inside the kettle). Add the remaining water to reach the desired volume (if you follow the exact recipe measures then it's 5 gallons)
- Boiling- Increase the temperature so the wort starts boiling and then add the bittering hops addition for 60 minutes (hops are added when the wort is already boiling, don't add any sooner). By the end of boiling (12 minutes) add the second addition of hops for aroma.
- Cool the wort and pitch yeast- After cooling the wort to the temperature that is safe for yeast, pitch it and let it ferment at 68°F (20°C). A few degrees below this temperature is also fine, but ideally you shouldn't go above to avoid strong esters and alcoholic taste.
- Primary fermentation- Saf Ale S-04 is a rapid fermenting yeast which will most likely result in a finished fermentation in 3-4 days. However, keep the beer in primary for a few extra days to let the yeast work and improve it.
- Priming- Use dextrose (corn sugar) and aim for 2.0-2.4 Co2 Levels (I like sparky beers, but traditionally 2.0 levels fit brown porters better, so make your own decision)
