Home-brew Recipe: Hoppy Boston Porter

One of my favorite beers to drink once the weather gets cold is porter. I love the thick mouthfeel, dark malts and balanced bitterness. Last winter I brewed a big and boozy porter. It was great then and I let some of it age in the bottle for a year, and it’s even better with the added time. Here is the recipe I used:

5 Gallon batch (~3.5 gallon boil)
8 oz. Black Patent malt
8 oz. Chocolate malt
1 lb. Crystal 60L malt
1 lb. CaraPils malt
8 oz. Flaked Barley
6.6 lbs. Briess pilsen light LME
3 lb. Breiss pilsen light DME
2 oz. UK Kent Goldings hops (60 min)
1.0 oz. US Northern Brewer hops (20 min)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 min)
1.0 oz. Fuggles hops (1 min)
White Labs (WY004) Irish Ale yeast
Steep malts 30 min at 120-150 F. Add extracts and bring to a boil. Add hops at times shown.
Primary: 8 days in the bucket
Secondary: 22 days in the glass carboy
After bottling I gave it ~3 weeks to bottle condition before I started drinking.

Hoppy Boston PorterHoppy Boston Porter pours pitch black with a substantial and sustained mocha colored head. The smell starts with some coffee and finishes with some dark fruit, cherry and a touch of plum. The taste is classic for a porter, dark chocolate and espresso, again followed by touches of currant and raisin. There is enough hop bitterness to balance the beer, it isn’t sweet but it isn’t overly bitter either. There is also a noticeable flavor of warming alcohol, perfect for the cold winter nights. The beer has a full mouthfeel and finishes balanced with a touch of tartness. Overall a dark, flavorful and balanced beer, perfect for the cold months ahead.

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