Pumpernickel Porter

Description:

The beer is complex, to say the least… It has a substantial malt- molasses-and-cocoa nose and my palate was satiated (almost overwhelmed) after one bottle. There are obvious molasses, coffee, and cocoa overtones, but the hop bitterness and flavor are too subtle. The color is a marvelous chocolate-reddish brown, with a beautiful creamy brown head (ala Guinness) which subsides quickly (unfortunately). I think the beer would be improved by cutting the molasses, coffee, and cocoa in half and increase the HBU’s to 11-12. Adding some hops toward the end of the boil for flavor might be a nice addition, although the malt/molasses/cocoa nose is interesting and nice so I would not add aroma hops. The beer is still “green”. Another month in the bottle should improve it.

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds, 2–row pale malt
• 3/4 pound, crystal malt (40L.)
• 1/2 pound, chocolate malt
• 1 pound, flaked rye
• 4 ounces, cocoa powder
• 4 ounces, freshly ground coffee (Costa Rican)
• 1 cup, unsulphured blackstrap molasses
• 8 HBUs, Willamette hops
• Wyeast
• 2/3 cup, corn sugar (priming)

Procedure:

Cook flaked rye for 5 minutes in 1 quart water. Mash-in the grist at 132 with 10 cups water. Adjust pH. Raise temperature to 150, put into oven set at 150 (my oven will allow this). Starch conversion rest for 90 minutes at 150 . Sparge with 4 gallons 180 water. Add Molasses. Boil 90 minutes, one hop addition at 60 minutes before end of boil. After boil, shut off heat, let temperature drop to 195 and add cocoa powder and coffee. Let sit for 10 minutes, then cool the wort (I put the covered pot into a tub of cold water. It cools off within 45 minutes to about 80.) Racked into a carboy, primed with a starter batch of yeast. Fermented in the primary 10 days, secondary for 1 week. Bottled with 2/3 cup dextrose. Age 5 weeks.