Oatmeal Robust Porter

29April2009

Poured a 500ml ORP for Esther and I tonight. The head retention has changed dramatically since the 'tester' bottle was opened 10 days in to bottle conditioning. Billowy, dense, and substantive. Poured in to a nonic pint glass, aggressively. The overcarbed beer quickly established a four finger (!!!) head. creamy, dense, dark, with some larger billowing CO2 bubbles and ...black color filled the glass. See? actually, now I look at it, and the edge reveals a dark tan.

actually, now I look at it, and the edge reveals a dark tan. But, see how the dome of foam is forming? Nice lacing is adhering to the glass as its consumed.

Give it some time to get accostomed to its new environs, and the head settles back to a nice persisting minimal cap. another swirl, the aroma yields just the slightest whiff of alcohol, but that's quickly forgotten for the roasted coffee, the darkest of chocolates. nibs. hmmm. is that...almond? just sayin'

Drinks so silky, dark chocolate is talking to you, no acridity at all. a touch too prickly with the high carbonation, swirl it again. wait. let the CO2 come out. let it warm a little. Another taste: there's a suble smokiness coming through. I'm liking this beer alot. Aftertaste leaves a high cacao bitter chocolate on the palate.

wow. I made this?

I did intend to have more hop character, after the cask conditioned porstmouth oatmeal stout, but I bypassed the dry hopping it would have needed.

So, the hop bitterness, its just settling in the background and meldig with the roasted grains. They are front and center, also backed up by the oat mouthfeel. The overcarbonation flaw is easily forgiveable...just swirl the glass a bit, wait for the beer to warm to proper temperature, and you'll forget all about it. A significant improvement over the *extract* oatmeal stout, thought it will always hold a special place in my heart as my first batch of beer.

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Bottled today, 29Mar2009. Great full silky body, chocolatey roasty nose. Finished a little higher due to the high mash tempt (1.020), giving this beer an abv of ~6.5%. The Cascade citrusy flavors and aroma really hit on what I wanted. I should have dry hopped for more fresh Cascade-y-ness. Still, the roasted, full and hoppy flavors really will make this fresh and satisfying. Hoping it'll transport me, Jason and Kev-bot back to a Sunday night at the Jimmy LaPanza lounge, playing shuffleboard, drinking Portsmouth's fresh beers. I won't want to let this beer sit for too long, will be best enjoyed on the young side. I hope that this will make an enjoyable beer to share at the brewmaster's dinner at my upcoming Ommegang weekend.
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Brewed some beer on President's Day. Inspired by Portsmouth's cask conditioned oatmeal stout.
I was (am) sick, so it wasn't really that fun. It was chore-like. I also bottled the tripel IPA during the boil, so maybe the six hour effort left me flat when I was already feeling down. Here's a pic moments after racking to the primary and pitching a sachet of US-05. It really does smell wonderful, given how little I can actually smell. Freshly ground black patent and carafaIII should make this lovely little dark lady delicious. The late Cascade addition added its characteristic grapefruit aroma and terrific hoppy flavor. A thin 1 inch krausen has formed. I didn't aerate this wort, due to frequent chastising on the beeradvocate homebrew forum.



Oatmeal Porter
Robust Porter

Type: All Grain
Date: 2/16/2009
Batch Size: 4.00 gal
Brewer: JC Tetreault
Boil Size: 4.58 gal

8 lbs 8.0 oz Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 66.67 %
2 lbs Oats, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 15.69 %
1 lbs Carafa III (525.0 SRM) Grain 7.84 %
8.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 3.92 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (1.5 SRM) Grain 3.92 %
4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 1.96 %
1.00 oz Fuggles [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 19.1 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [7.10 %] (5 min) Hops 4.9 IBU
1 Pkgs American Ale (Safale#US-05)
Yeast-Ale

Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.085 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.070 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.024 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.020 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.97 %
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.53 %
Bitterness: 24.0 IBU
Calories: 320 cal/pint
Est Color: 56.4 SRM



Total Grain Weight: 12.75 lb
Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F

Add 15.94 qt of water at 170.5 F
158.0 F
Mash out 168F for ten minutes