The Second Porter

Here's a past batch of porter.
Nice traditional American dark beer!

Last month I wrote a post called “Two Porters” – I had bottled a version of honey porter and just brewed a second.  On Saturday, I bottled that second one, just in time as it turns out, because I have given away all of the other.  The brew cellar is still full, however; the batch of “Super Saison” is down there bottle conditioning as well.

In that post (dated 12/16/2013 if you’re interested in looking back for it) I mentioned that the second honey porter is actually an adjustment to a Pumpkin Spice Porter kit that I had bought in the fall and never brewed according to the recipe.  

Here’s a description:

This seasonal release autumn ale is the perfect companion to the changing season – from harvest to the holidays!  The recipe starts with Briess CBW Porter base extract partnered with caramel 90L, Carabrown and dark chocolate steeping grains.  To spice things up we added cinnamon, allspice and a hin of ginger.  The selected hop additions provide a mild balance in bitterness and this ale is fermented with Safale S-04 premium yeast.

Of course, I substituted Virginia Shenandoah Valley honey for the spice pack, following all the other directions in this kit.  The hops here are Northern Brewer and Willamette – these should combine for a mild hop flavor, although I read that the Northern Brewer may portend notes of black currant.  Oh, look at me ramblin’ again.

The recipe said this starts at approximately 1.060 O.G., and I read it as 1.019 when I bottled it Saturday.  That yields to 5.5% ABV, which is about where I like to see my beers come out.  So two weeks in the bottle and we’ll be ready to roll with this one!