So I had a recently acquainted homebrewer stop by to hang out with me during a brew day. I already got my mash started as he came strolling up, and he thinks my recipe is crap. “Not what a Baltic porter is, if you were in the ball park I wouldn’t say anything but you are in the parking lot not the stadium.” To late now right? Now I am out for 2-20th opinions. I had the my LHBS owner help me with this one…
So brew day is all done - #48 Attempt to a Baltic Porter
23.2L/6.1 Gal
66.7% Maris Otter
20.3% Munich 10L
5.8% Flaked Wheat
2.9% Chocolate (350)
2.9% Black Malt
1.4% Medium Crystal
Since you asked, the Maris Otter sticks out to me as something non-traditional, e.g., would probably not be used in the Baltic republics or Sweden. Probably not a big deal when it is tasted.
hoping that 8oz in 6 gallons won’t be too bad, but I just looked up info on the Bairds website says there black malt is EBC1200-1500 so that’s 609-761SRM? or am I calculating that wrong? which changed the SRM to 33
So the consensus is that so far the roasted character “may?” be too high for the style, and the base malt is inappropriate. I assumed the rich nutty toasted English character as a base malt would be appropriate in the beer. Also thanks stevie - L not SRM. Just another opportunity to laugh at myself… I am still learning.
The one baltic porter that I brewed was basically an imperial schwarzbier. The only roasted malt was carafa special. I am not sure how ‘to style’ my version was either but it seemed to match the guidelines.
It’s not how I would probably design my recipe but I don’t see anything that strikes me as not making a good beer. Tell your homebrewer friend to STFU and RDWHAHB.
42 IBUs seems like way too much. Also should be a fuller sweeter beer IMHO so more crystal or even some lactose may be in order. Recipe looks alright otherwise, assuming it doesn’t turn out overly roasty as the others stated.
42 IBUs seems much to me, too. You generally want to match the gravity to the IBUs in terms of where in the range you go. For instance, If you are at the low end of the OG range, you want to be at the low end of the IBU range too. Same with matching middle and high end of each range. That helps keep the balance in check.
As mentioned, traditionally, Munich & Vienna were used instead of 2 row, and you want to go with debittered black malt instead of black patent. This seems more like an Imperial Robust porter or even a stout as opposed to a Baltic. Doesn’t mean it won’t be good. Just means that it will be at the edges of the style, and that’s ok.
Don’t let anyone discourage you. The important thing is to make it and taste it and adjust the things that you want to change. The more practice you get doing that, the easier it becomes to think of a target and put together the ingredients that will hit that. Even then, there are times that the mix tastes nothing like what you thought it would, but it ends up being even better than what you were aiming for.
So beersmith usually calculates off of the tinseth equation. Which I read is better for hop utilization when using pellets, and Rager equation when using whole leaf. The rager equation is the 41.5IBU. Otherwise I am right at the just ever so slightly higher IBUs to OG in the beersmith style guide. The only thing in the red - so to speak - is the color.
This recipe ended at a BU:GU of 0.43
(Based on Tinseth method)
High end of the style is 0.44 @40IBU/1.090OG
Low end of the style is 0.33 @20IBU/1.060OG
I do think that it may end up a little stouty, but that is just based on the CO2 after smell in my “wish I had a beer cave - but I live in a flood zone” beer office
I don’t think the BUs are out of range. Styles too often kill creativity. Books like “BCS” are the harbinger of doom to delicious beers. What fun is it if all your beers taste the same? I just don’t get it.
Obviously there are things that DON’T belong in beer (like pumpkin spice ) but brewing is about having fun. Not glamming to styles. IMO.
I have to disagree with you there. I have brewed about 20 of the BCS recipes and have made some fantastic beers that way. It’s great to have a good starting point to brew any BJCP style with proven recipes. Once you brew the “standard” of a certain style, then you can start to tweak and change a recipe, or even just make up your own.
That said, I’ve been brewing fairly loosely lately, not being too concerned about hitting a certain style. This weekend I brewed two batches with all homegrown hops, which is kind of a crap shoot. I think both batches are going to be great. In fact, one will certainly be the Schiznitte (Sterling, Chinook, Zeus, Willamette).
Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with brewing to style, I just don’t want us to all be brewing the exact same recipes and thinking anything different is “wrong” per se. If you are trying to brew a Helles and you have 20 different types of malts and centennial hops you are certainly doing it wrong. But if your bitterness is on the high range of you RIS that doesn’t mean you missed the style completely.
Smells like strong CO2  . Took a gravity and tasted it. It’s malty, but astringent like dark english tea. Slight coffee, and I get nothing in the way of hops. Those floaties, the look like seeds, pulled some out with a sanitized spoon and they are hard as rocks, but if you look closely the translucent material? Is that hop material or a formation of some kind?
) but brewing is about having fun. Not glamming to styles. IMO.