I want to increase the roasted flavor in my porter. Any suggestions for which grains to add and how much? I do 5 gallon batches. I’m adding some more roasted barley. Any suggestions are appreciated.
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Can you post a recipe of a Porter you made that didn’t have the amount of roast you are looking for? Could be as simple as increasing (or adding) the Roasted Barley, as you say.
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Some recipes just don’t use enough dark roasted grains. I like to aim for at least 10% of the total grist, and in stout I will go as high as 15%. So just be sure the total of all dark grains adds up to approximately 8-12% and you should be in good shape. Here is the recent recipe that I brewed and currently have been enjoying:
Another important factor is how you’re mashing your roast components. If you’re adding all the grains to the mash, then you improve the ability to extract all the flavor from the roast content. If you’re adding the roast separately at the end of the mash, that can result in less flavor and color and a recipe needs to have its roast content increased to reach your flavor and color targets.
The other thing that can diminish roast flavor extraction is if the mashing pH is allowed to fall too low. For best flavor, many brewers have found that keeping the pH in the 5.5 to 5.6 range is desirable.
Roast barley is a good choice for roast since it generally imparts a coffee-like flavor. The other good choice is chocolate malt, if that flavor is desirable in your beer. I’d avoid black malt or black patent since I find that tends to be ashy tasting. Black malt is good for coloring, but not that good for flavor.
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Not to nit pick but it has always been my understanding that roasted barley goes in a stout while porter does not have roasted barley. Flavor wise that has always been my distinction if I taste roast it is not a porter Porter has more chocolate flavors IMO
That said if you want more roasted flavors and aromas use more roasted barley. I would avoid increasing any black patent you may have put in. Actually I have removed all black patent from my stouts and replaced with debittered black malt.
I always felt a little roast goes a long way. I remember reading “years ago” folks loading their beer with roast then aging it to mellow. I always felt most brewpubs overdid roasted barley in their stouts.
just an FYI here is my recipe for an oatmeal stout. I plan on brewing something very similar in the next couple of weeks. I take 1/2 the oatmeal and toast it in the oven at 375F. I will either use MO or GP as my base malt
In addition to adding the roast at the beginning of the mash, consider what Chocolate malt you are using. All Chocolate malt is not all the same (for example Briess ≈ 350°L, BlackSwaen ≈ 400°L, Baird ≈ 500°L). I suggest trying the same percentage but a darker roast vs a higher percentage of what you’re using now.
In general, I use Chocolate + Brown malt in Porter. Stout gets Chocolate + Roast.
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I agree, it’s all a matter of taste. But I use Brown Malt in my porter. It adds a very nice roasted flavor. The amount I use is about 8% Brown Malt and 5% Chocolate Malt.
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I use some dehusked Carafa II in my porter, about 5%. It is not as harsh as Black Patent or Black Barley. It adds roasty flavor to the beer as well as some coffee notes. My porter also uses about 5% chocolate rye malt which also adds some roasty notes and a bit of peppery notes (mine is basically a rye porter)
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Yes Brown malt is wonderful in a Porter or stout