mash temp for porter

I plan for less attenuation when doing darker beers but I usually get less than I want. Is it necessary to mash above 154 for a porter if it is naturally less fermentable? I am thinking about mashing lower to find a compromise.

49% Pale
29% Munich
8% brown malt
8% crystal
6% chocolate

I feel like the answer is in your question. If you want more attenuation then by all mean mash lower.

NO RULES!

Haha yeah I tend to do that. I don’t brew many dark beers. Am I correct in that it will be naturally less fermentable from the dark/roasted malts correct?

+1.  If you really like that grist, then take good notes and keep trying until you hit that magic mash temp.

yes, I find darker malts to provide more unfermentables. I’m always surprised by how low my AA% can get with lots of roast in the grist. my session stout is 1.040ish to 1.015ish with irish ale or dry english.

+1.  Plus, most porters or stouts (non-Irish) have a decent amount of crystal as well.

Okay thanks guys. Most of my beers are highly attenuated and finish under 1.010. I obviously don’t want that for a porter but also don’t want under 70% apparent attenuation.

I have not noticed any attenuation problems from dark roasted malts.  Attenuation is more dependent on the mash temperature and time, and the yeast strain used.  Often times, a porter or stout will specify use of English or Irish strains of yeast.  These typically are poor attenuators.  So, consider whether the yeast is more your “problem” than anything else.

Also consider that some folks like me mash ALL their beers low at 148-151 F.  It’s just what I like best, and might be what you like too.

Thanks.

For the most part, I mash between 148 and 152. Seems like I should go with the norm and see what I get. I will be using S04 for this batch which seems to get me about 80% apparent attenuation with my current practices.

I went through the phase where I wanted lower attenuation and I finally came to the conclusion that it was not the way to great beer. If I want a sweeter beer, I reduce the bittering. If I want fuller body, I include unmalted wheat, rye, or barley (typically flaked). Chasing low attenuation just doesn’t seem to be a good method.

In addition, I know that most commercial brewers pursue higher attenuation and they alter those other aspects of the recipe (like I mention above) to achieve the flavor and balance they want. In addition, this method is a win-win for the brewer since it improves drinkability while producing similar flavor and reduces the amount of grain and hops in the recipe.

(I forgot to add changing the yeast strain to the list of variables for balance) :wink:

+1 to all of this.

I mashed the Porter that’s now in my primary at 152*F. Of course, I do it cause I was told to. Not because of the great reasoning above. LOL

How’s your water? Roasted grains can lower your mash pH. I’m wondering if it’s getting low enough to affect conversion for you.

I have no idea…haha. I got a water report but it doesn’t seem to list what brewers expect. I can tell you that my efficiency is below average but I haven’t been able to figure out why. I suspect it could be water or mash ph since the other usual suspects I think I have addressed adequately. As I mentioned I don’t do many dark beers but the last one I did seemed to be right around my average efficiency. With as many batches as I have brewed and all the experience I have gained I am still novice although the quality of my beers has increased.

Water is definitely something that needs to be addressed.

I find that when I brew my robust porter, my efficiency is actually slightly higher than my average.  I don’t do water adjustments (I’ve tried PH 5.2 Stabilizer but it doesn’t work with my N. Illinois water) and I’ve just started using a smidgen of freshly ground coffee beans to my mash which has a pH of less than 5.  The coffee may be the reason why I get a better efficiency with my porter.

this likely points to higher than optimal mash pH in the normal course of things. the dark grain and the coffee lower the pH of your mash into acceptable ranges.

You are right.  With my other brews, I don’t seem to be able to get my mash pH lower than 5.6.

My efficiency was very bad but the sample tasted great. I feel like it is going to have the perfect roast quality for what I like.

My efficiency has slowly been declining over the past few months which i don’t understand. I was getting around 70% and now I seem lucky to hit 65%

Do you carbon filter your water? I experienced this a few years ago and changed the filter and it went back up…must have been that damned chlorine. Although now I use RO water and build a profile because my water is really hard.

With that being said…over the years, I’ve  learned efficiency isn’t that important to me. I’ve learned to focus my efforts elsewhere, which really took my beer to the level I want. Good water, good Sanitization, and healthy yeast (pitch rate, temp, and oxygenation) …and patience make great beer.

If you have these nailed down, you can play around all you want with water chemistry, mash temps, new yeast or hops and be confident in the outcome.

I have not addressed water due to laziness mainly. That will be my next step at some point soon hopefully. The water report that I got back seemed to be missing many important components including pH.

Most of my beers have been coming out good for my tastes but I can rarely predict accurate OGs when doing a new recipe. That is the main issue I have with my efficiency. There are only a few recipes that I brew regularly and those seem to be repeatable.