Batch 11, Black Diamond Porter

Batch #11, February 12, 2005, sort of a Black Butte Porter clone.

Malt extract:
7 1/2 pounds amber gold extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
6 oz chocolate malt
6 oz black patent malt
8 oz honey malt
8 oz crystal malt 10L
4 oz toasted barley (I got something similar, should have wrote it down...)

Other:
8 oz malto-dextrin, for body

Hops:

1 1/2 oz Galena	60 min
1 oz Cascade	30 min
1 oz Tettnanger	5 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1338, European Ale yeast

OG: 1.060 (Black Butte Porter is 1.058 on the Deschutes web page, so I'm pretty close.)
FG: 1.022 (the recipe says 1.020, so again, pretty close.)

Steep the grains in boil pot for 30 minutes at 156 F, sparge, remove.
Add malt extract and malto-dextrin.
Hop per schedule.
1 tsp Irish moss at 10 min.

Kegged: February 27, 2005

Comments: The beer appears to be very clear. I stirred in some plain gelatin (dissolved in a cup of boiled water) on the 25th, then let it set for 2 days before kegging. This seems to have done a good job in getting out the particulates. The FG seemed high, until I remembered to check the actual recipe, and found I'm quite close. The recipe actually says OG 1.060, FG 1.020.

The sample that I took for the hydrometer was quite tasty, so this is one I'm looking forward to drinking. Batch 9 is close to gone, Batch 10 has been conditioning for a week, so it's about ready to drink, so this one can have a few weeks of conditioning.

Tapped: March 13, 2005
I stopped by Larry's on Mar 12 and picked up a second picnic tap so I can pour from two kegs at once. This batch is quite good, very clear, and pretty close to the flavor of Black Butte Porter.

Batch 10, Cascade Pale Ale

Batch #10, February 6, 2005, same as batch #7.

Malt extract:
6 3/4 pounds amber gold extract (bulk)

Malted grain:
1 pound crystal malt 20L

Hops:

1 oz Perle	60 min
1/2 oz Nugget	30 min
1/2 oz Nugget	10 min
1 oz Cascade	7 days
1/2 oz Mt. Hood	7 days

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056, American ale yeast

OG: 1.046
FG: 1.004

Kegged: February 20, 2005

Comments: Really good recipe, it gets better the longer it sits. It really needs to condition in the keg for at least 2 weeks to reach optimum flavor. I think the hops are just right, and since the Moose recipe always leaves 1/2 oz of the Mt. Hood hops left over, this fits well to eliminate any waste.

Attempting better clarity: Two days prior to kegging (Friday night, I kegged on Sunday night), I boiled a cup of water, let it cool, then stirred in 1 packet of plain Knox gelatin. I siphoned the beer out of the fermenter to my bottling bucket, passing the beer through a strainer to catch any loose hops, cleaned out the fermenter, then siphoned the beer back, again, through the strainer. Then stirred in the gelatin mixture. The gelatin is supposed to help any suspended particulates gather and sink to the bottom, the gelatin should also help the sediment stay on the bottom. When I siphoned from the fermenter to the keg, the beer did look very clear. This variety should be clear, the last batches have been somewhat cloudy.

Tapped: March 5, 2005 Clarity is pretty good, but I'm thinking it could still be clearer. The dry hopping is probably the culprit in why it is not as clear as it could be. Batch 11 came out very clear, although it is less obvious with a Porter.