This is from Jamil’s Robust Porter recipe in Brewing Classic Styles. I’ve brewed it once or twice before, but I believe it’s the first time I’ve brewed it with extract.

Dark roasted grains are a lot of fun to brew with. It doesn’t take much to bring a batch of base malt some big, bold flavors. Each grain is pretty complex in flavor, so a couple of them bring a lot to taste in this beer.

The ferment was steady and fast. After 1 week, it slowed down a lot, so I took a gravity reading. It was within 3-5 points of the goal, so I got a little nervous it was going to over-ferment and get thin. I cold-crashed it a couple of days later, after it reached target gravity.

This beer has calculated to 8% ABV, which I think is a bit high for it. Early on, the alcohol was a bit hot. As of this writing, it seems to be mellowing. I think I learned that 2 weeks in the fermentor, even for 3 gallons, is bare minimum.

I’ll get a glass of it now…let’s see what we have:

Chocolate on the nose. Spicy on the tongue…some tingling. A bit harsh, but smoother than it was a couple of days ago. Earthiness…almost reminds me of root beer without sweetness. Decent mouthfeel. Certainly in the Porter range, not stout. Dark brown color.

Definitely some lingering heat. I hope that mellows as it ages.

Note to self: tweak recipe to reduce base malt to lower ABV a couple of points.