Beer Recipe of the Week: Grey Skies Porter

A classic English style, which at one time almost disappeared from the brewing world, was just too delicious to vanish. Utilizing black and chocolate malts instead of roasted barley brings forward a sharp bitterness that mingles with malty sweetness that is most desired in porters. Brew this beer in the beginning of February and enjoy it later the same month.

Style: 12B Robust Porter
Mash: All Grain Volume: 5.5 Gal
OG: 1.062 FG: 1.016%
Alc: 6.1IBU: 42
SRM: 33

Description of this Beer:
Balanced, roasty, and delicious. This beer was designed to be similar to Deschutes's Black Butte Porter, but with "more character." This recipe is fine with slightly more or less bitterness or with slightly less base malt. I have begun experimenting with different yeasts as well - I think it's an all-around great porter recipe to mess around with.

Fermentables Amount & Type of Fementable (grain, extract, sugar, fruit, etc.)
9 lb Maris Otter (fine with US Pale Ale malt, too)
1 lb British Medium Crystal (Domestic 40-80L is fine, too)
1 lb British Pale Chocolate Malt (12 oz Regular British or US Chocolate is a fair sub)
8 oz Belgian Aromatic Malt (Melanoidin Malt works equally well)
8 oz British Extra Dark Crystal Malt (or Domestic 120L)
4-8 oz Carafa Special II (8 will make pitch-black, 4 will make more of a traditional garnet-to-black porter color)

Hops Amount & Type of Hops, %AA, time in boil
.75 oz Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus 16% AA 60 min
.5 oz Willamette 4% AA 15 min

Other Ingredients
1 tablet Whirlfloc
1/4 tsp yeast nutrient

Type of Yeast
Wyeast 1318 (or other British-style yeast)

Directions
60 min mash at 154F
Sparge at 170F
90 min boil
Fermentation temp in mid-range for yeast chosen

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