There are some great beers available here in South Florida. But recently, every porter I've had has been too full bodied, too acrid, or too boozy. One of my favorite porters is Black Butte from Deschutes. Its infinitely drinkable. There are great hints of roast and coffee but not overly burnt and overwhelming. The light hop flavor is also a great counter point.
Sadly, the only way I've ever gotten to drink this beer is when my brother brought some home from a trip to South Dakota. Fear not, I can make my own. Like most of the brewing Ideas I get, this recipe is from The Brewing Network's - Can You Brew It. Only modifications I made are Briess light roasted barley in place of American chocolate malt, and Wyeast 1469 instead of the Fuller's strain (Wyeast 1968/ WLP 002). The Fuller's strain is notoriously flocculant, and I don't want to have to worry about it dropping out too early. Also, I'm a big fan of the 1469. It finishes dry but leaves a great fat malt character behind, even in lower gravity beers.
Batch Size: 6 GallonsStarting SG: 1.055
Ending SG: 1.011
App. Atten: 80%
IBU's : 38
ABV: 5.8%
Color: 25 L
Grist:
10 lbs 2 Row
1.5 lbs Wheat Malt
.7 lbs Crystal 80 L
.42 lbs Crisp Chocolate Malt
.42 lbs Briess Light Roasted Barley ~300L
Hops:
.75 oz Galena @ 60 Minutes - 12% AA
.25 oz Cascade @ 30 Minutes - 6% AA
.25 oz Mount Hood @ 5 minutes - 5% AA
Yeast:
Wyeast 1469 - West Yorkshire Ale
1600 L Starter. Refrigerated after activity stopped. Plan to decant and add fresh starter wort on Brew Day.
Brew Strong.
