Black Cat Porter Label

Latest Attempts: Black Cat Porter II (#61) and Spiced Winter Porter (#62)

I'm not superstitious, but what else should I call a Porter brewed on Friday the 13th?! My cousin Peter Chocholak came over to practice making a Porter for the California Homebrewers' Association Festival in Temecula on May 1st. We will be serving our beer from our club's booth at the fest, so stop by (you have to join the CHA to go though).

This beer went much faster than the Weizenbock last July. We probably became more efficient with our brewing set up. We also discovered that we have a 15 lb. grain limit since the mash went right up to the lip of the cooler I use for the sparging. How will I ever be able to do an all grain barley wine now?! Oh well, I'll have to buy more brewing equipment ;-).

Black Cat Porter:

• 12 lbs. of 2-row UK pale malt
• 1 lb. chocolate malt.
• 1 lb. crystal malt--110 degrees Lovibond (dark)
• 1 lb. crystal malt--75 degrees Lovibond (light)

• 4 lbs.2 oz. Amber Dry Malt Extract

• 4 oz. Fuggles hops (4.2 % AAUs) boiled for 60 min.
• 1 oz. Cascade hops last 15 min. finishing

BREWING SPECIFICATIONS:

• Whitelabs British Ale Yeast
• 5 days primary fermentation at 70 degrees
• 2 weeks secondary fermentation at 65-70 degrees
• Original Gravity=1.056
• Terminal Gravity=1.020
• Bottled on March 5, 2004

Black Cat Porter 2005

• Pitching temp. 65 degrees
• 7 day primary fermentation at 65 degrees
• 10 day Secondary fermentation at 70 degrees
• Original Gravity = 1.053
• Terminal Gravity = 1.0?
• Bottled on

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  Spiced Winter Porter (#62) additions

  HOPS:
  • 2 oz. Fuggles hops (4.2% AAUs) boiled for 60 min.
  • 1 oz. Galena hops (11% AAUs) boiled for 30 min.
  • 1 oz. Fuggles hops plugs (finishing) boiled for 10 min.
  DISTINCTIVE INGREDIENTS (OG was only 1.043, so I added a mini 1 gal. batch the next day at 1.070):
  • 1.5 lbs. Dry Malt Extract
  • 1/4 lb. Black Patent Malt steeped at 180 deg. 10 min.
  • 1/4 lb. Special B Malt steeped at 180 deg. 10 min.
  • 1/8 lb. esspresso coffee steeped at 180 deg. 10 min.
  • spices: dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, 40 min.
  • spices: dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, 20 min.
  • spices: dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, 5 min.
  • dash of Irish moss, 5 min.
  • Yeast =Whitelabs Calif. Ale yeast from starter
  OTHER SPECIFICATIONS:
  • Pitching temp. 75 degrees
  • 7 day primary fermentation at 75 degrees
  • 10 day Secondary fermentation at 75 degrees
  • Original Gravity = 1.070!
  • Terminal Gravity = 1.0?
  • Bottled on ?