Like an expectant father, I watch over little baby “King.” He sits in the dark basement at a steady 68 degrees, showing little sign of life.
After a week, I decided to check on junior, popping off the lid and checking his gravity. The hydrometer shows 1.022, but at 68 degrees, I’ll mark it as 1.023. My target is 1.012-1.013. I called my local home brewing expert and owner of Maryland Homebrew, Chris Anderson.
The conversation went something like this:
Me: Hi Chris, this is Warren. My porter is not doing well. I’m using Windsor yeast, and the gravity has reached 1.023, but it seems stuck.
Chris: How long has it been?
Me: About a week.
Chris: What’s the temperature?
Me: 68 degrees.
Chris: Is it on a concrete or tile floor?
Me: Yes
Chris: That’s the problem. The cold floor is sucking all the heat out of the beer. Just put it on a rug or maybe some papers or just raise it off the floor. Just that little bit of motion should get the yeast going again. I have the same problem. (That’s Chris, just being nice, so I don’t feel so dumb.)
Me: I can do that. Thanks, Chris!
I’ve moved the bucket, and I’ll give it another week. We’ll see how it goes. BTW, it does taste delicious! I like to pair porters with one of my favorite dishes, scallops.
Just a little background on little “King Porter.” He was born on the weekend of Martin Luther King’s birthday in Ellicott City, on Main Street in historic EC. While we waited for the mash, Bert and I bottled his beer, “Linda’s Lovely Light Honey Ginger Lager.” It had 2 1/2 lbs of honey and 3 1/2 lbs of light malt extract with 4 oz ginger. It should age well. Bert thinks it’s more mead than beer.
King is an English Porter, all grain of:
- Maris Otter Simpson – 8.5 lbs
- Crystal 50/60L Bairds English- 1lbs.
- Black Malt – Black Swaen – 12 oz.
- Chocolate Malt – 6 oz.
- Dark Molasses – 2oz.
- Kent Golding Pellets 1.5 oz.
- Fuggles Pellets .5 oz
- Clarity Ferm (reduces gluten)
- Windsor dry yeast
The brewing went well, except I forgot how long it takes to heat 6.5 gallons of wort. I might consider half batches. I really don’t need 2 cases of beer all at once. The only excitement came when my chiller’s coupling broke. Bert heroically held the pieces together by hand and in the dark while the beer quickly cooled. All this while the gods of the four seasons looked on.
Bert brewed another beer while I brewed my porter; he’s going back to back with home brews – very impressive. This is a variation of his Ginger Lager, called “Holiday Cheer,” although he may change the name. It only had two lbs. of honey, double the extract, less ginger (Bert’s homegrown), plus orange zest. This beer is still percolating after a week.
Bert taught me a great trick. When transporting a beer by car, strap it in with the seat belt.
I’ll give you an update on porter junior next week or so. Can’t wait for some scallops with this roasty porter.
Cheers!
Warren
