Category Archives: Homebrewing

Master Thomas’s East India Porter

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I haven’t decided on a final name but yesterday I brewed my first East India Porter and I felt like it needed a mildly British sounding name and Tom hasn’t had a chance to get in the action (besides helping to fix stuff around the brewery). The concept of the beer is as it sounds, a overly hopped Porter for travel to India. Inspiration based on records from East India Company stating that IPA was a drink of officer and porter was a drink of the people (soldiers). Champion City Brewing makes beer for the people so this is a perfect match. The recipe is as accurate as I can make it without traveling back in time and moving to England. I tried to reproduce the water, the grist and hop bill, and the yeast. I used a partial mash as I am chicken and it allows for a faster brew day. The ingredients have very interesting origins and although some are probably turn of the last century inventions, there is a large amount of history behind them.

UK Fuggles

The hops have the most interesting of stories to tell. For the beer, I wanted to make it as close to traditional for IPA and porter. Fuggles and Goldings are probably the prototypical hops for British style beers and a combination of two should give the beer an earthy woody aroma. UK Fuggles are the more recent invention and would have been the new up and comer hop in the early 1900′s. Probably expensive for the time. On the other hand, the Goldings are the stalwart hop of England. UK Goldings date back to the 1790′s era. The origination of the namesake for these hops has some interesting history.

 

Malt bill - a combo of Black, chocolate, 6-row, and Maris Otter Malts.

The malt bill is a combination of new and old but truly british malts (minus the 6-row). Black Patent Malt leading the way to the creation and evolution of porters by helping differentiate it from brown ales. From H.S. Corran’s A History of Brewing (1975), “On March 28, 1817, he obtained British Patent No. 4112 for “A New or Improved Method of Drying and Preparation of Malt. The adoption of malt made according to Wheeler’s patent, and called ‘patent malt,’ marked the beginning of the history of porter and stout as we know it today, and put an end to the period during which the term ‘porter’ was probably applied to any brown beer to distinguish it from pale ale. The new process was effective, economical, produced a palatable product and freed brewers from charges of adulteration. It was quickly taken up throughout the British brewing industry. Whitbread’s Brewery recorded stocks of Patent Malt in 1817, as did Barclay’s in 1820, and Truman’s showed stocks of ‘Black Malt’ in 1826.” Chocolate Malt, also a roasted malt, is not as intense and gives a nice rich chocolate, coffee flavor. Although Maris Otter Malt is a recent invention (1950′s), it is considered by many the best and most rich and full flavored english malts. A nutty, toffee like character should work perfectly in the beer. 6-row just brings enzymes to the party to make sure everything converts well.

For yeast and water, I tried to emulate many of the character found in England during this time period. I went a little crazy with yeast and used White Labs Bedford British Ale Yeast. Obviously, this is probably not the best, most authentic yeast but I think this yeast offered the high attenuation that I wanted and should also offer a nice estery profile when fermented at 68 degF. Bedford yeast is basically that of Charles Wells Brewing. Charles Wells, who left school at 14 and boarded a ‘Devonshire’ frigate for India in the 1850′s. I figure he would have had opportunity to try the beers of this style as his military career advanced. He started his brewery soon after returning to England and I believe that his yeast strain might offer something different from that found in the London breweries.

Thats the beer in a nut shell. A combination of new and old, traditional and non-traditional but it should make for an excellent hoppy, malty dark beer with the aromas of coffee, toffee, and fresh hops.  For those who want to try to reproduce it, the recipe is below. Enjoy

Master Thomas’s East India Porter

 OG: 1.070 SG
 Expected FG: 1.016 SG
 Apparent Attenuation: 76.0 %
 Expected ABV: 7.0 %
 Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 55.5 IBU
 Expected Color (using Morey): 33.4 SRM
 Boil Duration: 60.0 mins
 Fermentation Temperature: 68 degF
Fermentables
 Ingredient            Amount                When
 US 6-Row Malt        10.00 oz          In Mash/Steeped
 UK Pale Ale Malt     10.00 oz          In Mash/Steeped
 US Chocolate Malt    5.00 oz           In Mash/Steeped
 UK Black Malt        3.00 oz           In Mash/Steeped
 Extract - Dark       10lb 0oz          Start Of Boil
Hops
Variety        Amount          When
UK Fuggle      2.00 oz         60 Min From End
UK Golding     1.00 oz         60 Min From End
UK Fuggle      1.00 oz         15 Min From End
UK Golding     1.00 oz         15 Min From End
UK Golding     1.00 oz         1 Min From End
UK Fuggle      1.00 oz         1 Min From End
UK Fuggle      2.00 oz         Dry-Hopped
UK Golding     2.00 oz         Dry-Hopped
Yeast
White Labs WLP006-Bedford British Ale</pre>
Water Profile
Target Profile: Burton-On-Trent (UK)
Mash Schedule
 Mash Type: Extract with Steeped Grains
 Schedule Name: Single Step Infusion (153F) for 60 min

Week of Jon Day 2 – Brew Day @ CCB

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I have just about everything I need and I am ready to brew my east india porter. The porter is going to be traditional porter with much higher hopping like those preferred by the british military in India. Brew day will start after I finish some cleaning around the house.

For the recipe, the grist is going to be a combo of 2-row, chocolate, black patent, and maybe a touch of caramalt 120L. Hops are going to be a mix of EK Goldings and Fuggles. Yeast is going to be a London Ale Yeast. Drying hoping will be all Fuggles. I will post more as the brew day progresses.

Week of Jon Brewing Plans

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As the door opens on the Week of Jon, it is important that the brewhouse kicks into full swing and we produce some tasty brews for the upcoming months. After reading a few articles online, I was intrigued to read about India porters and their role as the beer of the common british soldier in India. Obviously you have all heard of India pale ale but no one really talks much about the beer of the common folk. CCB is going to make a beer for the common folk. A traditional British porter with a India style kick. More details to come. Looking for brew day on Tuesday.

The City that Trees Built

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The trees grew tall and straight and the mighty Androscoggin River swirled and leaped. Jumping from ledge to ledge as it meadered south from its home at Umbagog. Turning East towards its ultimate fate in the Merrymeeting Bay. This river was the lifeblood of a region. Bringing vitality to the region. The buzz of saw mills, the whirl of textiles. At the center of this behemoth of water and bridled fury, lies the quiet village of Berlin, NH. Berlin, incorporated in 1829, become a powerhouse of industry in Northern New Hampshire. At its peak, it was the 4th largest city in NH and the largest in the upper 2/3′s of the state. The CIty that Trees Built, Berlin, is my inspiration for my colonial inspired Berliner Weiss. Not as sour as its European brethren’s, it has a subtlety of tartness with the body of a mild wheat beer. A perfect balance of old world and new. Built by a generation of hard work and desire. The City that Trees Built Berliner Weiss is here. CtTB BWeiss. Welcome and Enjoy…

 

 

The Androscoggin River running through Berlin

 

 

Jonathan Jay
Brewmaster
Champion City Brewing

Berliner Weisse – Lesson’s Learned

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Berliner Weisse is a really interesting and intriguing style that is all but dead. Heck, there are probably more berliner weisses being brewing in the United States than in Germany. At the MBAA National Meeting this past summer, it seemed that many of the esteemed brewers from the VLB in Berlin didn’t really see much of future for it. I love them. I think its probably one of the few sours that I could drink nearly 100% of the time. The mellow lactic sour that gives it a crisp and refreshing finish that makes it perfect for summer. For a quick 5 minute tutorial on Berliner Weisse, please read the wiki page

I brewed my first Berliner Weisse last winter before the heavy snow set in and watched it bubble away in my kitchen for several months. I spent most of those months hoping. In the battle for dominance between yeast and lactobacillus, sadly, yeast won. It isn’t as sour as I had hoped because the yeast fermented it out before the lacto had a chance to really get things sour. Things to consider next time. Make a soured mash. This seems to be pretty traditional but a detailed and complicated step. I could have giving the lactobacillus a bigger headstart. I gave it 3 days but didn’t have enough patience. Maybe a few more weeks and then pitch the yeast. Or split the brew and ferment 50% with lactobacillus and the other 50% with yeast and blend them for a finished product. Lots of options for round #2

One of the biggest negatives in my first brew was a mistake that I made in fermentation. While sitting in my kitchen, I left the carboy open to light and I actually detect a skunky lightstruck note in the finished product. Its not unpleasantly strong but its definitely there. Its a rookie mistake and something I shouldn’t have ever done. *head slap*

I am better prepared for round #2 of producing sour beers. I have duel fermentation and bottling equipment that I can use specifically for sour beers. I understand the basics of how I screwed up my first attempt so that I can avoid it next time. It was a fun and educational first attempt. I am looking for to my next attempt. This style is one beer that I want to be a staple of the Champion City Brewing Lineup for years to come.

 

Spring Training in the Champion City

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Spring Training has begun in Florida and as the weather warms in Southern NH, the Champion City Brewery is starting to get ready as well. The Red Sox are stacked with one of their best lineups ever and I figure that the brewery needs to create a spring lineup that can compete. The lineup ranges from an American Pilsner, a maple oatmeal stout, a mild, the vanilla coffee gluten free Porter, a Brown Ale, and batting cleanup, the return of Grand Slam IPA. It should run the beer color spectrum. Still working on names but I am leaning towards the following.

American Lager: Right Field Roof Box Lager

Brown Ale: The Bleacher Creature Brown Ale

Imperial IPA: Grand Slam IPA

Gluten Free Beer: Java Bean Porter (GF)

Maple Outmeal Stout:  Pudge’s Maple Oatmeal Stout

 

I also plan on creating my first line of sodas including root beer infused with korean ginseng and palm sugar and maybe a few fruit inspired creations.

Like every Red Sox spring, its full of promise for what the summer and fall may bring. Lets hope 2011 is a banner year for the Red Sox and Champion City Brewing.

Upcoming brews on the schedule

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Of course I need some time to brew these but I ordered ingredients to reproduce Bad Ass and Grand Slam. I found in some old files yesterday my original recipes for both of these brews. I still want to try a Berliner Weiss and as a few have suggested a few more ciders and pearies.

Look for Bad Ass and Grand Slam brew days in the near future.