And The Winner is......

Not my Bolshevik Porter...but that's ok, I scored a runner up placing in my first ever homebrew contest and in NYC of all places. $200 worth of homebrewing supplies is also nothing to sneeze at, SCORE! The winning beer was a Saison that will be brewed by Kelso Brewing; I can't wait to try that beer since it is one of my favorite summer styles. Additionally, in the event that the winner would not be able to fulfill his duties..hehe..hmmm...I would certainly be happy to step in and serve the remainder of his term with honor...and of course brew my beer at Kelso and have it served all over NYC..lol.
I've always loved porters and stouts, long before my friends thought it really cool to drink dark beer, in fact, I remember drinking Heineken Dark at my Sophomore Cottillon and was a big fan of Michelob Dark in high school. I know these are just dark lagers, but these beers laid the groundwork for my future love of everything dark, including porters and stouts. I also can't write a blog about porters and stouts without including Guinness. I was never a huge fan of Guinness and today don't believe it is a good representation of an Irish Stout, not the American bottled version I've tried anyway, and definitely not the "draught" bottles. Gross! Favorites to date are the Taddy Porters, Oatmeal Stouts and Imperial Stouts by Sam Smith, the Smoked Porter by Stone, the Russian Imperial Stout by Otter Creek, Gonzo Porter by Flying Dog as well as the Engligh Porter by St Petes. Since history tells us the differentiation between porters and stouts is muddled and with me being a big fan of maltly beers over the high hopped varieties so popular today, my goal was to brew an older style higher gravity (robust) porter, not unlike the one by Smuttynose, but with a bit more malty goodness(think old world robust porter or baltic porter) and mouthfeel (think chewy sammy smith oatmeal stout).This recipe is a unique robusty porter, maybe a cross between a Baltic porter and an "old world" European robust porter where the hops are much more subtle than American styles in this catagory. I strive to tweak my recipes to make really good beer, even if I might "stray" a bit from true style guidelines. My target OG was 1.065 at 75% efficiency, and I came in a bit higher. This will create more of a warming on the finish. I also fermented at slightly higher temps because of the summer heat, this may also contribute to some estery alcohol notes, but they generally condition out in the bottle over time. This beer, as are all my beers, is bottle conditioned, not force carbonated.
Anyway, here is the not so winning recipe:
Grain Bill
11 lb 2 row Brewers malt
1 lb crisp choc malt
1 lb caramel 40l
4 oz black patent malt (SMS)
1 oz roasted barley (will add a touch of coffee flavor-think otter creek imperial)
8 oz flaked barley (body)
Adjuncts
8oz maltodextrin 20 minutes (chewy gooey, think sam smith oatmeal stout)
Hops
1 oz northern brewer .5 oz cascade 60 minutes
Yeast
Wyeast European Ale #1338 pitch 2 packets

4.25 gallon strike, mash 60 min 150-154
I came in a bit high, which I believe will lessen the maltiness of the beer.It's difficult brewing in really hot weather, I make notes and will adjust next summer.
This was a fly sparge, so I heated 5 gallons of water to 185 degrees.
I sparged out over 1 hour, I shoot for a gallon every 12 minutes, which can be painfully slow and may increase tannins if you don't hit your sparge temps accurately.
Cool wort to 75 or as low as you can, aerate 2 full  minutes with oxygen.
Pitch 2 paks European ale yeast- wyeast liquid at 70 degrees
This is a super slow yeast, your krausen may remain for 3-4 weeks. I gave the carboy a little shake at 4 weeks in an effort to drop some of the yeast out. Then cool to 58for a week to drop more, you will still have enough to carb and this style is not highly carbed anyway. Allow beer to come back to room temp (70 or below) and bottle.

Allow 2+ weeks for carbonation. This beer gets better with age, so don't drink too many at two weeks! I actually have TWO bottles remaining from this batch sitting in the fridge downstairs at 68 degrees (I have two carboys with ales fermenting in there, hence the temps).