The Homebrew Company - Brown Porter Review

[auralabuse]

So, firstly my apologies for the amount of time it has taken to put up this review.  I kegged this stout in July and let it sit there to condition and i'm glad I did!!!.  A few little tasters along the way revealed a definite change for the better over this time.

Firstly the usual packaging review, the outer bag contains all the grain, within this is another bag containing the whirlfloc, yeast, instructions and all the hop additions, which are separately bagged, all within the main bag. 

This packaging is nice and robust so your not worried about snagging it etc.

The instructions are a little sparse if you are not used to brewing all grain.  As these kits are directed towards the novice all grain brewer I think a fuller instruction leaflet would help.  The instructions do mention that an element of brewing knowledge is required and thats fine but there is definitely room for a little more information such as sparge water temps, yeast starter advice, carbonation volumes etc....small things like that.

The brew itself was very straight forward, I brought the strike water up to temp, into the mashtun, another temp check to see if I lost too much which I hadn't, in with the grain slowly and stirred to avoid any dough balls, final temp check, ph check and close the lid for the mash.  I did a quick iodine test on 70 mins and conversion had taken place so I recirculated then pumped out and sparged.

The lot was then pumped into the boiler and onto the rolling boil with hop additions, whirlfloc at the end and cooled by the immersion cooler.  I didn't go into huge detail on the above as its been done here a number of times but if you want any finer details lemme know.

I transferred the wort to the fermenter once I got the temp to 20c and pitched the yeast.  The next afternoon there was lots of activity so I just left this one for 3 weeks with temp control set to 19c.  The ABV came out at 4.3% which I was happy with for the style so I racked off to the corny and put on the co2 to hit a carbonation volume of 2.2 @ 2c.  After a few nights I tested the carbonation and it seemed perfect so I just left it to condition in the keg at 2 degrees. 

So onto the pull, this was just hooked up to a normal tap, I think attaching it to a stout tap with a little lower carbonation would give really interesting results also.  After pouring it, the aroma is moderately caramel, very slight sweetness in the smell and a hint of roastyness but all very mild.  Saying that it was at 2c so the aromas would be held back a little.  The taste was fantastic, a nice malt backbone with a deep caramel after taste.  The hop bitterness is very well balanced and the roast flavours don't contain any harsh notes.  Its light enough to allow for a few to be enjoyed but doesn't quite fit into the saison category.  I was so happy with this that I ordered another one straight away.  My friend who has been a craft beer drinker for a long time (he lives beside Mc Hughs off license) thought it was fantastic.  I think hacking this with chocolate, dark rum, coffee etc would be very nice. 

Overall I think this is an excellent recipe and it will be on rotation on tap at home for me for a long time.  Thanks to the organisers and the homebrew company for the opportunity to review.

[auralabuse]

A few pics (They wouldnt attach to the post above)

[dcalnan]

That is one beautiful looking pint. I might give this beer a go at some stage.

[neoanto]

The head looks great. Was that a nitro pour or just co2?

[auralabuse]

The head looks great. Was that a nitro pour or just co2?

No that's just co2. Incidentally I pushed stout during the week with just co2, through a stout tap and it's pretty good

[mcgrath]

Hi, just wondering what yeast came with the kit?

[molc]

The head looks great. Was that a nitro pour or just co2?

No that's just co2. Incidentally I pushed stout during the week with just co2, through a stout tap and it's pretty good

Was that the aliexpress stout tap someone linked recently? Wondering how decent they are...

[auralabuse]

Hi, just wondering what yeast came with the kit?

I can't think off hand but will check that asap and get back to ya. I have another one there to brew so will have a peek

[auralabuse]

The head looks great. Was that a nitro pour or just co2?

No that's just co2. Incidentally I pushed stout during the week with just co2, through a stout tap and it's pretty good

Was that the aliexpress stout tap someone linked recently? Wondering how decent they are...

No, it's a Guinness one I picked up on adverts