All-grain · 20 L (5.3 gal)
English Porter Recipe
BJCP 13C · English Porter
Dark brown, with chocolate, caramel and a gentle roast, without the sharpness of a stout. Low carbonation, the English way.
English Porter recipe by the numbers
- Batch size
- 20 L (5.3 gal)
- Original gravity
- 1.049
- Final gravity
- 1.013
- ABV
- 4.8%
- Bitterness
- 32 IBU
- Color
- 23 SRM (45 EBC)
- Mash
- 66 °C (151 °F) for 60 minutes
- Boil
- 60 minutes
- Fermentation
- 19 °C (66 °F) for 14 days
- Bottling
- 4.5 g of sugar per liter (0.6 oz/gal)
About 150 kcal per 330 ml (11 oz) bottle, worked out from its original and final gravity.
English Porter recipe: ingredients and steps
Batch size
Recipe for 20 liters (5.3 US gallons) into the fermenter.
Malts
| Malt | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| Maris Otter malt6 EBC (3 °L) | 3.90 kg (8.60 lb) | 85.7% |
| Crystal (caramel) malt120 EBC (46 °L) | 0.35 kg (0.77 lb) | 7.7% |
| Chocolate malt900 EBC (338 °L) | 0.30 kg (0.66 lb) | 6.6% |
Hops
| Hop | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|
| East Kent Goldings5.5% alpha acids | 45 g (1.59 oz) | 60 minBittering |
| Fuggle4.5% alpha acids | 20 g (0.71 oz) | 10 minFlavor |
You will also need
Yeast: Dry English ale yeast, such as S-04: one 11.5 g (0.4 oz) packet.
Water: About 28.5 L (7.5 gal): 13.5 L (3.6 gal) for the mash and 15 L (4.0 gal) for the sparge.
Priming sugar: 4.5 g of table sugar per liter of beer bottled (0.6 oz/gal), about 90 g (3.2 oz) for 19 L (5.0 gal): low carbonation, like British beers.
Hops: pellets, kept in the freezer until brew day.
Step by step
- Heat 13.5 L (3.6 gal) of water to 72 °C (162 °F), add the crushed malts and stir. Hold about 66 °C (151 °F) for 60 minutes, covered.
- Sparge with 15 L (4.0 gal) of water at 76 °C (169 °F) until you collect about 24 L (6.3 gal) of wort at 1.043.
- Boil for 60 minutes, uncovered: the 45 g (1.6 oz) of East Kent Goldings at the start and 20 g (0.7 oz) of Fuggle with 10 minutes left.
- Chill to 19 °C (66 °F), transfer about 20 L (5.3 gal) to the fermenter and take a gravity reading: it should be around 1.049.
- Pitch the yeast and ferment at 19 °C (66 °F) for about two weeks.
- Once the gravity holds at 1.013 for three days in a row, bottle with the sugar and let it carbonate for two weeks. It improves with another month in the bottle.
Chocolate malt gives the color and the cocoa. If you swap it for roasted barley, it moves closer to a stout.
If your hops don't have those alpha acids, adjust the grams with the IBU calculator to keep about 32.
The style: English Porter (BJCP 13C), with its history, its numbers and other ways to brew it.
Different setup? Recalculate with the water calculator, the IBU calculator and the priming sugar calculator.
Rating recipes and keeping a brew log need an account, which is only available in Spanish for now. English accounts are coming soon.
Frequently asked questions
How strong will this English Porter be?
About 4.8% ABV: it starts at 1.049 and finishes at 1.013, and (OG − FG) × 131.25 gives that percentage.
How long until it is ready?
One brew day, fermentation at 19 °C (66 °F) for 14 days and about two weeks in the bottle: give it a little over a month.
Can I use a different bittering hop?
Yes. What matters is keeping the bitterness: if you use another hop instead of East Kent Goldings at 5.5% alpha acids, work out the grams from its alpha acids (or with the IBU calculator) to stay at about 32 IBUs.
What if my system does not get 72% efficiency?
Your gravity will come out different. Scale the base malt up or down (or add a little dry malt extract to the boil if you fall short) and recalculate the water with the calculator.
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Reference style: English Porter in the BJCP guidelines, 2021 edition. Original recipe by Hacer Cerveza Casera, designed for a homebrew setup.