Belgian Porter

[feldmann]

The robust porter I have on tap right now is about to kick and so I was looking for something a little different. I was inspired by Grimross' Pugnacious Porter and I found a recipe on brewtoad that involved grains I already have. I know a lot of people have a lot more experience with Belgians, Porters and brewing in general so I was looking for any advice. I was also thinking of subbing the Belgian Saison yeast with Belgian Ardenne or YB Wallonian because they're what I have on hand.

Recipe Specifications
--------------------
Batch Size (Gal): 5.5
Estimated OG: 1.063
Anticipated SRM: 32.65
Anticipated IBU:
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Grain
------
80% (10 lbs) - Pilsner
4% (0.5 lbs) - Biscuit
4% (0.5 lbs) - Special B
4% (0.5 lbs) - Aromatic
4% (0.5 lbs) - Chocolate Malt
4% (0.5 lbs) - Carafa II

Hops
------
0.50 oz Nugget @ 60 min
0.50 oz Nugget @ 45 min
0.50 oz Saaz @ 5 min
0.50 oz Saaz @ 1 min

Yeast
------
Wyeast 3522 - Belgian Ardennes


Mash Schedule
--------------
60 min @ 63C

EDIT: Changed recipe based on suggestions.

[jamie_savoie]

I think Ardenne would be my yeast of choice for this style, 3724 my second.  I would cut the Biscuit in half , up the chocolate a couple % and add some type of roast like Carafa.  7% Special B is a bit on the high side, I would do 4-5%.  Rest looks good! 

[robcoombs]

I agree with @jamie_savoie that Ardenne yeast is awesome, but it is very aggressive. I had a beercano from it that hit my ceiling while it was at 68F. 

[jamie_savoie]

I would also mash lower

[feldmann]

Ardenne is my go to belgian yeast and I asked Steve from Grimross if thats what he used for his because thats what it tasted like to me but he said no. Which Carafa should I use? I, II or III? I've never used it before and I notice noble grape doesn't stock it so I'm going to have to find a way to source some.

So with corrections, I think it would look something like this:

76% - Pilsner
4% - Biscuit
4% - Special B
3% - Aromatic
6% - Chocolate Malt
7% - Carafa

[robcoombs]

I have some carafa II if you need some.

[jamie_savoie]

I think WY3726 would be the closest to match Steve's yeast stain.  But I still think Adrenne would be the better choice for this beer.  Carafa II or III would be my choice and I'd keep both chocolate and carafa in the 4-5% range for each

[feldmann]

Perfect, I think I'll just make it easy and bring the pilsner to 80% and keep everything else at 4%

@robcoombs If you could spare half a pound on Saturday, that would be awesome!

Thanks a lot for the help! Hopefully I'll be able to brew it in a week or two.

[robcoombs]

Sure, no problem.

[feldmann]

I'm thinking of trying this again with a few changes. I'm thinking of upping some of the darker malts to maybe 5-6% and subbing in Belgian Abbey. The first batch wasn't awful but it just didn't really come together well enough to be considered a success.

I want the roastiness to be upfront and the character from the Belgian yeast to be in the background.

Any suggestions to more experienced porter brewers?

[Roger]

I've hade good success with cold steeping the dark malt to achieve roastiness without any tannin extraction. But I've not tried it in a Belgian style yet. Might be worth a try...

[robcoombs]

You could always try using some midnight wheat as well. As much as I love and talk about hops, I do love that grain. I use it in all my dark styles now.

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[Roger]

I wonder how close midnight wheat is compared to chocolate wheat...

[robcoombs]

The last time I purchased midnight wheat was 550L

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[Roger]

So it's darker 550 compared to around 400 but as far as flavor goes I wonder how close they are.