Killer Cricket Porter
Brewed: 10/29/2017 Kegged: 11/26/2017
My wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) is terrified whenever she sees a cricket in the house. This confuses me and my kids, because we cannot imagine a cricket being threatening in any way. In fact, I am under the impression that a pet cricket is good luck.
Autumn is the time when crickets tend to get into the house, causing the males in the household to remove them.
I thought Killer Cricket would be a good name for a beer. As crickets are black, I thought a black beer would be appropriate. My wife is also somewhat afraid of black beers too.
As far as the exact style, I thought Pre-Prohibition Porter would be a good target. The lower ABV limit of the Pre-Prohibition style allows for a session beer, unlike an American Porter. Its upper SRM limit allows for the beer to be very black unlike an English Brown porter.
I designed the beer to put the IBU's right in the middle for the style. I used "traditional" American hops with Cluster and Willamette. I also threw in some Oats to satisfy the adjunct addition of the "Pre-Prohibition" part of the style.
I expect the beer will be a smooth, rich beer with chocolate notes. Because it uses Midnight Wheat for its color, it should not have any harsh roasted flavors.
I expect I'll enjoy this beer very much.
For more information on this beer, see Sheppy's Blog: Killer Cricket
| Killer Cricket Porter --- Batch 1 |
| Style | Pre-Prohibition Porter | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 7.71 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 75.00 | Boil Time | 60 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.048 SG | Estimated FG | 1.011 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 24.9 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 4.7 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.523 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 33.8 SRM |
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| Measured OG: | 1.048 | Measured FG: | 1.014 | ||||
| ADF: | 71 | Measured ABV: | 4.5 |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.00 g | Baking Soda (Mash 60.0 mins) | Water Agent | 1 | - |
| 3.00 g | Chalk (Mash 60.0 mins) | Water Agent | 2 | - |
| 7 lbs | Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 3 | 71.8 % |
| 1 lbs | Midnight Wheat Malt (550.0 SRM) | Grain | 4 | 10.3 % |
| 12.0 oz | Golden Naked Oats C15 (15.0 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 7.7 % |
| 12.0 oz | Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) | Grain | 6 | 7.7 % |
| 4.0 oz | Crystal, Dark (Simpsons) (80.0 SRM) | Grain | 7 | 2.6 % |
| 0.500 oz | Cluster [7.80 %] - First Wort 90.0 min | Hop | 8 | 16.8 IBUs |
| 1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) | Fining | 9 | - |
| 5.00 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins) | Other | 10 | - |
| 1.000 oz | Cascade [6.50 %] - Boil 10.0 min | Hop | 11 | 5.1 IBUs |
| 0.500 oz | Cluster [7.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min | Hop | 12 | 3.0 IBUs |
| 1.0 pkg | American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272) [124.21 ml] | Yeast | 13 | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mash In | Add 12.19 qt of water at 163.7 F | 152.0 F | 60 min |
Batch sparge with 2 steps
(1.98gal, 3.86gal) of 168.0 F water
A couple days before brew day, make a starter with 6 cups water and 1.5 cups extra light DME.
Add 3g of CaCO3 and 5g NaHCo3 into the strike water to help smooth out the dark malt flavor.
From Denver Water, this puts the water profile at:
Ca=67,Mg=8,Na=61,SO4=51,Cl=23,HCO3=262
Mash as instructed above. Batch sparge onto first wort hops.
Boil as usual.
Pitch as close to 60 degrees as possible. Keep fermention below 65 for one day, then let rise to 68ish.
Ferment for 2 weeks.
Keg and carbonate to 2.5 volumes.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.039 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (7.71 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
Brewing Notes
10/26/2017 I bought ingredients today. Will brew this weekend.
10/30/2017 Brewed yesterday. Everything went well.
10/30/2017 Fermentation underway. 64
11/1/2017 Fermentation beginning to slow down. Still bubbling. 70 degrees.
11/4/2017 Moved beer to secondary so I'd have room for Mango Lovin'. Didn't take gravity or taste sample, but it smells good. Also harvesting yeast.
11/10/2017 Took a sample. Tastes great. Lots of chocolate flavor. Took a Refractometer reading and got 6 brix. That corresponds to 1.009 fg based on the Beer Smith calculator. It does taste dry enough that it could be that fg. Looking forward to getting this kegged. Just need to finish up CO Pelican.
11/25/2017 Took gravity sample. 1.014. I like the flavor, but think it could use some body. I think I will add some lactose at kegging time.
11/26/2017 Kegged today. Decided not to add lactose. The dryness is probably closer to style.
11/30/2017 Little sample. Needs carbonation, but tasting good.
12/3/2017 The carbonation is pretty good now. Tasting great. 😋
12/3/2017 Really really really enjoying this beer tonight. Chocolate. Smooth. Black. Yummy. 😋
12/10/2017 Delicious beer 😋
1/12/2018 Been awhile since I've had this one. Still delicious 😋
1/15/2018 Smoking a pork shoulder today. This beer was my reward for making it to the home stretch. So good.
2/8/2018 Had the last few pints tonight. Keg blown. Great beer while it lasted.
10/26/2017 I bought ingredients today. Will brew this weekend.
10/30/2017 Brewed yesterday. Everything went well.
10/30/2017 Fermentation underway. 64
11/1/2017 Fermentation beginning to slow down. Still bubbling. 70 degrees.
11/4/2017 Moved beer to secondary so I'd have room for Mango Lovin'. Didn't take gravity or taste sample, but it smells good. Also harvesting yeast.
11/10/2017 Took a sample. Tastes great. Lots of chocolate flavor. Took a Refractometer reading and got 6 brix. That corresponds to 1.009 fg based on the Beer Smith calculator. It does taste dry enough that it could be that fg. Looking forward to getting this kegged. Just need to finish up CO Pelican.
11/25/2017 Took gravity sample. 1.014. I like the flavor, but think it could use some body. I think I will add some lactose at kegging time.
11/26/2017 Kegged today. Decided not to add lactose. The dryness is probably closer to style.
11/30/2017 Little sample. Needs carbonation, but tasting good.
12/3/2017 The carbonation is pretty good now. Tasting great. 😋
12/3/2017 Really really really enjoying this beer tonight. Chocolate. Smooth. Black. Yummy. 😋
12/10/2017 Delicious beer 😋
1/12/2018 Been awhile since I've had this one. Still delicious 😋
1/15/2018 Smoking a pork shoulder today. This beer was my reward for making it to the home stretch. So good.
2/8/2018 Had the last few pints tonight. Keg blown. Great beer while it lasted.