This Is Not The Greatest Beer in the World, This is Only a Tribute

So the Robust Porter I made last month is finally on tap… and it’s fantastic!  I really think it’s a smooth drinking beer and the roast, coffee and chocolate flavors are just enough that you can taste them, but they don’t overpower the drinker.  Even my mother and wife, both of whom very much dislike dark beer, thought it was good.

The only negative is a slightly sweet tangy flavor I get on the back of my tounge.  It may just be me, though.

I contacted the brewer for Ranger Creek and offered to send him a bottle for professional critique.  We’ll see if he can pick out the flavor as well…

One last note, I’ve decided not to call this beer “Arctic Blast Porter”.  For one, the name doesn’t really roll off the tongue.  Secondly, I think that anyone who enjoys

this beer should know where it came from.  And so, I’ve decided to start a new naming policy for clone recipes.  Henceforth I will dub all clone recipe beers as the “Tribute Series” and give credit to the original.

So, this beer will now be called, “Tribute Series: Ranger Creek Porter”.

Arctic Blast Porter

So last weekend I did end up brewing and decided to go with the Robust Porter.  I’ve decided to call it “Arctic Blast Porter” because of the ridiculous winter weather we endured recently.

In any case… the recipe is based on a self devised clone recipe for Ranger Creek Brewing Co.’s Mesquite Smoked Porter. After emailing with their brewer, I got a fairly good idea of the recipe (and some awesome insight into his process and mental attitude when developing a recipe).  I decided to brew the base beer first and in the future I’ll smoke the malt for the true clone.  Here’s the recipe:

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Arctic Blast Porter (Robust Porter)

6 Gallons, 68% Efficiency
Est. OG = 1.068
Est. IBU = 17.2
Est. SRM = 44.3

Grains:
13.25 lbs – Crisp Maris Otter
1.5 lbs – Crystal 60
0.87 lb – Chocolate Malt
0.75 lb – Black Patent

Hops:
0.75 oz. – Fuggles – 4.8%AA – 60 min
0.50 oz. – Fuggles – 4.8%AA – 30 min
0.75 oz. – Tettnang – 0 min.

Yeast:
Wyeast 1098 – British Ale – Ferment at 68F for 10 days, 70F for 4 days.

Mash:
150F for 60 min.

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It smells fairly good in the airlock.  I hope the Tettnang wasn’t too much.  I’m hoping for a nice roasty, chocolatey, and coffee flavors.  If it turns out alright I may enter it into the Bluebonnet Brew Off homebrew competition.  I’ll be sure to keep the blog updated about that…