Rum Barrel Porter Homebrew - Recipe and Results
Before December swooped in like a flurry of snowflakes, I could see the future. And that vision told me that I would want something dense, dark, and easy to drink with a full malty body and a bountiful complexity to celebrate the holidays and cold weather. Luckily, the vision of the future came soon enough for me to homebrew this exact beer.
This Rum Barrel Porter, inspired by the recipe in the Make Some Beer book, carries a beautiful malt bill of Pale Malt, Caramel 60, Special B, Chocolate, and Black malt. And it is balanced out with Centennial and Willamette hops, oak chips, and, my favorite liquor – Rum!
I’ll admit, my approach to this porter was hesitant. Adding flavors can be a lot of fun, but those additions, in the wrong proportions, can result in overpowering flavor or aroma that can kill the beer-drinking mood.
But, homebrewing is not for cowards. So I strapped in and brewed like a champ. The mash and boil were pretty straightforward (60 minutes apiece), and the oak chips and rum were added at the end of the boil. Once cooled enough, Mrs. Brew and I pitched the safale S-33 Belgian yeast for fermentation. Two weeks later, we bottled with maple syrup as our priming sugar.
The Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Stout we brewed in November was not only a mouthful but a hard act to follow. Let’s see how the Rum Barrel Porter competed in our firsts.
First Impressions:
On the Eyes--Nearly opaque black. Light-brown head formation.
On the Nose--Malty sweet (as expected). Just a slight hint of rum mingling with the oak chips. I would say I get more aroma from the oak chips. Balanced—not too sweet or too woody. Not one ingredient overpowers another. Some gentle woody notes were present, likely from the oak chips and the Willamette hops, and that mixed wonderfully with just a hint of chocolate. Very enticing.
On the Palate--Balanced nicely. It is a little more bitter than sweet, and I would say that the hops were somewhat more forward than is typical of a porter, but I enjoyed that, especially the more forward bitterness of the Centennial hops. They added bitter pine and sharp citrus flavor that complemented the rum and oak. I also sense the woodyness that was present in the aroma. Again, this is likely due to the combination of the oak chips and the Willamette hops. Whatever it is, I love it. The oak chips add complexity to the beer and the rum is just present on the tip of the tongue. I picked Leadslingers because it has little spice and sweetness compared to other rums that I find too deeply spiced or too cloyingly sweet. That is my preference, though you may enjoy something that is sweeter and/or spiced like the Caribbean Rum. Overall, it had a full body, was very complex, and it reminded me a lot of the Pecan Porter from (512) Brewing – though this baby was mine, and that added a little more love for it.
Verdict:
I’m struggling to find something negative to say about this one – which is good. It was well worth the time and money. It is also a great recipe to experiment with different ratios of oak chips, and/or rum, more Chocolate malt or Special B, and so on. I will make this one again, and I hope you’ll be willing to give it a try as well.
Have courage, and brew forward!
Cheers!
Mr. Brew