Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Tasting Stale Porter: 1808 Whitbread with B. Bruxellensis

I've realized that I have several porters and stouts that have been stashed away for some time. I reckon that all that stale (old) porter will make for a nice series of tastings. All but one are homebrew. That lone commercial beer is a special one, Pretty Things Once Upon A Time: December 6, 1855 East India Porter. For that one I've tried to simulate the voyage to India by leaving the bottle in my cabinet at ambient temperature throughout the summer and giving it a regular roll about a ships hold in the mid Atlantic.

First up is my own foray into historical brewing: August 29, 1808 Whitbread Porter. I added Brettanomyces Bruxellensis to some bottles to mimic the secondary fermentation that old style stouts underwent. Original tasting here. I won't bother with pictures, matter of fact it's all dark.

Large tan head even with a careful, slow pour. Over carbonated, no way around admitting that. First hit on the nose is oak and smoke, likely a product of the Brett B as this recipe had neither component. A deeper whiff finds super dark chocolate (like that 85% stuff) and dried figs, maybe yogurty acidity. Hey, there's the smarties and clove from le gout d'Orval! The taste has changed dramatically from the velvety espresso and cocoa from the fresh beer. The bitterness has faded a bit, joined by a soft lactic acidity. The body is thinner than originally, but not the thin, sharp feel that I expected from previous tastings. A little cocoa powder with clove. All around an interesting beer to taste, much better now than the early samples of the Brett B portion. I am, however, glad that I chose B Claussenii for subsequent batches.

2 comments:

BrianW said...

Just found your blog. Great to find another historical homebrewer in the Boston area. I have yet to brew one of the Ron/Kristen recipes, but I salivate over every one. I have had good luck with recipes from the Durden Park Beer Circle. I am also a big fan of the Pretty Things 1855 EIP. I have one bottle left and I need to get my hands on some more. I am definitely going to try to brew an EIP in th near future. I've been thinking that there should be a club or competition devoted to historical brews.

Hope to run into you one of these days--maybe at the next Pretty Things Once Upon a Time launch party.

--Brian

BrianW said...

Just found your blog. Great to find another historical homebrewer in the Boston area. I have yet to brew one of the Ron/Kristen recipes, but I salivate over every one. I have had good luck with recipes from the Durden Park Beer Circle. I am also a big fan of the Pretty Things 1855 EIP. I have one bottle left and I need to get my hands on some more. I am definitely going to try to brew an EIP in th near future. I've been thinking that there should be a club or competition devoted to historical brews.

Hope to run into you one of these days--maybe at the next Pretty Things Once Upon a Time launch party.

--Brian