It's fair to say that I really enjoy brewing historical beer recipes, and the International Homebrew Project is probably my favourite homebrew project each year. This year's IHP beer was a porter originally brewed in 1834, in Norwich in East Anglia, at a brewery called St Stephen's. 6 weeks ago I brewed by version of the beer, and last night I popped open a bottle...
As you can see from the picture, it pours absolutely jet black, absorbing the light, with dark brown edges, and a lingering light brown foam that lingers and lingers. Damn it looks inviting. The aroma is dominated by bittersweet chocolate and coffee, the classic roastiness of brown malt, backed up with a supporting cast of tobacco, spice, and earthy hops, and just a slight trace of booze.
The roasty theme continues in the taste, again a coffee element with a hefty dose of dark bittersweet chocolate chucked in for good measure, and a pronounced nuttiness, that made me think of a tablespoon of Nutella stirred into an espresso. The bitterness of the hops is very much present, but not in a grimace inducing way, the balance is surprising really.
This is one full bodied, velvety beer, which still has a little bit of boozy hotness which once is settles out will make it dangerously moreish. The thing that surprised me most about this porter is having a calculated 82 IBUs and yet it has a wonderful balance to it.
I imagine I'll be brewing this again at some point, probably when the nights start to draw in again after summer.
UPDATE:
I will be posting links to other versions of the International Homebrew Project as I come across them, or am sent the link.
Showing posts with label 1834 porter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1834 porter. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
#IHP2014 - Write Up Reminder
Seems an age since I brewed my version of a porter originally brewed in 1834...
Well, this weekend I will get to drink the stuff, and then on Monday write about it on here.
Also on the historical brewing front, on Friday I will be at Blue Mountain brewing helping to brew a Burton Ale from 1923, originally brewed by the Courage Brewery in England.
Should be a good weekend all round.
Well, this weekend I will get to drink the stuff, and then on Monday write about it on here.
Also on the historical brewing front, on Friday I will be at Blue Mountain brewing helping to brew a Burton Ale from 1923, originally brewed by the Courage Brewery in England.
Should be a good weekend all round.
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