Chocolate Orange Porter

by Christian Lavender

Roasty toasty Porter is packed with chocolate richness and bitte

As I kid, one of my favorite treats was an orange shaped chocolate candy that my mom would pick up from the drug store. The chocolate orange pulled apart in sections and had an amazing bitter orange and dark chocolate blast of flavor. I love reflecting on the flavors of my childhood that made my taste buds happy and this roasty toasty Porter is packed with chocolate richness and bitter orange.

Traditional Porter originated in London around 1700 and was one of the first industrialized beers along with the stronger "Stout" style. You will find year-round production of Porter in the US, England and Baltic regions, especially in cooler parts of the season.

The flavor has a creamy roasty-toasty malt and can be fully hopped or not. The aroma is of roasty malt and traditionally has no hop aroma. The balance of malt and hops is level with roast in various proportions. Porters are great with roasted/smoked foods like BBQ, sausages, roasted meats and even chocolate chips.

The normal gravity range for a Porter is 1.040 -1.060 with an ABV range of 4.5 - 6.5%. Bitterness is low to medium on this beer around 20-40 IBUs with color 30-50L (brown to black) and attenuation/body is medium. [Check out our brewing calendar to see what time of the year you should brew a Porter ]

Chocolate Orange Porter Recipe - All Grain

Batch size	5 gallons
Boil size	6.9 gallons
Boil time	60 minutes
Grain weight	11.69 pounds
Efficiency	70%

Original gravity	1.059
Final gravity	1.016
Alcohol (by volume)	5.7%
Bitterness (IBU)	69
Color (SRM)	37.1°L

Yeast
11 dry grams
Dry �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/2Danstar	Windsor Ale

Grains/Extracts/Sugars
11.69 pounds
German Pilsner �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/237ppg, 2°L	5.58 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/247.7%
Wheat (Flaked) �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/236ppg, 2°L	0.75 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/26.4%
Wheat �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/238ppg, 2°L	0.75 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/26.4%
Crystal 120L �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/233ppg, 120°L	0.62 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/25.3%
Dry Malt - Light �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/243ppg, 5°L	0.58 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/25.0%
Crystal 20L �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/235ppg, 20°L	0.53 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24.5%
Crystal 60L �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/234ppg, 60°L	0.53 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24.5%
Oats (Flaked) �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/232ppg, 2°L	0.5 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24.3%
Dry Candi - Dark �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/232ppg, 250°L	0.5 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24.3%
Rice (Hulls) �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/2ppg, °L	0.5 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24.3%
Pale chocolate malt �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/235ppg, 200°L	0.48 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24.1%
Barley (Roasted) �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/228ppg, 500°L	0.37 pounds �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/23.2%

Hops
7.5 ounces
Sonnet Golding hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24%, Pellet	4 ounces
7 C's hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/29.9%, Pellet	2 ounces
Cluster hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/27%, Pellet	0.5 ounces
Saaz hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24%, Pellet	0.5 ounces
Columbus hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/213%, Pellet	0.5 ounces

Additions
0.4 ounces
Orange peel (Bitter) �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/2Flavor	0.4 ounces

Mash
60 minutes, 8.9 gallons
Strike �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/2Target 152°F	4.0 gallons 163°F 45 minutes (+0)
Sparge	4.9 gallons 170°F

Boil
60 minutes, 6.9 gallons
Cluster hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/27%, Pellet	0.5 ounces 60 minutes (+0)
Columbus hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/213%, Pellet	0.5 ounces 30 minutes (+30)
Saaz hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24%, Pellet	0.5 ounces 20 minutes (+40)
Sonnet Golding hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/24%, Pellet	4 ounces 15 minutes (+45)
Orange peel (Bitter) �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/2Flavor	0.4 ounces 10 minutes (+50)
7 C's hops �1/2�1/2�1/2�1/29.9%, Pellet	2 ounces 5 minutes (+55)

Ferment
14 days @ 64-70°F
Rack to secondary	7 days (+7)

Directions
Mash the grains at 152° F (67° C) for 45 minutes or until starch conversion is finished. Mash out at 170° F (76° C) and sparge. Collect 6.9 gallons (28 L) of runoff and bring everything to a rolling boil. Drop in your hops as directed in the recipe. After a 60 minute boil, chill the wort down to 67° F (19° C) and transfer to your primary fermenter. Pitch your yeast, whether it be a yeast starter, liquid or dry yeast and aerate well. Ferment at 69° F (20.5° C) for 7 days or until fermentation activity subsides, then rack to secondary. Age 7-14 more days then bottle or keg.

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Pecan Porter - A nutty Pecan Porter recipe with a chocolaty selection of flavoring malts.
Toasted Coquito Porter - Silky Porter recipe, the HomeBrewing.com home brewers spin the traditional Coconut porter.