George Washington’s Porter
On August - 30 - 2006ADD COMMENTS
I was out at a local, historical landmark this weekend called the Jean Bonnet Tavern. They have been selling beer and food since about 1762 and it is a cozy place for either lunch or dinner. Being a historical place, they usually have at least one “period” type beer on tap. I was able to enjoy a Yard’s George Washington Porter. So, I thought it would be fun to post George’s original recipe. Basically, it is just hops and molasses and I added a few things that I would do.
To Make Small Beer:
Take a large Siffer [Sifter] full of Bran Hops to your Taste.
Boil these 3 hours then strain out 30 Gall[ons] into a cooler put in 3 Gall[ons] Molasses while the Beer is Scalding hot or rather draw the Melasses into the cooler & St[r]ain the Beer on it while boiling Hot.
Let this stand till it is little more than Blood warm then put in a quart of Yea[s]t if the Weather is very Cold cover it over with a Blank[et] & let it Work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask – leave the bung open till it is almost don[e] Working – Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed. F for 7-10 days. Cool and consume.
Things that I would add to the recipe:
Barley Malt
Chocolate Malt
Biscuit Malt
Roasted Barley
My Recipe for George’s Porter
I worked this recipe out on my Promash software. I haven’t brewed this one yet, but it will be one that I try during the fall. This recipe makes a 3 gallon batch or about 1 case of beer.
3.5 pounds Amber liquid malt (1 can)
1 ounce Biscuit Malt
4 ounces Chocolate Malt
1 ounce Roasted Barley
4 ounces Molasses
1 ounce Cascade hops
.5 ounces Fuggles hops
Irish Moss
Yeast
Original Gravity 1.050
Hop IBU’s 25
Crush the Biscuit malt, Chocolate malt, and Roasted barley and steep for about 45 minutes. Strain and pour liquid into your brew kettle.
Add enough water to your brew kettle to make 2 gallons of liquid. When the liquid has reached about 140 degrees, slowly begin to add the Amber malt. Make sure you stir while adding since this will prevent scorching the malt.
Once the wort has begun to boil add the Cascade hops. After 15 minutes of boiling, add the Fuggles hops and Irish moss and continue to boil for another 15 minutes.
After 30 minutes of boiling, begin chilling down your wort. Once the wort is cool enough, transfer to your primary fermenter and add enough water to make bring it up to 3 gallons.
Pitch your yeast. Use whatever yeast strain that you are comfortable with. I use Doric yeast and it seems to make a very good beer. Personally, I pitch my yeast at about blood level, the same as George, which is anywhere from 98 – 100 degrees. I also do an open fermentation for the first 12 hours before sealing it up. I usually let my beers go through a week of primary fermentation before either sending them to a secondary or bottling them.
Sounds like an interesting beer to make. I think my recipe would be taste better than George’s. So, if you do brew the old recipe with just molasses, let me know how it tastes..
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