Mew’s Porter looks very similar to London-brewed versions, both in terms of gravity and recipe. For a start, there’s 10% brown malt. Most brewers outside London had dropped brown malt long before the 1880s, preferring a simple pale and black malt combination.
In addition to the malts, there’s a sugar described as “Natal”. I’ve assumed that’s some sort of raw cane sugar. Which seems reasonable enough.
The only real difference with a London Porter is the hopping, which is noticeably more restrained. Half of the hops were from Kent, the rest split between America and Bavaria. All from the 1883 crop.
| 1884 Mew Langton Porter | ||
| pale malt | 7.75 lb | 68.13% |
| brown malt | 1.125 lb | 9.89% |
| black malt | 0.75 lb | 6.59% |
| brown sugar | 1.75 lb | 15.38% |
| Cluster 90 mins | 1.00 oz | |
| Fuggles 60 mins | 1.00 oz | |
| Fuggles 30 mins | 0.50 oz | |
| Hallertau 30 mins | 0.50 oz | |
| Goldings dry hops | 0.25 oz | |
| OG | 1055 | |
| FG | 1013 | |
| ABV | 5.56 | |
| Apparent attenuation | 76.36% | |
| IBU | 41 | |
| SRM | 30 | |
| Mash at | 147º F | |
| Sparge at | 175º F | |
| Boil time | 90 minutes | |
| pitching temp | 64º F | |
| Yeast | Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley ale | |
Mew also brewed "Export Porter" and "Gibraltar Porter" at that time (if we're lucky you'll post a "Let's Brew" for them too), the latter may have had military connections and with Portsmouth next door perhaps that explains why they hung on to "old style" porters? (The military like new more effective ways of killing people but are otherwise stuck in their ways and perhaps didn't want their "Porter" to change?).
ReplyDeleteNatal was a region in S. Africa famous at that time for sugar cane. Gathered by cheap, not well treated, migrant labour from India. So definitely reasonable to suggest a type of cane sugar. But what form? "Brown"?
What was a nourishing stout Ron?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
quite often, Nourishing Stout was bottled Porter.
Thanks so just plain porter. This example is close to a modern example in IBU so won’t take the mouth off you.
DeletePeeBee,
ReplyDeleteI might publish the other Porter recipes. Though the Export and Gibraltar Porters are pretty much identical.