So, the last baltic porter I made I entered into Brixtoberfest as a Robust Porter. I figured since I dry hopped it with saaz, the only porter category it fit in was Robust, since hop flavors are optional. I dubbed it Continental Porter. The saaz kind of took over the beer, confusing for a porter, I'll admit.
The judges were unimpressed. For starters, it fizzed over. The one bottle in the batch. Great.
Getting past that, the judges didn't ID the saaz. They blamed the saaz flavor on a lot of things, but no one took the hint 'Continental'. Yeast handling, sanitation, astringency, salty, sour, no one got it. And a couple were real BJCP certified.
At least I got a little feedback on the malt profile - too thin for a robust. They wanted more crystal. Like, way more crystal. Thick with it. More malt flavor. Less astringency (or are they confused with the saaz?).
Looking at the recipe for the batch, it is only 1/4 pound crystal (4%), step mashed starting at low temps, for a relatively thin dry beer. Plus, my typical protein rest at 130 probably thinned it out some, too. Note to self - no protein rest for stouts and porters.
The thing is, if I mash warmer, I'll get more astringency from the roast barley. But the caramel should balance that, if I add more. And any astringency comments should be taken with a grain of salt. I didn't really pick it up in my notes.
So, no dry hops. Only bittering at 60 mins. Maybe aroma (willammette) at 15 mins? And no more than 25 ibus total. Double the caramel 120. Ease off the roast barley a touch (maybe an ounce) and mash at higher temps, no protein rest. Maybe bump up the munich, while we're at it, up to 4 oz, and the Vienna to 6. And keep the mash pH over 5.2.
We're still looking for baltic porter here.
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