Treacle Porter Recipe

[Chris Tel]

OMG just opened a bottle of Innis and Gunn Treacle Porter. Absolutely amazing.
Anyone got a clone recipe and or advise a recipe which might be close?
Cheers guys

[seymour]

You're in luck, since this is a particular beer I'm really interested in too.

I've been brewing with molasses (more or less synonymous with treacle) for years, so I've always been interested in how commercial breweries use it. When I read the Innis & Gunn brewer's claim he was inspired by an historic recipe he found in an out-of-print book called The Scots Cellar, I immediately ordered a used paperback copy. Here's a scan of the only pages he could possibly be talking about.* This definitely isn't the modern Innis & Gunn recipe since this doesn't even contain malt...he obviously meant "inspired by" in a very loose sense. The book is great, more so regarding Scotch Whiskey and cocktails, but I highly recommend it to everyone.





Anyway, this is what I've gathered from the brewer's other statements. Your guess about the exact recipe is as good as mine.

Innis & Gunn Scottish Porter/Winter Treacle Porter
Brewer: Wellpark/C&C Group/Innis & Gunn in Edinburgh, Scotland (founded by Caledonian brewmaster Russell Sharp & sons)
ABV: 7.4%
Grainbill: Pale, Crystal Malt, Chocolate Malt, Roasted Wheat, Treacle/Molasses
Hops: Phoenix? single bittering addition only
IBU: low
Colour: copper
Yeast: Proprietary Innis & Gunn brewery ale strain. Did Russell Sharp revive the historic Caledonian strain?

*DISCLAIMER: isolated pages shared for educational purposes only. All rights reserved by the original author.

[seymour]

Hi Seymour,
Thanks as ever for responding to my post with regards a Treacle Porter. Would you be able to provide me with some quantities/details of the said ingredients as I'm more than likely to make somethign undrinkable if I guess!!!!
Cheers as ever!
Chris

Oh, I'm quite sure you'd be fine, but here you go:

Innis & Gunn Scottish Treacle Porter Clone
Seymour's best-guess homebrew recipe

6 US gallons = 5 Imperial gallons = 22.7 Litres

GRAINBILL
82% = 13.12 lbs = 5951 g, Pale Malt (Golden Promise is probably most authentic)
5% = .8 lb = 363 g, Crystal Malt
1% = .16 lb = 73 g, Chocolate Malt
2% = .32 lb = 145 g, Roasted Wheat (consider making your own, see below*)
10% = 1.6 lb = 726 g, Treacle/Molasses (heavy black syrup from the grocery store, added to boil kettle, DON'T FORGET!)

MASH @ 151°F/66°C for 70-90 min.

SPARGE slowly to collect 6.8 US gal/5.7 Imp gal/25.7 L pre-boil.

BOIL 60 minutes. Again, don't forget to add the treacle.

HOPS
1.2 oz = 34 g, Phoenix, 60 minutes (single bittering addition)

CHILL, then AERATE, then PITCH yeast.

YEAST
I don't know how to get authentic Caledonian yeast, so use your favourite high-attenuating UK ale strain. I think the McEwans Brewery strain would be perfect, available as Wyeast 1728 and White Labs WLP028, fermented at 65-70°F. Give it plenty of time to finish out, longer than you're probably used to.

APPROXIMATE STATS
OG: 1075
FG: 1017
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: 30
COLOUR: reddish copper, but less dark than most porters/stouts

*To make your own Roasted Wheat:
Roasted Wheat is not sold by most homebrew shops. If you're lucky, you might find Briess Midnight Wheat or a German Chocolate Wheat, but why not just make your own? It's time-consuming but very easy. I don't know if Innis & Gunn use malted or unmalted wheat, but I'd recommend cheap unmalted wheat to intentionally add more body, mouthfeel, and head retention. Any of the following will work: Torrified Wheat, Flaked Wheat, Cracked Wheat from the health food store, Fada, Bulgur, Burghul, etc.
Place a bunch of wheat in a bowl (make extra and measure out your recipe later), then cover with water. Swirl it a bit and let soak a couple hours to absorb the water. Spread it in a baking dish or sheet, cook 90 min or so at 150°F, stirring periodically throughout, then raise to 250°F for an hour or so, then increase to 400°F for at least an hour or two until it looks very dry and dark. Your kitchen will smell toasty and delicious. If it starts smoking, don't panic, but it's probably almost done. If you'd rather dry-roast it instead, simply skip the soaking step but watch it more closely to avoid scorching. Remove from heat, then let it air-out (some say for several weeks, so you may want to plan ahead.) Don't stress-out, this is not an exact science. It won't be perfectly uniform (which is actually a great thing in terms of malt complexity…but I digress.) No matter what: it's only 2% of your grainbill, you're not going to ruin your beer. When the time comes, measure it out and mill it along with the rest of your grainbill.

[Chris Tel]

Thank you as ever Seymour.
Off to purchase the ingredients ....bring it on!

[seymour]

Bump.

So, did you end up brewing something along these lines?

[Chris Tel]

Indeed I did Seymour and its currently conditioning. I'm so tempted to crack open a bottle but I know that I need to be more patient. I'll give it another fortnight and will post the outcome.
If a sample at bottling is anything to go by this baby is going to be awesome!!!!!!

[Chris Tel]

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So following my earlier, post prompted by Seymour, I decided to go against my better judgment and open a bottle. Its had just over 1 week of conditioning.
IN short I'm glad I did. A lovely creamy beige head which I was astounded by. A prominent cocoa aroma and taste which can only be described as sublime. Sweet, milky creamy flavours but incredibly well balanced as exemplified by the fact that it leaves the palate clean which I'm assuming is attributed by the hops. Is it like Innis and Gunn? It's very close but I would go as far as to say that its better and Seymour is a genius. Hats off!

[f00b4r]

For those that are feeling a bit more lazy but want to try this, Get Er Brewed sell roasted wheat:

http://www.geterbrewed.com/roasted-whea ... n-1kg.html

Seymour the 22.7 litres, is that meant to be end of boil volume (hot/cold) or volume in fermenter/packaging and do you have an AA value for the hops please?

[seymour]

Chris Tel, thanks for the shout-out, glad it turned out so well. Did you buy roasted wheat or make your own?

f00b4r, that's loosely meant as post-boil volume and I assumed 10% AA for Phoenix hops (range 8.5-13.5) but neither is an exact science. Tweak to your kit. Cheers!

[f00b4r]

Chris Tel, thanks for the shout-out, glad it turned out so well. Did you buy roasted wheat or make your own?

f00b4r, that's loosely meant as post-boil volume and I assumed 10% AA for Phoenix hops (range 8.5-13.5) but neither is an exact science. Tweak to your kit. Cheers!

Cheers, this is definitely going on the to do list, now if only I could find a clone of their irish whiskey cask beer

[seymour]

Cheers, this is definitely going on the to do list, now if only I could find a clone of their irish whiskey cask beer

Innis & Gunn Irish Whiskey Cask
Brewery: Wellpark/C&C Group/Innis & Gunn in Edinburgh, Scotland (founded by Caledonian brewmaster Russell Sharp and his two sons, 2003-present)
Style: Oak-Aged Strong Scotch Ale
ABV: 7.4%
Grainbill: 85% Golden Promise Pale Malt, 15% Pale Crystal Malt (mash high for lots of residual sweetness)
Hops: Phoenix or Super Styrians (60 min), Goldings (5 min)
IBU: ≈22
Colour: hazy amber
Yeast: Proprietary Innis & Gunn ale strain. Same as Russell Sharp's revived Caledonian strain? The McEwans Brewery strain is a good substitute, available as Wyeast 1728 and White Labs WLP028. The finished beer is aged 30 days in Irish whiskey oak casks.

[Hanglow]

The only irish whiskey cask one I could find was for their irish whiskey finish stout

"Our sturdy Scottish Stout gains even greater flavour during its maturation over American Oak Heartwood that has been infused with Irish Whiskey. The resulting beer is rich, complex and velvety smooth with notes of coffee and dark chocolate, and proves that it pays to have friends in the beverage business."

So just age with american oak chips then add some jamesons to taste maybe? or soak oakchips in whisky for a while then add. You'd get more control doing the former though

[f00b4r]

It was actually the Irish whisky finished stout I meant, thanks for the input guys.

[mbarn]

I'm boiling the kettle to brew this today

[seymour]

I'm boiling the kettle to brew this today

Very cool, happy brewing!