Partial Mash

I brought a tin of Cascade Chocolate Mahogany porter on special recently and put it down last night with a few modifications which included:

* Replacing the Cascade "Bohemian Yeast" with a packet of Safale S04 as i have found the Cascade yeast a bit problematic in the past.
* 2 Plugs of Fuggles hops one was added to simmer with the grain one was added to the primary fermentation.
* 750 grams of Bairds black malt and 250 grams of Joe White Choc Chit malt.

The starting gravity worked out at 1.045. Because the brew was too hot going into the fermenter so i set my alarm to wake up at 3:30am and pitch the yeast. When i woke back up at 7:30am the brew was happily bubbling away in the corner which i am most happy about hopefully this brew will taste as good as it smells so far.

[Update:]

Update: I took a hydrometer reading last night and the brew currently stands at 1.020 with the air lock bubbling every 4 - 6 seconds. Tasted the brew very strong coffee and toffee flavours with a strong chocolate aroma. Added another plug of fuggles hops to add a touch more bitterness though.

[Update:]

Update: Bottled on the weekend with a specific gravity of 1.012. The grain and hops floating around in the bottle of the fermenter slowed down the process of filling the bottles as bits kept blocking the easy pour and slowing the flow of liquid. But in the end got 25 longnecks and 6 stubbies (testing bottles) bottled!

Nice you had a chance to give it a taste test yet?

Yeah first go it was a bit oddly balanced, not enough to be massive but just enough to keep you wondering what should be there. Funnily enough with a bit more time to age its edge rounded a bit and it is quite drinkable although still has extremely heavy coffee flavours.