potential wasted batch. :(

[jimlin]

Just had a couple of my porters last night (6 weeks in the bottle). Had chilled for a couple days. They had been sitting in my bedroom closet in the mid 60s (winter months we keep the heat around 66-67 and a bit cooler overnight). The first one poured w/o much of a head, but a thin, tan foam developed across the surface. Very heavy chocolate flavor, but not flat tasting like it had been previously. I am thinking the flavor will even out and mellow a bit as it continues to age. I poured the second bottle I had chilled, and got a nice 1/2" tan head. Might have had to do with how I poured it... letting it splash to the bottom of the glass this time instead of pouring down the inside of the glass.

The head dissipated relatively quickly.

I am assuming/hoping that it's just a matter of time now. Given the temps in the house, carbonation took longer that previous batches. Wondering if I should keep it where it is or move it to the basement now. Basement temps are in the 50s in the winter here. I have still yet to find an "answer" regarding general storage temps. In the summer, our basement is probably 10° warmer and that's where I store all bottles to condition. Is the cooler temp in the basement, now that it's had time to carb up, better for storage?

[BDawg]

I'm thinking there's nothing wrong.
4 oz is ok for a bitter or a mild, but it's low for a porter.
I think you simply didn't use enough priming sugar.
Next time, try it with 5 oz and you should be ok.

[jimlin]

I'm thinking there's nothing wrong.
4 oz is ok for a bitter or a mild, but it's low for a porter.
I think you simply didn't use enough priming sugar.
Next time, try it with 5 oz and you should be ok.

Supposedly porters aren't intended to be as carb'd up as a pale, so I backed down a bit.

According to charts I see online, a robust porter is typically carb'd to a CO2 volume between 1.8 to 2.5. Using a priming calc (@ screwybrewer.com) 4 oz should have been enough. I believe it's getting there, but the mid 60s temp in the house definitely caused carbonating in the bottle to take longer.

Now I just hope to find the overall flavor to continue to improve with aging, but it's already tasting pretty good.

[scotchpine]

I would probably put 1/2 the bottles in the cellar to age over winter and leave the other 1/2 upstairs to move into the fridge as you want to drink em.

[jimlin]

I would probably put 1/2 the bottles in the cellar to age over winter and leave the other 1/2 upstairs to move into the fridge as you want to drink em.

Had a few over the holiday and it was pretty tasty. Bringing some to friends on NYE and "cellaring" the rest. My Janet's Brown is about ready to drink too.

[Blunt]

One thing that I've noticed is that when I have an ale batch that is undercarbonated is that I've either let the temp drop low during the secondary, letting alot of the suspended yeast drop out or I've used to little priming sugar, which was mentioned earlier. Some yeasts are better at not dropping out than others. Moveing to a warmer temp room usaully fixes either.

[jimlin]

One thing that I've noticed is that when I have an ale batch that is undercarbonated is that I've either let the temp drop low during the secondary, letting alot of the suspended yeast drop out or I've used to little priming sugar, which was mentioned earlier. Some yeasts are better at not dropping out than others. Moveing to a warmer temp room usaully fixes either.

Makes sense. I just got myself some heat tape (11"x24") and connections to make a fermwrap. I know my Janets Brown (which was my most recent brew) had fluctuations in the secondary because I didn't have proper temp control. During most of the year I can manage given the temps in the basement and other parts of the house, but in the winter in New England, I definitely need something like a fermwrap.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

I don't bother chilling my priming solution, I'll boil it up and cover it and let it sit while I do other things, but it's often warm or even hot when I pour it in the bucket.

+1. The thermal mass of the bottling bucket full o beer is so much greater than a itty bitty cup of water, that the temperature shouldn't be affected too much.