Apple Pie Porter Ideas

I think a good apple flavor is going to be hard to achieve. I've made a few different ciders and they all have a bit of a funk to them. They also smell like feet. I'd seek out an apple extract, as it might be less fermentable.

As for getting a sweet bready flavor, you might try some honey malt with a touch of low crystal malt (40L). If you're not doing a partial mash, you're doing yourself an injustice because biscuit malt would be huge here.

When you're ready, I'd throw your recipe up on this post for further critique. Good luck!

 

In the back of my mind, I've wanted to do an apple brown ale. I've thought about this two different ways: as a sour brown ale with fruit, and as an apple-pie spiced brown, with cooked, carmelized apples and a biscuity malt base not unlike what inchrisin describes. For the porter, I would lean towards the latter. However, at least in my mind, I think the beer tastes better as a brown, without the stronger roasty character of a porter. However, mine is a pretty uniformed opinion on this. I've only ever head New Glarus' Apple Ale, which is more like the sour one.

 

The roasted grains now make more sense to me. I can see where you are going with them and have no idea how it will turn out. It's possible that you may discover the reason why we don't put a slice of apple pie in our drip coffee makers.

 

FWIW, I made an ESB (OG1.048) with a 9lbs Rhar 2-row, 1 lb each of victory and crystal 40, and fermented with WLP013 "London Ale" yeast in the high 60s. Granted, it was pretty heavily late hopped with citrussy american vaireties, but behind the hops the nose had a VERY solid caramel apple flair. Actually, without the hops it was probably just about a subtle "apple pie beer." The victory was the crust, the c40 the caramel, and the WLP013 the apples.

So, I'd consider using a similar recipe with the addition of whatever roasted grains you had planned on using and no aroma hop additions. Add in some cinamon and nutmeg and you'll have it.

 

Could you just make a porter and add some cinnamon and apple brandy? Maybe you could try and heat up the brandy to get some of the alcohol to go away (so it isn't harsh in the beer) leaving the apple flavor?

 

This sounds like it would be harder to control as the apple from the yeast is most likely acetaldehyde, something that would be hard to produce in a controlled manner as it is an off flavor.

 

No, I don't mean apple cidery in an acetaldehyde-way. Just a nice, mellow english fruitiness with a definite "red-delicious" character (It actually placed 2nd in its class at the Alameda county fair with no mention of acetaldehyde off-flavors by the judges).

 

Personal taste, but not too sure about the porter, especially considering the roast level of a good porter would most likely overpower any subtle apple flavors. A blonde or similar light beer, or a brown ale seem like a better base for showcasing the apple flavors.

Theoretically, you could make a beer very much like southern tier pumking, but replace pumpkin pie flavors with apple.... Victory and candied ginger (Flame out) would help with the pie crust aspect, and a small dose of cinnamon, allspice and clove would give you the pie spice aspect. Regarding the caramel apple aspect, you could go with what pweiss stated (cooked, carmelized apples in the mash), and then dose with apple extract in keg/bottling bucket to get the flavor where you want with or without some apples added in secondary (This may give you some cider notes though).

 

OK, that is different then. The fruitiness from English yeast doesn't taste like apples at all to me, I interpret it as a generic stone-fruit flavor. That's just me though.

 

Full agree depending on the strain. My Timothy Taylor brown is quote stone-fruity, but this one is all apples and pears.

 

This is what troubles me-the taste of apples in a beer is regarded as a fault; the result often of oxidation and the precursor of vinegary beer.Why not brew a beer which complements apple pie rather than tasting of it?
Do you have apple pie in America then ?

 

It wasn't acetaldehyde!!!

[/quote]No, I don't mean apple cidery in an acetaldehyde-way. Just a nice, mellow english fruitiness with a definite "red-delicious" character (It actually placed 2nd in its class at the Alameda county fair with no mention of acetaldehyde off-flavors by the judges). [/quote]

Sorry, just feeling a bit defensive.

 

Funky Buddha's Bonita Applebum tastes like liquid apple pie. I think it's a brown ale base not a porter. Maybe shoot them an email and ask for some help?

 

Check out Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious. It's their Xtra Gold Tripel aged in oak apple brandy barrels. Really fantastic, and great apple flavor. So I guess I second Patrick's suggestion to try to use apple brandy somehow.

 

It just occurred to me that when I was in your country (well, it was in Scotland, actually), I learned of a drink that consisted of a mixture of stout and cider. It may have been specific to Guinness. It was called... I'm not sure I can remember. All that comes to mind is "Black Velvet" but that sounds sort of cliche. Anyhow, I didn't try it as I had already been a bit put-off by the people putting 7-Up in their beer, calling it a Shandy.

 

In this country it is often called a Snakebite, though not by everyone. I prefer my Guinness straight, just like the man in my avatar.

 

Black Velvet is supposed to be Guinness and Champagne but that's a bit expensive to drink by the pint so cider usually replaced the Champagne.
Shandy was originally beer with ginger beer but this became beer about 50/50 with what we call lemonade.
A variation is called "tops" which is mostly beer with a dash of "lemonade"