In the Fermentor: Tadcaster Porter

Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is one of my favorite beers in the whole-wide-world. Famed beer writer Michael Jackson even coined it “One of the world’s five best beers.” It was one of my gateway beers back in the early 90s and has stuck with me ever since.

Although I'll be hard pressed to truly duplicate Taddy Porter, it never hurts to try. After some extensive internet research, I've formulated this recipe using entirely English malts and hops, plus a yeast strain that's supposedly the one used by Samuel Smith. The finished beer should be nutty, roasty and slightly sweet, with a mild bitterness. Here's the plan for five gallons:

Grains:
7 lbs Maris Otter
1 lb English Brown
1 lb English Medium Crystal
12 oz English Chocolate

Hops:
1 oz Fuggles (6.0% a.a.): 60 min
1 oz Fuggles (6.0% a.a.): 7 min

Yeast:
Wyeast 1469 - West Yorkshire

Mash Schedule:
Saccharification Rest: 151F for 60min
Mashout: 168F for 15 minutes

Original Gravity:
1.048
Estimated Final Gravity:
1.010

IBU: 30
SRM Color: 29

Fermentation Schedule:
3 Weeks Primary
2 Weeks Bottle Conditioning

As you can see from the gravity readings, Taddy isn't a terribly strong beer. If the yeast does its thing, the beer should clock in at around 5.0% ABV. I'll report back in five weeks with how things turned out.

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