Out of the Bottle: Porter vs Porter

My Beer

My attempt to clone Samuel Smith Taddy Porter is ready to pour. For a change of pace, I've picked up a 4-pack of the real deal to compare and contrast against my efforts. Since I'm not exactly an impartial judge, my girlfriend agreed to blind taste test the two beers side by side in identical, unmarked glasses. I've mixed her notes in with mine.

First off, I must say that the beers look remarkably similar. Taddy pours with a slightly larger head, but the beers share the same deep garnet hue. Mine has a bit more carbonation going on. Both beers have good head retention and leave some lace behind.

My girlfriend's first comment was that my beer was very similar, but finished quicker than the Samuel Smith. She also noted that the Samuel Smith is slightly more bitter, with more depth of flavor. The first thing I noticed was that my beer has a more roasted edge and is a bit nuttier. It also lacks the unique dark fruit esters that I sense in all of the Samuel Smith beers.

The Real Deal

Dialing back the roast in my beer should be simple enough. Next time I brew, I'll use less Chocolate Malt. The fruity esters will be harder to duplicate. While a very nice yeast, the Wyeast West Yorkshire I used seems a bit too neutral. Plus, I can't control my temps to the level that a commercial brewery can without investing in more equipment.

My final verdict is that this was a decent first shot at cloning one of my favorite beers. The Samuel Smith people have been brewing their recipe for years. I've only tried once. Hopefully I'll get closer next time.

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