Vanilla/Licorice Porter: Original date 15-NOV-1997

-- At Dugland --
1. Materials:

• 1 Vanilla bean, scored lengthwise then cut into 3 parts


• 1 Muntons Gold Docklands Porter Kit (2 cans plus ale yeast)


• 1 Stick Italian licorice, pulverized with a hammer


• 5 gallons distilled spring water


• 2 pounds dextrose

1. Placed licorice powder & vanilla bean into 1 gallon of water & boiled for 1 hour. Water turned dark almost immediately.


2. (Before boil)
   
   
   
   • Placed remaining 4 gallons into snowbank for 2-3 hours. Temp=44F
   
   
   • Sterilized fermenter (glass)
   
   


3. (During boil) Softened up the two cans of hopped malt extract in hot water for 30 minutes


4. Added contents of the two cans + 2lbs of dextrose to the brewpot & brought to a vigorous boil for ~ 45 minutes.


5. Placed 3 gallons of cold distilled water into the fermenter & emptied brewpot into the fermenter. Added final gallon of cold water to fill to the middle of the bottleneck. Temperature worked out to exactly 70F!


6. 
   
   • Heated a small pan of water to 165F, then chilled to 70F in snowbank.
   
   
   • Woke up yeast for 10 minutes
   
   


7. Took Hygrometer reading of 1.040 at 70F = ~1.043 adjusted to 60F


8. Pitched yeast, attached cork & blow-off hose to fermenter


9. Placed in Dug's basement (65F ambient temp) with hose in water.

Contemporary notes -- August 2004

This was the first of two batches of Vanilla/Licorice porter I made from directions I got from Shelby Beer & Wine Supply. At the time I visited the store to get the ingredients for this batch, a fellow by the name of Bob -- another customer -- was in there drinking it up with the store's owner, whose name was Doug Hawley, if I remember correctly. They were also smoking pot, as I recall, so I guess it wasn't a really big surprise when the place went under a year or so later. I went in there a few times, and I don't think I ever saw Mr. Hawley sober, although he was an entertaining man. Anyway, this guy named Bob told me that if I had any questions about how to brew the beer to call his number, which I wrote down in the original version of my notes as (248)651-0123. He also claimed he would buy the stuff from me if I didn't like the beer! An AnyWho lookup of that number this evening turned up a listing for a Robert Klinkhamer in Shelby, MI, so that's probably the same guy!

Anyway, I never felt the need to call Bob, the beer turned out great, and I brewed more during my next brewing session.
At any rate, Dug and I spent a fine fall day brewing this beer in his upper Hamtramck flat, and we enjoyed ourselves a great deal.