Winter Solstice Chipotle Porter All Grain Recipe

This just went into the fermenter 5 days ago and still has a little bit to go, but this was a DARK and heavy brew! Lot of sweet to the wort with a nice hint of smoke from the Beechwood-smoked malt and Chipotle powder. Could also draw the chocolate from the roasted malt and cocoa nibs. Doubtful I'll be enjoying on the shortest day of the year, but it will be in the glass by Christmas. Will move up or down on the star-rating after the first sip...

A friend of mine bought 2 of these kits, he's just getting into all grain. We brewed 10 gallons on my equipment for him. I've never brewed a "kit" beer before but this is a good one. Chocolate, coffee notes with a slight bite on the back end. I love this beer!

Only item I have to mention that is a slight negative is the instruction sheet looks like its a 7 generation copy. Thankfully this is not my first time brewing (7 years and counting) but for a newbie it may have been difficult to read. Other than that, great price and cant wait to taste final results!

This beer turned out great! Great roast flavor. The chocolate addition sweetens it just before the chipotle spice kicks in. Adjustments I would make for next time: possibly slightly less chipotle. It's pretty spicy, but after 1 or 2 that burn mellows out. Bag the cacao nibs! I plugged the valve on my brew kettle during transfer to chill.

This was my second homebrew and it turned out great! Out of hundreds of beers sampled, this is only the third beer that my girlfriend will drink. The spice isn't overpowering and it has a nice smoke flavor. I will be redoing this recipe many times with slight variations to try something new each time. I had it in the primary for 4 weeks, carbed it for 2 weeks, and have had it tapped for a couple weeks so far. It probably won't last long.