If you have brewed a few batches already and want to try Baltic Porter, this is a straightforward, all-grain route to it. The backbone is Munich malt, with Saaz 4.2% doing most of the work in the boil.
Recipe at a Glance
Recipe at a Glance
| Style | Baltic Porter |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.048-1.065 |
| Final Gravity | 1.012-1.018 |
| ABV | 4.8-6.5% |
| IBU | 20-35 |
| SRM | 20-30 (dark brown) |
| Difficulty | Intermediate (all-grain) |
Brew Day, Step by Step
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1
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Mash · ~60 min Mash the grain bill, led by Munich malt, at a steady temperature to build the fermentable sugars this style needs. Sparge slowly so you do not lose efficiency. |
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2
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Boil · ~60-90 min Bring the wort to a boil and work through the hop schedule, starting with Saaz 4.2%. This is also where you will add any fining agent for a clearer finished beer. |
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3
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Ferment · 12C (54F) Pitch Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest Lager Blend once the wort has cooled to fermentation temperature and hold it steady. Primary fermentation is the most active week, do not rush it. |
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4
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Condition · 3 weeks at 12C (54F) Rack to secondary (or leave in primary if your recipe calls for it) and let the beer round out at a cool, steady temperature. This step does more for the final flavor than people expect. |
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5
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Package · 1 day, then wait Bottle or keg once gravity has held steady for a few days in a row. Give it time to carbonate and, for bigger styles, additional time to mellow before your first taste. |
That’s the shape of brew day and the weeks after it. For the exact grain bill, hop schedule, and full step-by-step instructions with amounts, use the recipe card below.
What You Will Need
Sourcing your own ingredients locally is always fine, but if you want to skip a homebrew store trip, here is what’s in stock in our shop right now:
- Base and specialty grain: Grains & Adjuncts (e.g. Weyermann Chocolate Rye Malt 1 Lb)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Chinook Hop Pellets 8 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. LalBrew Nottingham Brewing Yeast (2 Pack) – Make Beer at Home)
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. 3 Gallon Clear Glass Italian Carboy)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Corn Sugar Dextrose Bottling Priming Sugar 1 lb Highly Fermentable N)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Deluxe Bottling Kit Craft a Brew Homebrew Bottler Equipment Home Bre)
- Pour it right when it’s ready: a tulip glass shows off the color and holds the aroma better than a straight pint glass
Serve It Right
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A Baltic Porter is best served in a pint or nonic, it fits the body and carbonation of this style better than a straight pint glass. Here is one from our shop: |
Ingredients & Gear for This Batch
Grain / Adjuncts |
Hops |
Yeast |
Fermenter |
Priming Sugar |
Equipment Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Kit w/Equipment, Chinook IPA |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Baltic Porter
Equipment
- 1 Mash tun
- 1 Brew kettle
- 1 Heat source (such as a propane burner or stovetop)
- 1 Fermenter (such as a plastic bucket or glass carboy)
- 1 Airlock
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Hydrometer
- 1 Racking cane
- 1 Tubing
- 1 Bottles or kegging equipment
- 1 Bottle or keg caps
- 1 Bottle or keg cleaner and sanitizer
- 1 Brewing spoon or paddle
- 1 Grain mill (if milling your own grains)
Ingredients
For the Mash – Liquor 19.2 Litres (33¾ Pints) – Mash Time 1 hr – Temperature 67°c/153 °F
- 15.5 lb Munich malt Quantity 7kg
- 10½ oz Amber malt Quantity 300g
- 10 oz Carafa special III Quantity 286g
- 7 oz Biscuit malt Quantity 200g
- 10½ oz Chocolate malt Quantity 300g
- 3½ oz Caramunich I malt Quantity 100g
For the Boil – 27 Litres (47½ Pints) – Boil Time 1 hr – 10 mins
- 2½ oz (Hops) Saaz 4.2% When to add – At start of boil (IBU 27.4)
- ½ oz (Hops) Saaz 4.2% When to add – For last 15 mins of boil (IBU 2.6)
- 1 tsp Protofloc Other – When to add – For last 15 mins of boil
To Ferment – 12°C (54°F) – Conditioning 11+ weeks at 12°C (54°F)
- 1 Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest Lager Blend
Instructions
- Begin by heating the mash liquor to 67°C/153°F.
- In a separate container, combine the Munich malt, Amber malt, Carafa special III, Biscuit malt, Chocolate malt, and Caramunich I malt.
- Add the malt mixture to the mash liquor and stir well. Maintain the temperature at 67°C/153°F and let it rest for 1 hour.
- Drain the liquid (wort) from the mash tun into the boiler, taking care to leave the grains behind. Discard the grains.
- Bring the wort to a boil and add the 2.5 oz of Saaz hops.
- Boil the wort for 1 hour and 10 minutes, adding the 1 tsp of Protofloc and the remaining 0.5 oz of Saaz hops during the last 15 minutes of the boil.
- After the boil, cool the wort to 12°C/54°F, and transfer it to a fermenter.
- Pitch the Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest Lager Blend yeast into the fermenter and seal it with an airlock.
- Let the beer ferment for 11+ weeks at a constant temperature of 12°C/54°F.
- After fermentation is complete, bottle or keg the beer, carbonate it, and allow it to condition for a few weeks before drinking.
Get the fermentation temperature right on Baltic Porter and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Baltic Porter the Style It Is
Baltic Porter sits in a well-established style family, and the version most homebrewers land on today reflects decades of small adjustments by brewers chasing balance rather than novelty.
Expect a beer that leans on munich malt and saaz 4.2% once it is finished conditioning. Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest Lager Blend is the yeast strain behind that profile, so keep an eye on your fermentation temperature.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 4.8-6.5%
- Bitterness: 20-35 IBU
- Color: 20-30 (dark brown)
- Serving temp: 50-55F (10-13C)
- Glassware: a pint or nonic
- Food pairings: smoked meats, roasted vegetables, caramel desserts
Common Questions
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, the grain bill and hop schedule scale linearly with batch size. Just make sure your equipment, mash tun and boil kettle both, can actually handle the volume you are scaling to.
What is the biggest mistake homebrewers make with this style?
Rushing the schedule. Pulling a beer off yeast too early or skipping conditioning time is the most common way to shortchange a recipe like this one.
Can I substitute a different yeast strain?
You can, but expect the flavor profile to shift. Stick close to the same yeast family (English ale, American ale, Belgian, lager, etc.) if you want a result close to what this recipe is aiming for.
Keep Exploring
Once you have this one down, here are a few more homebrew recipes worth trying next:
Browse the full homebrew recipe collection for more styles, or if you are just getting into the hobby, start with one of our homebrewing starter kits for new brewers.
This recipe is for adults of legal drinking age. Please brew and drink responsibly, and always sanitize your equipment thoroughly to avoid infection.
