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Mahanoy · 06-22-2010, 10:55 PM

I got totally hooked on Nutella while living in Germany (actually, I was living in the former East Germany so I had the eastern version, Nudossi, almost as much as Nutella), where they put that delicious ambrosia on just about everything. Nothing beats it on a big, warm soft pretzel for breakfast!

So I'm thinking of capturing that same magic in a sweet stout. Nutella's basically milk, chocolate, and hazelnut, so here's a recipe I came up with to match that. I hope to brew it sometime this week.

Extract + Specialty Grains, 5 gallon batch

6.00# light DME
0.75# black patent
0.50# chocolate malt
0.50# roasted barley

2.50 oz. East Kent Goldings (60)
1.00# lactose powder (60)
1 Whirlfloc tablet (15)
8.00 oz. Hershey's cocoa powder (5)

Wyeast 1084 - Irish Ale

4.00 oz. crushed cacao nibs in secondary
1.00 oz. hazelnut extract at bottling

Estimated OG - 1.061
Estimated FG - 1.016
Estimated IBU - 36
Estimated SRM - 46
Estimated ABV - 5.9%

I have a couple of questions and I'd love to hear some thoughts:

1. The chocolates - it seems that a mixture of powder and nibs will give a good mix of flavor, aroma and bitterness. I want the chocolate to be obvious but not totally overwhelming, so I wonder if these are good ballpark amounts of powder and nibs.

2. The hazelnut - anyone ever use hazelnut extract before? I want the hazelnut to be obvious as well, but not to overpower the chocolate. I want chocolate with a background of hazelnut, so I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on a good ratio.

Many thanks, y'all!

DKershner · 06-22-2010, 11:00 PM

I am not 100% sure, but I think there is a problem with introducing fat from cocoa powder to your beer. I think you need fat free cocoa powder. I also think you are heavy on the cocoa. I would use 4oz total for what you describe.

Also, that is ALOT of roasted grains, so make sure you also want a burnt, coffee flavor in there as well. Although, I notice you are probably steeping, so maybe the taste doesn't come through as much, I can't remember.

The rest looks fine to me.

HalfPint · 06-22-2010, 11:04 PM

Well I can definitely tell you that adding the cocoa powder at 5 minutes will add a good bit of chocolate flavor. Also, have never using hazelnut extract, but as someone who has used extracts, always use less in the beginning and taste. I would think 1/2 oz would probably be good. The nibs, I have no idea. do a bit of searching and you'll probably find something about it.

GL,
J

HalfPint · 06-22-2010, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dkershner

I am not 100% sure, but I think there is a problem with introducing fat from cocoa powder to your beer. I think you need fat free cocoa powder. I also think you are heavy on the cocoa. I would use 4oz total for what you describe.

Also, that is ALOT of roasted grains, so make sure you also want a burnt, coffee flavor in there as well. Although, I notice you are probably steeping, so maybe the taste doesn't come through as much, I can't remember.

The rest looks fine to me.

Agreed.

That much black patent will be ultra roasty!

Here is something that you might be ultra interested in. http://beerdujour.com/Recipes/Jamil/

That's Jamil's recipes. He's got a recipe on that page for Chocolate Hazelnut Porter and that may be something that you would be interested in. If not, I'd maybe start with a recipe like this one http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/o-flannagain-standard-41072/ which is really good recipe and use Jamil's tricks from there.

J

Edcculus · 06-22-2010, 11:23 PM

I'd focus on making the base for this beer a sweet stout. I've seen a lot of people using cocoa nibs and not negatively effecting head retention. The fats only come out when you grind them into a paste like they do in chocolate making.

I've never used hazelnut extract before, but I absolutely LOVE Nutella (my fiancee's family is Italian), so I don't see how it could go wrong!

Mahanoy · 06-23-2010, 12:27 AM

Thanks, y'all!

I'm definitely shooting for that roasty flavor from the black patent and roasted barley, so no worries there. And IIRC the roasted barley will give the head a nice brown tint, which just adds to the Nutella theme. Plus I figure that the roastiness and burnt tinges should be balanced out by the lactose, chocolate and hazelnut. I hope it's not too over the top, anyway.

I hadn't considered the fat issue from the cocoa powder. I just took a look at a tin I have in the cupboard and it's 0.5g fat per serving, with about 45 servings in the tin. That adds up to 22.5 grams, or about 3/4 oz. 3/4 oz. of fat in 5 gallons of beer shouldn't be a problem in terms of head retention, should it? Jamil's recipe (thanks for the link!) just says 8 oz. cocoa powder at the end of the boil, so hopefully it will be ok.

**ChshreCat** · 06-23-2010, 12:43 AM

There's a cocoa I use in my double chocolate oatmeal snout recipe. It's called "Wondercocoa" by a company called Wonderslim. It's 99.9% fat free and works great in my beer. If you can find it, definitely use it. I get it at a food co-op, but I've seen it in grocery stores before, just not as regularly.

edit: This is the stuff

billc68 · 06-23-2010, 12:54 AM

I tried 2 oz of dark chocolate in a stout and you can barely taste it, the fat was a non issue as oils float, and you siphon from the bottom, just leave a couple of oz behind when racking.

I have seen another recipe that used about 12oz of cocao so I think you are pretty safe.

What about using actual ground hazelnuts? and lots, like a pound or so??? any ideas? comments? I would be curious to try that.

I WOULD DEFINITELY like to get a report when complete, I as well, love Nutella, but don't be misled, Nutella is mostly hazelnut with a hint of cocoa, not chocolate with a hint of Hazelnuts, so don't be afraid to use lots of nuts or extract in relation to your cocoa.

Mahanoy · 06-23-2010, 02:37 AM

Thanks, ChshreCat! Never heard of that brand. I'm kind of over a barrel, though... I grew up near Hershey and feel a fierce loyalty!

Bill, that's a good point about the hazelnut-chocolate mix in Nutella. Nudossi is a bit more chocolatey, but it's still pretty strong in the hazelnut. But really, is there anything not awesome about chocolate and hazelnut, no matter the ratio?

I didn't think of adding real hazelnuts - that's an awesome idea! I already have the extract, though, so I'll give that a go with this batch and then try nuts (maybe with a quick run through a food processor then into the secondary along with the cacao nibs?) next time around. I think I'll just tweak it at bottling until it's screaming "NUTELLA" at me.

Will definitely keep you posted on this one - should be an interesting brew!

HalfPint · 06-23-2010, 03:41 AM

This may sound kinda crazy, but I don't think nutella has any preservatives http://www.nutellausa.com/ingredients.htm, so why not just add a jar at the last 5 minutes of the boil?

Lol, I know that's really thinking outside of the box!