Thanks for the response. Im not too worried about the taste, I was just hoping for something dark. I think you're right about the crush on the choc malt.
My local brew shop sells the LME in 3.3lb cans, so I bought 2 or those and 1lb of DME. My wort looks pretty dark, but it should be okay. I was worried when I didn't see any airlock activity, but it was a warm day yesterday and there was plenty of bubbles last night.
I just wanted to add my $0.02...I brewed this on 5-8-2010, and it's currently bubbling away 24 hours later. The only major substitute I had to make was that of the cocoa powder...I had to use Hershey brand instead of the Ghiradelli, so I hope that's not some major frak-up. My OG was 1.084 pre-yeast pitch, when it was at about 75 degrees. The wort smells really good, so hopefully I am off to a good start.
I'm definitely putting this one in the "early fall" brew pipeline for sure. From experience with Hazelnut flavorings in beers (I'm a huge fan of cloning Rogue's Hazelnut Brown Nectar), you can use store bought Hazelnut coffee flavoring syrup. It works perfectly and is really cheap. Just taste as you mix it into the secondary and all will be well.
With the AG, at what temp did you mash at, and how much water?
Mashing a little on the high side (~154-156*f) is about right for this beer. I typically do 1.33 qts/lb for my strike water but have been trending up to 1.5 qts/lb lately when I don't have space limitations. Really, that shouldn't matter much.
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"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer."
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One question, did you end up with a rediculously high OG? I ended up with something like 1.0750 temperature corrected. Maybe I should have checked OG before adding the cocoa? I know my hydrometer is fairly accurate b/c it reads right at 1.000 for distilled water temperature corrected.
Also, this one took off FAST, in just about 2 hours I had airlock activity and it continues to bubble away nicely today.
I clocked in at 1.083 just now with temperature corrected. I guess I'll know in a few hours what kind of activity it will have. tastes good though.
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Primary 1: Black IIPA
Primary 2: Chocolate Coffee Porter
Secondary:
Bottled:
Kegged: IIPA, Negro Modelo Copy
Enjoying:
On Deck:
Linear Mode
