Garyius

Recipes 

I have decided to try actual chocolate. I am making a winter warmer (5gal), and my plan right now is to add 5 tablespoons of cocoa powder at flame-out, and 1 tablespoon of vanilla at secondary.

What am I doing wrong? What have you seen or done different?

ChshreCat

Recipes 

Depends on how much chocolate you're going for. Not sure how much you'll get from 5 tablespoons. I used a 9oz can of cocoa in my chocolate stout. Granted, that was meant to have chocolate as the main feature. If you're wanting just a slight hint of chocolate, then you might be right on.

__________________
"Science + beer = good!"
-Adam Savage

KingBrianI

Recipes 

Did the chocolate come through in the final beer? I've heard the cocoa powder settles out along with any flavor it contributes. I'm not sure I buy it though, as it should have extractable flavor compounds that will remain in the beer.

__________________
I'm too lazy and have too many beers going to keep updating this!

Garyius

Recipes 

Correct. I am looking for a taste to go along with the beer, not have it be a chocolate beer.

That is why I am asking. I have come up with the idea from net searches and my few brewing books. If you have heard different please let me know.

ChshreCat

Recipes 

The chocolate definitely came though. This was a chocolate-forward beer and that's what I wanted. Still don't know how much chocolate you'll get with 5 tablespoons, though. You could start with that and then if it's not enough, you could rack onto some cocoa nibs in secondary to give it a boost. Or even just add a little chocolate extract at bottling time.

The cocoa does settle out, but that's what you want. You don't want black powder floating around in the finished product. But, it does impart it's flavor on the beer quite well so no worries about that if you ask me.

__________________
"Science + beer = good!"
-Adam Savage

EoinMag

Recipes 

I did a chocolate stout with a coopers kit and some LME, I added 50g of cocoa nibs in primary and 200g of nibs in secondary.
It was delicious, not too much cocoa but it came through nicely in the aftertaste.
My brother was so impressed he wants me to set him up to brew himself.
I have another one on at the moment using a Youngs kit with the same LME and it's still in primary. Gonna transfer it to secondary during the week sometime and add another 200g nibs.

Garyius

Recipes 

Okay, I put in the powder at flame out and stirred until it stopped clumping.

After wort chilling I drank my gravity sample. It was very chocolate and had a light touch of grit. Hopefully with fermenting and secondary a bunch will fall out and the malt and hops taste will come racing back.

ChshreCat

Recipes 

With 9oz, my wort looked like sludge when I transferred it to the primary. By bottling time all the cocoa solids had dropped out into a thick chocolaty yeast cake leaving nothing but flavor behind.

__________________
"Science + beer = good!"
-Adam Savage

Garyius

Recipes 

Okay, I racked to secondary today.

At primary, I was at 1.060 (after adding the powder at flame out and wort chilling).

The airlock stopped any bubbles after 8 days, so I racked over. At racking, before adding the vanilla, I had 1.018.

Did I go too soon?

Garyius

Recipes 

Bottled today (Oct 21).

The Chocolate taste is down to a hint. Vanilla is down to nothing. Given that this beer is flat, it tastes like a great winter warmer with a light chocolate note.

My ABV calc shows 6.1.... Light? I did add 1 TBS vanilla extract at secondary.