All-Grain - Andes Mint Chocolate Stout

**modernlifeisANDY** · 11-20-2010, 11:49 PM

Recipe Type: All Grain
Yeast: WLP004
Yeast Starter: None
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter: None
Batch Size (Gallons): 5
Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.016
IBU: 28
Boiling Time (Minutes): 60
Color: 37 SRM
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): 14 days @ 68
Additional Fermentation: None
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp): Kegged
Tasting Notes: See below.

I made this beer as an attempt to give myself something a little darker and flavorful for the upcoming winter, but my fear is that it won't last much past November! This is a delicious dessert beer - the peppermint flavor is mostly aroma with a tiny kick on the back end complemented well by some hop spice. The beer pours black with a nice half-inch head that laces well and looks like chocolate milk that you've shaken up. Mouthfeel is creamy and thick, with a nice carbonation cushion. I know that a lot of people don't like mint with chocolate or mint with beer, but it's worth it!

Andes Mint Chocolate Stout

8 lbs. Pale 2-Row (UK)
1 lb. Flaked Barley
0.5 lb. Carafa III
0.5 lb. Crystal 40
0.5 lb. Chocolate Malt
0.5 lbs. Rice Hulls

1.75 oz. East Kent Goldings (4.5% AA) 60 min.

8 oz. unsweetened cocoa powder (last 5 of the boil)
2 tsp. pure peppermint extract at bottling/kegging time

Mashed at 156 for 60 minutes, batch sparge to 6.5 gallons for the boil.

Pitched one vial WLP004 Irish Ale yeast, no starter (definitely make a starter if the yeast isn't super fresh, but mine took it down to 1.016 just fine).

Comments welcome!

ultravista · 11-21-2010, 03:25 AM

Man that looks good. I wish I was in your neck of the woods ...

**modernlifeisANDY** · 12-05-2010, 05:24 PM

So if Thanksgiving was any judge, I better brew up 10g of this for the next go round. I blew through this - it's a great winter beer, but I definitely did not keep it around long enough for those temperatures to really drop.

Highly recommended.

**nootay** · 12-06-2010, 04:14 PM

i have everything for this receipe except the carafa III. Is there a substitute for this or should i wait till i place my next grain order?

**jbrookeiv** · 12-06-2010, 04:26 PM

Sounds amazing.

**modernlifeisANDY** · 12-06-2010, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nootay

i have everything for this receipe except the carafa III. Is there a substitute for this or should i wait till i place my next grain order?

You can sub in half a pound of roasted barley, but make sure you still go with some rice hulls. They're both dehusked grains so you'll get a lot of sludge in your mash and it can clog a SS braid pretty easily if that's what you use.

**nootay** · 12-06-2010, 05:19 PM

excellent! i have exactly a half pound of roasted barley left. i think i have a similar yeast as well. if so ill be trying it this week!

**modernlifeisANDY** · 12-06-2010, 06:34 PM

Nice, let me know what you think. If the peppermint is weird for you, try starting with 1 tsp. instead of 2. I found 2 to be perfect, but a little mint goes a long way.

**nootay** · 12-07-2010, 02:49 AM

sounds good, i think i will start with 1 tsp. i just want that slight minty finish. i have flaked wheat, not flaked barley. i placed an order for all the right grains, will be brewing this weekend!

**nootay** · 12-11-2010, 10:59 PM

just finished brewing this one! some how ended up with 4.5 gallons instead of 5. because of that i ended up with a gravity of 1.068. Hopefully thats not too high. I did not make a starter with this one because of the low gravity i was planning on. this is my first chocolate stout. i tasted the wort and it was pretty darn bitter. is this normal for a chocolate stout? does the bitterness tone down some after its finished fermenting/cooled/carbed? definitely looking forward to the finished product