Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Mint Chocolate Stout

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eschatz

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Messages
3,427
Reaction score
54
Location
Terre Haute, IN
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084)
Yeast Starter
Yes
Batch Size (Gallons)
5.5
Original Gravity
1.060
Final Gravity
1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
23.4
Color
35.9
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
4 weeks
Tasting Notes
42 out of 50 on a personal rating scale.
Mint Chocolate Stout


8 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 65.31 %
1 lbs Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 8.16 %
1 lbs Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 %
12.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 6.12 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.08 %
8.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 4.08 %
0.70 oz Cluster [7.00 %] (60 min) Hops 16.8 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (10 min) Hops 6.2 IBU
0.25 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (2 min) Hops 0.4 IBU
0.50 oz Mint (Secondary 5.0 min) Misc
8.0 oz Cocoa Powder (3.0 SRM) Sugar 4.08 %
1 Pkgs Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084) Yeast-Ale


60 Min mash at 152 F

This beer is very balanced and dry. A thick chocolate flavor is rounded by a slight bitterness from the cluster hops. The mint character waits until the finish of the beer when it comes through very cleanly and smoothly. This does not have an overwhelming mint character. This is a very subtle and balanced beer. Enjoy. :mug:
 
I racked the stout ontop of the mint in the secondary. Let it sit for about a week and a half. Great stuff.
 
this sounds AMAZING! sadly, i'm not supplied with all grain equipment :( how would I be able to pull this off via extract? thanks so much!
 
hmmm sounds nice. a cold-weather beer though? Would this lend itself to becoming a sweeter recipe, and/or would you change anything about it next time around?
 
I would possibly add slightly more mint to the beer. However, there is a fine line. At the original recipe it contained a hint in the background of a very respectable chocolate stout. If there was a little more mint I might be happier. However, the hint at the end is certainly better than over-doing it. You could add it at .75oz or even bump to 1 oz. More than that would be risky-bidness.
 
Nah, I used just straight Hershey's Cocoa Powder. Just like I used to make chocolate milk with when I was a kid! :D
 
I ordered all the grains for this (and then some) today... my mouth is watering.... :)

This is going to be my first all grain
 
WOOOHOOO Nice man. You'll be in for a beer that you've probably never tasted before. They key is that it's a good choc stout recipe. How much mint you put on top of that is up to you. I'd advise not to go too overboard though because the character of this beer will age and mellow and really round out. If you brew this now it'll be drinkable like any other beer in a month or so but it'll still be going strong for next X-mas for beer gifts. :mug:
 
got everything today... maybe tomorrow or sunday is a brew day :)

question;
I have not made a stout before, i know the Cara-Pils, Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L, and the Chocolate Malt are for steeping....
is the flaked barley and roasted barley also steeping grains, or do they go in the mash?

ty in advance,

:)
 
got the goods from Yooper,

did this today AG on stvetop using DeathBrewers partial mash method, and it was awesome.

I got perfect 1.060 OG, and that is about 77% efficiency!
the small sample for taking the OG was delicious too.

cheers!
:mug:
 
This sounds pretty interesting. Did you crush the mint? I'd imagine that if you didn't that would make a huge difference in the mint's strength.
 
I only cut up the mint leaves into small 1/8" segments.

You could muddle it. Didn't think about that!
 
Eschatz, just have to followup... this has been in primary for exactly one month (May2) or 31 days...
racked just now to secondary with organic mint. sg 1.010, and the sample is so delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to make this again for sure. cant wait to drink it!
 
I racked to keg with 1/2 cup corn sugar about 5 weeks ago, and it is very delicious. This is getting tastier by the day.
It is fairly malty, not sure if this is just the way mine turned out or what but I like it very much (I used marris otter also).

The mint character is very subtle but then again I put whole leaves in secondary without any chopping whatever, so you could split the leaves into quarters and get more mint flavor if you prefer. I am looking forward to getting another batch of this going soon.... ;)
 
I was just setting this up in Beer Smith so I have it to brew late summer/early fall, and as usual, I have a couple questions....

It is showing me an IBU of 13.4 and you show 23.4, was there a misprint or did I miss something?

When you added the mint to the secondary, your orig. recpie says 5 mins, but its safe to assume its longer than that.. was it 5 days or 14 days......?

This really sounds amazing and I almost wish it would be cold enough, long enough for me to try this before it gets too warm out, but its a bit late for that. I don't think it'd make a good lawnmower/summer beer.
 
Looks like a great recipe I'd like to try, but I don't know about making a full 5 gallons. Anybody ever try a 1 or 2 gallon batch?
 
Just stumbled across this one and it sounds interesting. Has anyone aged this? Do the mint flavors fade as quickly as they do with hops when you dry hop a beer?
 
I just racked my stout on top of the mint leaves about 4 days ago. Going to let it sit for a week or so and then bottle. I soaked the leaves in Vodka before racking so I'll follow up when I actually bottle (and then afterwards when I taste). Very excited about the prospect.
 
this is about to be my first all grain adventure too. I am making one slight change and that is when I go to secondary I have two small 3 gallon buckets so I am only making half with mint and half with out. I am a big fan of doing small experiments like this. I will make sure to let everyone know how i goes.
 
I'm trying this today and mashing at 156. I think I'd rather have it a little sweeter. Going to soak minced mint leaves in vodka until kegging. We will see how it turns out.
 
I was referring to the mint flavor, not the hops.

Anyone???

I was referring to your comparison to dry hopping. I would think if you want a long lasting Mint flavor you'd be better off boiling the leaves in the wort for 30 minutes and leaving them in the primary. Just my 0.02...
 
In a couple days I am going to add my mint. I minced it and it has been soaking in vodka ever since. I check it today and it smells fantastic. I think I am just going to dump the whole thing in. I'll be drinking towards Thanksgiving so I will keep you updated on the brew and the life of the mint.
 

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