Nothing Fancy Chocolate Milk Stout
 

14.5 LB Maris Otter
2 LB Flaked Barley
1.25 LB UK - Chocolate
1 LB Roasted Barley
1.25 LB UK - Brown
.5 LB Extra Dark Crystal 160L
2 LB Milk Sugar (5-10 Minutes left in the boil, it's not science)

Hops:
1.5 OZ Northern Brewer 7.8 AA (60 Minute)

Additions:
8 OZ Cacao Nibs (KA-KOW!)
2 Whirlfloc Tablets
Wyeast Yeast Nutrient

Primed with 8 oz Corn Sugar

Mashed at 155 for 60 minutes.
Sparged at 174.


The nibs work best if you soak them in vodka for ~3 days before you throw them into the primary. Cover them with vodka and then pour the whole thing into the fermenter, cheap ABV boost! Do this after the 2 week mark and let them sit for 3-4 days. I didn't secondary this, I threw the nibs into the primary. The longer they sit, the more chocolate you'll get, but I like how 3-4 days tastes. No overpowering chocolate, but enough to make you smile.

A friend tried it with cocoa powder and got similar results, but I still prefer the nibs.

The beer snobs, SWMBO and regular beer folks all loved this, so I wanted to share it. I can't seem to keep up with demand.

It only gets better with age, the last batch was fantastic at the 2 week after bottling mark and ungodly delicious at the 2 month mark.

Cheers for now. :mug:

http://imgur.com/L62Oo

What yeast did you use?

For some reason my whole recipe along with og and fg didn't show up. I'll fix it but until then I used wyeast Irish ale.

Does Irish Ale dry out the stout or does it have a nice finish?
Also, why vodka?
I was thinking of soaking the nibs in bourbon. Just curious if the vodka adds anything.
Thanks for the recipe by the way

It finished nice and smooth. Not dry at all. Also, much like vanilla beans, you need some alcohol to extract the flavor and since such a small amount is pretty flavorless in a 10g batch, it doesn't add anything but chocolate.

yumyum
 

I'm trying this recipe out. I don't really like stouts but I've made so many Pale Ales and IPAs that I thought I'd try something different. I really like rogues chocolate stout. Its going to be fun. I just need to get some yeast soak the nibs and see about getting it done. Hows the head retention? I'm probably going to use pacman yeast how will that fair rather than the 1084?

The pacman yeast will probably be just fine. The wad retention is on par for a stout, but after about a month in bottles. It's ready to drink sooner, but it's perfect at the 3 month mark.

Did you boil at 60 or 90?

Wad retention made me giggle...:ban:

I boil for 90.

Don't hate on my wad retention!