Edcculus
Well-Known Member
I've been thinking long and hard about chocolate in beer since my "what you need to know about chocolate for brewing" thread. Cocoa powder is the brewers best choice, besides maybe chocolate extract. The problem is that it doesn't mix well. Anyone who has ever added cocoa powder to the boil knows it creates a goopy mess and never fully integrates into the beer. It does impart flavor, but ultimately drops out of suspension.
Now think about a chocolate bar. Its made of fat (cocoa butter), solids (cocoa powder, sugar and sometimes milk solids) and seasonings (vanilla). If you look on the back of a chocolate bar, you will more than likely see an ingredient called lecithin. Lecithin is a type of phospolipid which can latch onto both water and fat. Phospolipids are the reason we have such creations as mayonaise, vinegarettes, and yes, chocolate. All those cocoa solids are bound up in the emulsion created by the fat and small amount of water. There is a lot more going on in a chocolate bar (fat crystals etc) that doesn't really matter to us.
What we need to do then, is emulsify the cocoa solids in something that will not be detrimental to our beer. A chocolate bar is out. Too much fat. Possibly a chocolate bar with at least 80% cacao. Those are pretty hard to come by and can get expensive. Other ingredients with naturally occuring emulsfiers include egg yolk, mustard powder. We don't want that in our beer either.
That leaves us with the wort. I don't claim to have any knowledge of chemical makeup of wort (besides that its really sugary, mainly maltose). I'm wondering if you were to pull a small amount of wort, cool it down, add the cocoa and mix it like crazy. If you have ever made mayonnaise you know what I mean. IF wort has enough naturally occuring emulsifiers (I'm willing to bet it might), the cocoa powder will be bound up with the wort and less likely to fall out of suspension.
I'll admit this is a complete crackpot theory. I'm going to pick up some cocoa powder and try mixing it up with some DME. Maybe it will work. I'll keep you posted.
Now think about a chocolate bar. Its made of fat (cocoa butter), solids (cocoa powder, sugar and sometimes milk solids) and seasonings (vanilla). If you look on the back of a chocolate bar, you will more than likely see an ingredient called lecithin. Lecithin is a type of phospolipid which can latch onto both water and fat. Phospolipids are the reason we have such creations as mayonaise, vinegarettes, and yes, chocolate. All those cocoa solids are bound up in the emulsion created by the fat and small amount of water. There is a lot more going on in a chocolate bar (fat crystals etc) that doesn't really matter to us.
What we need to do then, is emulsify the cocoa solids in something that will not be detrimental to our beer. A chocolate bar is out. Too much fat. Possibly a chocolate bar with at least 80% cacao. Those are pretty hard to come by and can get expensive. Other ingredients with naturally occuring emulsfiers include egg yolk, mustard powder. We don't want that in our beer either.
That leaves us with the wort. I don't claim to have any knowledge of chemical makeup of wort (besides that its really sugary, mainly maltose). I'm wondering if you were to pull a small amount of wort, cool it down, add the cocoa and mix it like crazy. If you have ever made mayonnaise you know what I mean. IF wort has enough naturally occuring emulsifiers (I'm willing to bet it might), the cocoa powder will be bound up with the wort and less likely to fall out of suspension.
I'll admit this is a complete crackpot theory. I'm going to pick up some cocoa powder and try mixing it up with some DME. Maybe it will work. I'll keep you posted.