Chocolate Porter attempt

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qbst

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I wanted to try to create a monster chocolate porter. It's my first partial brewing experience, so I wanted something with extra oompf. I fiddled around with a bunch of recipes, and finally came up with one of my own. I'm wondering whether I've got it right, or if I've got it horribly wrong. Whatcha think?

7.0 lb Amber DME
4.0 oz Black Patent malt
6.0 oz Special B malt
12.0 oz Chocolate malt
12.0 oz Crystal malt 60
8.0 oz table sugar
4.0 oz dark brown sugar

1.5 oz Bullion at 60 (7.75 AA)
.5 oz wilamette at 30 (2.5 AA)
.5 oz wilamette at 5 (2.5 AA)

Wyeast London Ale (1028)

3 tbsp cocoa powder into primary
1 tbsp vanilla extract into primary

brewtarget says:
1.086 OG
1.022 FG

8.4 ABV
33.2 IBUs
47.3 SRM
 
It looks good to me. what is the estimate OG and FG?

I am still a beginner myself, but from what I have read, things like vanilla and cocoa should go into secondary, or late primary if you are doing an extended primary to bottle.

That is a lot of specialty stuff, some might say you need a lighter base...but regardless it sounds like it wouldn't turn out horrible.

Never read much on bullion. what its flavor profile?
 
I used 8oz of cocoa in a beer once ( in secondary). Couldn't taste it at all. It all settled out.


I feel like it really needs to be in the boil.
 
Kylewolf, Brewerylane says that bullion is:

Intense, black currant aroma, spicy and pungent.

Synovia, into the boil? When would you suggest putting it in? Also, from your post, I think I should up my cocoa. 3 tbsp is only 1/2 oz, so... yeah. I want a good strong chocolate flavor, and it sounds like I should bump it way up. A cup, maybe?

And I imagine I'd do the same to the vanilla (keeping the proportions approximately the same). I want it to support the chocolate a little and smooth the beer out a little.

I've never used cocoa or vanilla extract before, so it's good to know how much and when more experienced brewers use 'em.
 
I want to say 1 tbsp of vanilla could be too much, but I'm not basing that on experience. Have you looked at other recipes using vanilla to see how much they used?
 
I want to say 1 tbsp of vanilla could be too much, but I'm not basing that on experience. Have you looked at other recipes using vanilla to see how much they used?

I've checked out a bunch of recipes, and it seems like it varies wildly. I've seem as little as 1tbsp added at bottling to 4 tbsp added at primary to 8 tbsp added at bottles, and lots in between.

Seems like folks don't use the vanilla extract til late in the game. I haven't seen any added at boil, and only a few in primary.
 
Kylewolf, Brewerylane says that bullion is:

Intense, black currant aroma, spicy and pungent.

Synovia, into the boil? When would you suggest putting it in? Also, from your post, I think I should up my cocoa. 3 tbsp is only 1/2 oz, so... yeah. I want a good strong chocolate flavor, and it sounds like I should bump it way up. A cup, maybe?

And I imagine I'd do the same to the vanilla (keeping the proportions approximately the same). I want it to support the chocolate a little and smooth the beer out a little.

I've never used cocoa or vanilla extract before, so it's good to know how much and when more experienced brewers use 'em.

Don't know. Boiling is just my suggestion.


I do know, however, that adding it to the secondary, in my case, did absolutely nothing to the beer. It all settled out into a sludge.
 
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