Milk Chocolate Stout recipe: critique, please

Hey gang, I know this concept has been explored countless times--I've read most (all?) the threads. But I thought I would post my planned recipe for your thoughts. Let me know if you think there are any problems with it and fill in any questions.

I'm starting with Midwest Brewing's Cream Stout recipe kit and modifying it. I'm shooting for a sweeter, creamier chocolate stout with a definite chocolate taste, more than just a hint (e.g., something like Young's Double Chocolate Stout):

0.5 lb Pale Chocolate Malt (cold steeped 24hrs, added to boil)
0.5 lb British Chocolate Malt (cold steeped 24 hrs, added to boil)
0.5 lb Black Patent Malt (steeped at 155 for 30 min, or cold steeped ??)
0.5 lb Caramel 80L Malt (steeped at 155 for 30 min)
6 lb Dark LME
1 lb Lactose (This is 2x the MW recipe)
4-8 oz (qty ???) High-end Dutch Processed Cocoa powder (to add at last 5 min of boil, or flameout)
1 oz Northern Brewer Hops (60 min)
Wyeast London Ale 1028 (or Dry: Safale S-04 ? Other ??)

Will the 0.5 lb Caramel and the 1 lb Lactose be sufficient to balance out the bitterness from the roasted malts, the cocoa, and the hops? Or should I add another 0.5 lb of Caramel malt? Or something else?

Will the 1 lb Lactose be too much? If so, would it mostly affect sweetness or mouthfeel?

I'm told the chocolate malts will add a nice chocolateyness. So how much cocoa powder will I need? I'm guessing no more than 8 oz. Thoughts?

Obviously, the flavors of this beer are not yeast-driven. Should I mess with the Wyeast and make a starter (OG here will be ~1.050) or just pitch a couple packets of a particular dry yeast?

Thanks!

Does anyone have any thoughts about this? I've made the Cream Stout before and it was quite good. Seemed like the perfect base for a Chocolate version.

I recently did a Milk Stout that turned out pretty good, so I'll give you a little feedback based on my experience.

My recipe used 1 lb of Black Patent, but you are starting with Dark LME while I did an all grain batch with a Maris Otter base malt, so your combination of 0.5 lb black patent with Dark LME could be comparable there. I've never used Dark LME though, so I'm not real sure what color and flavor that will add.

My recipe used 0.75 lb of Carmel 80L and 1 lb of lactose which is similar to what you plan to use. I don't think 1 lb of lactose in a 5 gal batch is too much, especially if you want something on the sweeter side. In my opinion the lactose added both sweetness and body to the beer.

I used one packet of S-04, sprinkled directly onto the wort without rehydrating and it seemed to ferment out fine. That method should work if you don't want to go to the trouble of making a starter.

Unfortunately I can't give you any advice on the cocoa powder. I made mine using cacao nibs in the secondary, which turned out great. I used 1 oz of nibs per gallon and aged for about 5 days in secondary before bottling.

Hope that helps, at least a little bit. Good luck, and let us know how it all turns out!

The Homebrew Nerd
thehomebrewnerd.com

It has been too long. But I need to post an update. In the fall of 2012, I brewed this chocolate cream Stout. The only changes to the above recipe were Amber LME, Cold steeping of all of the roasted malt, and 4 ounces of cocoa powder. I decided to go with dutched cocoa.

In the end it turned out very good. The pound of lactose gave it a smoothness and slight sweetness. Cold steeping the chocolate malts seems to have prevented excessive bitterness. The chocolate flavor is definitely there, but is quite faint still. Some people say they wouldn't have known it was chocolate if I hadn't told them. So I am thinking about increasing the amount of cocoa in the next go round by two or maybe 4 ounces more. What do you think?

I'm also wondering what the effects of using oats would be on this recipe. Would I just be trying to do too many things with this? Chocolate, lactose, oats etc.

All in all, this was quite successful for me. I will definitely do it again. My only question is whether I should continue to try to tweak it or leave it as it is.