Need help with Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout Clone

Hey everyone,

I just threw this recipe together based on the stuff listed on Brooklyn Brewery's website for their Black Chocolate Stout. I searched around with a few results where people had looked, but no real recipes with feedback. I don't know of a yeast that attenuates from 21.7 plato (1.090) to 1.016 to acheive the 10% ABV. I'm hoping the brewinary geniuses of this forum would be able to assist. Here goes nothin':

Title: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout Clone
Author: JordanThomas

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Russian Imperial Stout
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons
Boil Size: 7.5 gallons
Efficiency: 75%

STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.096
Final Gravity: 1.022
ABV (standard): 9.72%
IBU (rager): 56.05
SRM (morey): 40

FERMENTABLES:
13 lb - Pale 2-Row (65%)
2 lb - Caramel / Crystal 150L (10%)
1 lb - Wheat (5%)
1.5 lb - Chocolate (7.5%)
1.5 lb - Roasted Barley (7.5%)
0.5 lb - Black Barley (2.5%)
0.5 lb - Black Malt (2.5%)

HOPS:
1 oz - Willamette (AA 4.5) for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
1 oz - Fuggles (AA 4.5) for 60 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
1 oz - Fuggles (AA 4.5) for 30 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
1 oz - Willamette (AA 4.5) for 30 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Willamette (AA 4.5) for 5 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil
0.5 oz - Fuggles (AA 4.5) for 5 min, Type: Pellet, Use: Boil

MASH STEPS:
1) Temperature, Temp: 154 F, Time: 60 min

YEAST:
Danstar - Nottingham Ale Yeast
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 77%
Flocculation: High
Optimum Temperature: 57 F - 70 F

Thoughts? Ideas? Input?

How did this turn out? Looking to do something similar this weekend. Thanks!

Didn't end up brewing it. Figured I would just let it go. No feedback and I'm no pro.

i'd half all the grains (except the 2-row and maybe the chocolate). waaay too much dark malt

dcp27 said:

i'd half all the grains (except the 2-row and maybe the chocolate). waaay too much dark malt

Click to expand...

That & way to much crystal as well. You want to keep all your specialty malts at or below 15% of the total grain bill.

So Brooklyns black chocolate stout is on of my favorites... when would I add the chocolate and how could I do this at an extract and grain steeping level...

Bottled- Scottish ale
Secondary- Strawberry blonde ale
Primary-Perves cider (11.2%)

jason_g said:

So Brooklyns black chocolate stout is on of my favorites... when would I add the chocolate and how could I do this at an extract and grain steeping level...

Bottled- Scottish ale
Secondary- Strawberry blonde ale
Primary-Perves cider (11.2%)

Click to expand...

I don't have a good recipe, but the beer doesn't contain any actual chocolate.

here is the recipe
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout Clone


Brewer: Triple Freak Email: -
Beer: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout Clone Style: Imperial Stout
Type: Extract w/grain Size: 6.5 gallons
Color: 166 HCU (~50 SRM)
Bitterness: 74 IBU
OG: 1.088 FG: 1.022
Alcohol: 8.5% v/v (6.6% w/w)
Grain: 8.0 lb. British pale
1.0 lb. Wheat malt
1.0 lb. British chocolate
5 oz. British black patent
.75 lb. Roasted barley
1.0 lb. Rolled oats
Boil: minutes SG 1.076 7.5 gallons
6.5 lb. Light malt extract
Hops: 2.0 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 60 min.)
3.0 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 60 min.)
1.0 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 30 min.)
.5 oz. Kent Goldings (5% AA, 15 min.)


Recipe posted

For what it's worth, they also don't sparge when they brew this stuff.

sorry to revive a very old thread, but I love this beer and am about to brew my own similar version...

previous poster - that isn't the recipe, looking at their website and list of ingredients...

http://brooklynbrewery.com/brooklyn-beers/seasonal-brews/brooklyn-black-chocolate-stout

IBU is 51
ABV is 10%

Willamette and American Fuggle

the book "Beer Captured" has the following for Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout - which you could adjust to 51 IBU and use the right hops (above), plus up the percentages across the board to get to 10% ABV - He suggests mashing at 152 for 90 minutes - which I'd agree with to get the yeast to get to 10%

OG: 1.089
FG: 1.022
SRM: 100+
IBU: 47
ABV: 8.4%

14lb British 2-row
1lb US Wheat malt
15oz British chocolate malt
7oz British roasted barley
4oz flaked wheat
3oz British black patent malt
(90 minute mash @ 152F)

2.5oz EKG @ 90 minutes
0.5oz EKG @ 15 minutes
0.5oz Cascade @ 15 minutes
0.5oz Willamette @ 5 minutes
0.5oz Cascade @ 5 minutes

Yeast: 1056 or 1028 - but personally I plan to use 1726 and ferment around 65 - it will handle the high alcohol and will end up fairly clean with some plum and dark fruit esters.

I have been thinking about this clone also. Looks good! Let me know how it turns out.

So, has anyone brewed this?

I have not, I saw this and saves it and waiting to see if some does and if it needs any tweeking. About five years ago I brewed an extract kit I got from AHB and it was right on the money.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

I would love to brew a clone or something close to it. The last recipe looks decent. I would up the 2 Row a but and Mash between 148 and 150. I think I would also sub in some Munich for a bit more Malt flavor and body. I would love to do 10 gallons and ferment 5 gallons with a British Ale Yeast and 5 Gallons with a Belgian strain. I plan on brewing this sometime in July!

I'll brew it this coming weekend... 90+ degree weather won't stop me from drinking this!

Resto3
With an FG of 1.022 I wouldn't mash at 148. If there is plenty of healthy yeast and oxygen you'll end up with a dryish Imperial Stout, just my 2 cents.

I plan to mash at 152 for 90 minutes (to get as many fermentables out as I can) and pitch 10 gallons onto 2 yeast cakes:

3787 Trappist High Gravity
1469 West Yorkshire

belgian strain 1762 would also rock on this - you'd end up with dark fruit (black cherry and plum) mixed into the roasty grain bill. Keep in mind most belgian strains are going to dry this out, so adjust mash temp accordingly.

If I am still getting out sugars at the end of my sparge I may run off a separate session black or brown (5 gallons).

FYI - the recipe I posted was for 5 gallons, but I need to put it into my BeerTools software and adjust it to get to 9.75% or so. I'll post my adjusted recipe and efficiency I'm aiming for later. ALSO, looks like Brooklyn website lists caramel, so I'll be adding some medium crystal.

and I'll repost in a few weeks with results!

my personal take/ twist on Brooklyn's Double Choc Stout... calling it No Sleep til Brooklyn Stout - love me some Beastie Boys.
Note: Vienna is not in their recipe, but I love to cut back crystal and up Vienna (personal preference).
also, using a Carafa or debittered black instead of Roast barley. It'll be smoother, but plenty of roast flavor from all the chocolate in the recipe.


Brooklyn - No Sleep til - Stout
13-F Russian Imperial Stout

Size: 10.5*gal
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 77.0%
Calories: 300.64*kcal per 12.0*fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.090 (1.075 - 1.115)
Terminal Gravity: 1.021 (1.018 - 1.030)
Color: 33.72 (30.0 - 40.0)
Alcohol: 9.16% (8.0% - 12.0%)
Bitterness: 52.4 (50.0 - 90.0)

Ingredients:
27.0*lb (76.1%) Maris Otter - added during mash
4.0*lb (11.3%) Vienna Malt - added during mash
1*lb (2.8%) Crystal 60 - added during mash
1*lb (2.8%) De-Bittered Black Malt (Mout Roost 1400) - added during mash
2*lb (5.6%) Chocolate Malt - added during mash
8.0*oz (1.4%) British Black Patent - added during mash
4.0*oz (44.4%) Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 70.0*m
1.0*oz (11.1%) Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 70.0*m
1.0*oz (11.1%) Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0*m
1.0*oz (11.1%) Cascade (5.5%) - added during boil, boiled 10.0*m
1.0*oz (11.1%) Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 2.0*m
1.0*oz (11.1%) Willamette (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 2.0*m

Yeast 5 gallons will get Wyeast 1469
the other 5 will get either 3787 or 1762 - I'll update the thread after brew day.


Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.23

twelfthman01 said:

I'll brew it this coming weekend... 90+ degree weather won't stop me from drinking this!

Resto3
With an FG of 1.022 I wouldn't mash at 148. If there is plenty of healthy yeast and oxygen you'll end up with a dryish Imperial Stout, just my 2 cents.

I plan to mash at 152 for 90 minutes (to get as many fermentables out as I can) and pitch 10 gallons onto 2 yeast cakes:

3787 Trappist High Gravity
1469 West Yorkshire

belgian strain 1762 would also rock on this - you'd end up with dark fruit (black cherry and plum) mixed into the roasty grain bill. Keep in mind most belgian strains are going to dry this out, so adjust mash temp accordingly.

If I am still getting out sugars at the end of my sparge I may run off a separate session black or brown (5 gallons).

FYI - the recipe I posted was for 5 gallons, but I need to put it into my BeerTools software and adjust it to get to 9.75% or so. I'll post my adjusted recipe and efficiency I'm aiming for later. ALSO, looks like Brooklyn website lists caramel, so I'll be adding some medium crystal.

and I'll repost in a few weeks with results!

Click to expand...

Did you brew yours?

I have not tried this yet. I plan on being home around the 17th of Jan so I will brew this sometime at the end of Jan. Thanks for the pointers!!

Cheers!!

This is another one I'd like to brew... So another thread is being revived. Did anyone ever get around to trying this?

Doing some homework, trying to come up with a recipe that is at least inspired by this beer.

The website says:
"Malts: (six malts and three distinct mashes) 2-row, caramel malt, malted wheat and a blend of American roasted malts
Hops: Willamette and Fuggle
Alcohol by Volume: 10.0%
Original Gravity: 24.5° Plato"

According to Brewers friend ABV calculator that would be 1.103 down to 1.027.

No mention of IBUs on their website but in the book Designing Great Beers, author Ray Daniel's says this when discussing Russian Imperial Stouts: "One commercial recipe from Brooklyn Brewing brewmaster Garrett Oliver cites 40 to 45 IBUs at maturity in a 21.5 °P (1.088) wort."

Now this is obviously different from the 24.5° P wort referenced on their website. I also found 51 IBUs attached to this beer on a few other sites. I'll probably shoot for 50 IBUs. This supports some of the other posts in this thread.

Here is my preliminary recipe:

2-row (74%)
Caramel 60 (8%)
Malted wheat (8%)
Debittered Chocolate malt (5%)
Roasted barley (3%)
Black Malt (2%)

90-minute 152° mash. Add half the dark grains at beginning of mash and the other half during the last time the mash is stirred.

75minute boil
75 min fuggle addition (40 IBUs)
15 min Willamette addition (10 IBUs)

US-05 yeast

Alright, did some more research and was able to find the exact malts and hops they were using back in 2004 (source: https://web.archive.org/web/20040101000000*/https://brooklynbrewery.com/).

Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout is the winter seasonal ale produced by Brewmaster Garrett Oliver. This highly sought after brew attains its strength by using the first runnings from two and a half mashes of grain. It is a classic Russian Imperial Stout, modeled on the beers made by British brewers for the Czar's Court in the Nineteenth Century. Black Chocolate is a wonderful winter warmer and a stunning accompaniment to a chocolate dessert. Rated *** by Michael Jackson in the Simon & Schuster Pocket Guide to Beer. "The beer world's answer to a warming malted milk, with a shot of bourbon," wrote Jackson.


Availability: October-March in 12-oz bottles, 15.5-gal kegs and 5.2-gal kegs
Malts: two-row English Malt, Wheat Malt, Chocolate Malt, Black Malt, Black Barley, Roasted Barley
Hops: East Kent Goldings, Cascade, Willamette
Alcohol: 8.5% by volume

Again, this is copy/pasted directly from one of their old websites. This smaller 8.5% version is probably the same one that was referenced in Designing Great Beers (from my post above). The recipe has obviously changed over they years, but this is a good reference point.

I'll keep digging and eventually I'll brew it. I'll be sure to share what I find. Anyone else, please feel free to give your input.

Also, found this article:
https://byo.com/article/the-king-of-stouts/

It has a Black Ops clone recipe that is supposedly provided by Brooklyn's Garrett Oliver. Some good stuff about how they step mash, add hops, use crystal 77, and a bit more that might be useful.

After gathering all of this information I think I'll definitely tweak my preliminary recipe a little bit but not much.

I'm finally preparing to brew this. Probably still a month or so out because I'll be pitching part of a US-05 cake from a smaller IPA. There's a bit of a yeast shortage where I live (SE Asia) due to Coronavirus halting imports, so I have to ration and reuse my yeast.

I'll be sure to update and report back how it goes.

Brewed this two weeks ago and took a gravity sample today... Initial tastes are promising. Very chocolatey! Admittedly... last minute brew day decision... I decided to throw some cacao nibs in at the end of the boil. It has a nice malty sweetness and the bitterness seems pleasant/balanced to where it isn't really too noticeable. Alcohol is a bit hot right now but it will likely fade with time.

I ended up using half of a yeast cake from a US-05/S-04 mixed ferm IPA. It went from 1.102 down to 1.025, which I'm good with.

So far, I am really happy with this one. I think I can safely recommend this to others who might be interested. I'd love to hear someone else's opinion, if they decide to brew it.

As usual, I'll follow up with tasting notes, once it's kegged and it has a little age on it.

Sampled this last night and it is tasting very nice! It's cold conditioning in a keg so not fully carbed, but after a month it's almost there. It's smooth and chocolatey just like I had hoped. A bit more roasty than I anticipated, but it is very solid.

Another month and it will probably be more mellow and round like the real thing. Shaping up to be one of the better RIS I've brewed, honestly.