Chocolate rye porter help

Brewed up a chocolate rye beer, that I think leans toward robust porter mostly, and it's just not what I'm aiming for. I think the hops are the main problem in my recipe, but maybe you guys can give me some better advice. Recipe as follows:

7# 2-row
3.5# rye
1#3oz 120L
10oz carabrown
10oz chocolate rye

1oz cascade @60
.5 oz chinook @30
1oz centennial @15
1oz centennial @ dry hop
.5oz chinook@ dry hop

I altered my next batch's hop schedule as follows:

1.5 oz US goldings@60
1 oz willamette@30
.5oz willamette@flameout
.5oz us goldings@flameout
.5oz willamette@dryhop
.5oz us goldings@dry hop

Yeast was 1056. I think the rye really dries out the finish. I think the weird hop schedule accentuated this sharpness that's not as palatable as I'd hoped. The chocolate flavor is upfront, but I think the hops take over immediately following that. And they're just not suited to the style I'm aiming for. Should I perhaps use an English strain of yeas?. I have 1968, but I can certainly get something else.

Thanks!

This mellowed a bit after sitting in a keg for a week. I'll probably use fuggles and goldings or something similar for the next batch, but the body is great. Very drinkable, with a nice twist on a style. The chocolate and rye flavors go very well together.

Curious about the chocolate rye malt. Can you compare it to chocolate malt and debitterized black? I hear chocolate rye is milder and more chocolate like, but my concern is that it's toasty tasting like debitterized black.

I don't remember it that clearly. If you can, just eat a little while you're in your LHBS.

First look seems like your very heavy on non-base malts. That's a lot to compete with a lot of hops. You don't really say if your happy with the grain bill or not. Personally, I'd reducing that complexity a bit by cutting the 120, Cara, and choc rye each in half. But I don't know what the choc rye is like.

its difficult to help with hops too. Your jumping around a bit there with them and you don't really say what you're Looking for.

A clean English yeast might work well. Thames Valley cones to mind.

Not sure if your still looking for input on this and I'm far from an expert, I just brewed my first porter. From what I've seen on many stouts and porters is to add most of your hops as 60min additions, you're only using them to balance the sweetness not for flavor perse. If you want flavor or aroma I would stick closer to a 20 min addition and not do any 5min or flameout. Those are just my opinions from research I have done.

I have to agree with Weezy on the grain bill. Especially if you aren't happy with the outcome, try to make it more simplistic, get a base that you're happy with, then add some other stuff in. Brew 1 gal or 2.5 gal batches until you've got the base where you want it. Saves you some cash and you don't have 2 cases of beer that you're not crazy about.

I've just started looking into Chocolate Rye since many say it offers a more smooth/milk chocolate taste rather than the bitter chocolate that regular chocolate malt gives. Seems like pale chocolate falls somewhere in between.

For yeast 1335 and 1968 seem to be liked by many. White Lab fans seem to go for WLP002, 005, or 007. I used WLP002 in the porter I just made because of LHBS's stock.

I just brewed this again, actually. As fall approaches a little faster every day, I've been getting excited about making some darker beers.

I changed the grist to:

7# 2 row
3.5# rye
1.2# crystal 120
.8# chocolate rye

Hopped with:
1.5oz Golding @60
1oz Golding@30
1oz fuggles @10
1oz fuggles@ flame out
1oz fuggles dry hop

Mashed@152
Pitched fermentis s04

When I started my vorlauf, it smelled like a chocolate shake. It was amazing. It's already fermented out and done, but I'm waiting to dry hop it until I know when I'll get around to actually drinking it. Pipeline is a little backed up, which obviously means I need to have a party.