Chocolate Stout Recipe

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ohiodad

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
250
Reaction score
4
Location
Hilliard, OH
Anyone have one that is proven that they would be willing to share?? I'm an all grain brewer. Could you pm it to me or post it here? Would love to give one of these a go for the holidays but not real sure of the best way to get that chocolate in there!
Thanks!
 
If you search chocolate stout in the google search function there are a lot of hits that tell you how to put chocolate into a stout. If you have a good stout base recipe, then all you have to do is add chocolate and then you should be golden. Hope this helps.
 
I think a good base stout recipe is key. I like a dry stout but have done a sweet stout also. Use godiva liquor to taste and some vanilla
 
I've used this recipe before, and am preparing myself to make another batch of it. I bottled it about two months ago and I opened one after a month, it was so so, last week, it was fantastic! Im glad about that as well, because I bottled a bunch of 22 ozs to give away for xmas!

I think its supposed to be best after 3 or more months, but it is a might tasty beer!
 
As the King has mentioned, the best way to add chocolate flavor and taste to a brew is to add chocolate extract (alcohol based) or chocolate liquor right at racking, the same time you'd ad priming sugar. When chocolate and/or cocoa is added during the boil, most of it sinks away during the ferment...unless you're adding literal pounds of it, no taste will come through.

For example, make a cup of hot cocoa with water, and let it sit for a week or two. Most of the cocoa has sunk. This is because cocoa and similar mixtures are suspensions when added to water (or mostly water). That is, most of it doesn't dissolve into water, it's suspended until gravity brings it back down.

Cocoa essence and cocoa liquor, by contrast, dissolves cocoa, vanilla, etc into alcohol, where it remains and doesn't separate out. When you add cocoa to the boil, you need to add a ton of it and hope enough remains in suspension for a portion of it to be dissolved into the alcohol once fermentation is complete.

I wrote back and fourth to Young's a bit last week regarding their famous Double Chocolate Stout. They said, in a nutshell, that they add the tiniest amount of chocolate to the boil, just so they can say they did. All the flavor and aroma comes from adding chocolate essence prior to bottling/kegging.
 
As the King has mentioned, the best way to add chocolate flavor and taste to a brew is to add chocolate extract (alcohol based) or chocolate liquor right at racking, the same time you'd ad priming sugar. When chocolate and/or cocoa is added during the boil, most of it sinks away during the ferment...unless you're adding literal pounds of it, no taste will come through.

For example, make a cup of hot cocoa with water, and let it sit for a week or two. Most of the cocoa has sunk. This is because cocoa and similar mixtures are suspensions when added to water (or mostly water). That is, most of it doesn't dissolve into water, it's suspended until gravity brings it back down.

Cocoa essence and cocoa liquor, by contrast, dissolves cocoa, vanilla, etc into alcohol, where it remains and doesn't separate out. When you add cocoa to the boil, you need to add a ton of it and hope enough remains in suspension for a portion of it to be dissolved into the alcohol once fermentation is complete.

I wrote back and fourth to Young's a bit last week regarding their famous Double Chocolate Stout. They said, in a nutshell, that they add the tiniest amount of chocolate to the boil, just so they can say they did. All the flavor and aroma comes from adding chocolate essence prior to bottling/kegging.


Couldn't have said it better. If you talk to commercial brewers they never add flavorings to the boil or fermenter, it's always added after fermentation. I like the vanilla in the chocolate stout to make the chocolate pop.
 
How much vanilla do you think? I'm pretty much set on 2 oz of chocolate extract at racking, but haven't really thought one way or other about vanilla extract...
 
How much vanilla do you think? I'm pretty much set on 2 oz of chocolate extract at racking, but haven't really thought one way or other about vanilla extract...

Do you keg or bottle? If you keg add vanilla to taste but if you bottle try 4oz of vanilla to start.

What kind of chocolate extract are you using??? I work in the chocolate industry and only like a few types. I found the godive is best for beer.
 
I made a Chocolate Oatmeal Stout and used unsweetened baker's cocoa (advice from JZ). I dumped it in the last five minutes into the boil and then put everything into the primary for three weeks.

The chocolate flavor was overpowering and made the beer very bitter. Stone makes a Chocolate Oatmeal stout. My beer tasted very similar. If you like Stone's beer I guess that would be a good route to go. I wasn't a fan though.
 
Do you keg or bottle? If you keg add vanilla to taste but if you bottle try 4oz of vanilla to start.

What kind of chocolate extract are you using??? I work in the chocolate industry and only like a few types. I found the godive is best for beer.

WorldPantry.com® - Product - Flavorganics® Organic Chocolate Extract

I will be bottling. 4oz of vanilla seems a bit excessive for a 5 gallon batch, when compared to a lot of the recipes I've seen. Most of them call for about 1 oz when used in conjunction with chocolate essence. The problem with Godiva and others is the fact that they contain a ton of sugar, and will mess with your carbonation -- potentially causing bottle bombs. That's why I'm going the essence/extract route.

I'll probably go with 2 oz vanilla and 2 oz chocolate, unless someone tells me to do otherwise...
 
WorldPantry.com® - Product - Flavorganics® Organic Chocolate Extract

I will be bottling. 4oz of vanilla seems a bit excessive for a 5 gallon batch, when compared to a lot of the recipes I've seen. Most of them call for about 1 oz when used in conjunction with chocolate essence. The problem with Godiva and others is the fact that they contain a ton of sugar, and will mess with your carbonation -- potentially causing bottle bombs. That's why I'm going the essence/extract route.

I'll probably go with 2 oz vanilla and 2 oz chocolate, unless someone tells me to do otherwise...

I think 2oz and 2oz is your best bet.

True the godiva has sugar but its stablized and will not ferment.

btw - your chocolate extract is sweetened with agave....and agave is very fermentable, but with the amount you are using you should be fine.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top