Here is the recipe:
Grain Bill
9lb Canadian 2 row
8 oz Chocolate malt
8oz Crystal 77
8 oz Carafa Type 111
7oz Black Patent
8oz toasted barley flakes
Mash Schedule
Mash at 158F for 1 hour
Sparge 170F 10 min
Boil:
1oz First Gold @ 60 min
0.5oz Mt. Rainier @ 20 min
10oz Blackstrap Molasses @ 10 min
0.5 oz Mt. Rainier @ 5 min
Fermentation:
Starter of Safbrew T-58 pitched at high krausen when wort had cooled below 90F
Primary 9 days at 65F
Secondary 7 days at 60F
Tasting Notes:
ABV: 5.2%
Appearance: Pours almost black, really dark and opaque with a little ruby shimmer around the edges. Head is creamy tan, very thick and dense. Head retention is pretty decent, and a thin layer of foam remains until the end of the drink. Lacing is good to very good. Love the way this thing looks 5
Aroma: Loads of dark chocolate and some malty roastiness. 5
Taste: Very complex. Again chocolate is the dominant flavour with some malty roastiness and coffee. There is a noticeable molasses tang that I really like that lingers towards the finish. Molasses sweetness is nicely balanced with hoppy bittnerness and chocolate, so not overpowering at all. Finish has a nice spiciness to it. It's pretty clean overall, but will be better with some age on it. 4
Mouth Feel: Head imparts a very impressive creaminess which is present to a lesser extent in the body. Plenty of carbonation, but bubbles are small and unobtrusive, giving this a very smooth texture. Not grainy at all. There is a slight astringency in the finish that leaves my mouth wanting another sip. This stuff is way too easy to drink a lot of in a hurry. 5
Overall Impression: I'm surprised at how well this turned out. It looks nice, smells nice and is really nice to drink. It's very very sessionable and a lot of this disappeared over the holidays! 4.5
Grain Bill
9lb Canadian 2 row
8 oz Chocolate malt
8oz Crystal 77
8 oz Carafa Type 111
7oz Black Patent
8oz toasted barley flakes
Mash Schedule
Mash at 158F for 1 hour
Sparge 170F 10 min
Boil:
1oz First Gold @ 60 min
0.5oz Mt. Rainier @ 20 min
10oz Blackstrap Molasses @ 10 min
0.5 oz Mt. Rainier @ 5 min
Fermentation:
Starter of Safbrew T-58 pitched at high krausen when wort had cooled below 90F
Primary 9 days at 65F
Secondary 7 days at 60F
Tasting Notes:
ABV: 5.2%
Appearance: Pours almost black, really dark and opaque with a little ruby shimmer around the edges. Head is creamy tan, very thick and dense. Head retention is pretty decent, and a thin layer of foam remains until the end of the drink. Lacing is good to very good. Love the way this thing looks 5
Aroma: Loads of dark chocolate and some malty roastiness. 5
Taste: Very complex. Again chocolate is the dominant flavour with some malty roastiness and coffee. There is a noticeable molasses tang that I really like that lingers towards the finish. Molasses sweetness is nicely balanced with hoppy bittnerness and chocolate, so not overpowering at all. Finish has a nice spiciness to it. It's pretty clean overall, but will be better with some age on it. 4
Mouth Feel: Head imparts a very impressive creaminess which is present to a lesser extent in the body. Plenty of carbonation, but bubbles are small and unobtrusive, giving this a very smooth texture. Not grainy at all. There is a slight astringency in the finish that leaves my mouth wanting another sip. This stuff is way too easy to drink a lot of in a hurry. 5
Overall Impression: I'm surprised at how well this turned out. It looks nice, smells nice and is really nice to drink. It's very very sessionable and a lot of this disappeared over the holidays! 4.5