Recipe Advice Needed - Chocolate Stout

I'm a beginner and have only brewed 3 batches so far. All have been extract batches; 2 from pre-packaged kits, and one was a recipe from Clone Brews. For my next batch, I'm planning to brew my first "original" recipe - which I'm calling a Double Milk Chocolate Stout.

I love Young's Double Chocolate Stout, so I'm going for something similar to that, but I'm not really trying to replicate it. I've cobbled together the recipe below, taking bits & pieces from various recipes that I've read, and then plugged it into BeerSmith.

What do you guys think? Is this going to be any good? Any constructive criticism would be appreciated. Like I said, this is my first attempt, so I expect it to need quite a bit of tweaking. Thanks!



Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 4.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 38.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 21.0 IBU
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amount Item
6.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Black Barley (Stout) (500.0 SRM)
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
0.60 oz Fuggles [4.30 %] (60 min)
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (60 min)
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 15.0 min)
4.00 oz Cocoa, Unsweetened (Boil 5.0 min)
4.00 oz Cocoa, Unsweetened (Bottling 5.0 min)
6.00 oz Malto-Dextrine (Boil 5.0 min)
1 Pkgs English Ale (White Labs #WLP002)

Everything looks Great. One thing I noticed though is the Chocolate. I recently brewed a Chocolate/Cherry Stout. I am an AG Brewer that brews 11 gallon Batches. I only used 2 ounces of Chocolate. From looking at your recipe, I think that 4 ounces (am hoping that it's not 8, as 2, 4 ounce entries could be a typo) is over doing it. I would go with 1 ounce if I were you.

No, that wasn't a typo. I had 4 oz cocoa at the end of the boil plus 4 oz mixed with the priming sugar at bottling. Way too much, huh?

If I add just 1 oz, when should I add it?

I added my chocloate with 5 minutes left in the boil. Worked out for me as the beer came out awseome. Don't know if you bottle or Keg, but if you bottle, I think you'll get better results as a lot of the Chocolate seems to collect at the bottom of the keg. Hence, the last 1/8th of the keg is like a Hershys Chocolate Bar.

Sounds good. No aroma or flavoring hops though? I would amp up the Fuggles to 1oz. for 60 and drop the EKG to 5-10 min to get some of the sweet/floral flavor out of them, not just the bitter end. But thats just me. And yes to dropping that chocolate down, but I might go to 1.5-2 oz.

StoutFan said:

Sounds good. No aroma or flavoring hops though? I would amp up the Fuggles to 1oz. for 60 and drop the EKG to 5-10 min to get some of the sweet/floral flavor out of them, not just the bitter end. But thats just me. And yes to dropping that chocolate down, but I might go to 1.5-2 oz.

Click to expand...

I'm glad you brought up the flavoring/aroma hops. The other recipes that I was looking at didn't have them. I thought that was odd, but then I figured that must just be the way chocolate & sweet stouts are done. I'm not sure which way to go with this.

My understanding is that Young's Double Chocolate Stout gets its name from the fact that there are two chocolate additions (although I don't know what advantage that would give other than for marketing reasons). I might try 1 oz of cocoa at the end of the boil plus 1 oz at bottling.

Greyhound said:

I might try 1 oz of cocoa at the end of the boil plus 1 oz at bottling.

Click to expand...

That sounds like a plan. Mix the cocoa into the priming suger mixture, hmmmm..... And I love my hops, dark beer needs them IMHO.

I made a double chocolate stout last summer. This is the lineup I used

8 lbs. Alexander’s Pale Liquid Malt Extract
1 lb. Briess Crystal Malt 80°L
.75 lb. Munton’s Roasted Barley
.5 lb. Crisp Pale Chocolate Malt
.25 lb Munton’s Black Patent Malt
.5 cup Nestle Cocoa Powder

1 oz. 6.0% A.A. Perle Hop Pellets (60 min.)
1 oz. 4.6% A.A. Willamette Hop Pellets (15 min)

I added the cocoa powder @ 30min.

It was only my third batch...it was reeeeeeeeeeally good!!!

May try again soon when I go ALL GRAIN!!!!!!!!!(i'm so close)