I put chocolate cake in my stout!

I need some opinion related advice... my dad passed away in November, he was well known for making chocolate cakes... to kind of euigise him in my own way I took part of the last cake he made and put it in during the last 10min of the boil of a stout I was brewing. There is butter and vegetable oil in this cake. Does anyone one think I am going to have trouble with this during fermentation or force carbonating? Thoughts?

That's an interesting idea and great homage. Sorry for your loss. It will be fine, might be somewhat cluttered and trubby, but fine. The sugar will ferment out and the chocolate, wheat should add some flavor and body. The butter/oil could cause problems, but I doubt there's that much in it.

Please let us know how it turns out.

I'm hoping that the oil stays on the top and I can rack underneath it. I think it's going to cause problems with the krausen though. I'm not sure how much problem that will cause.

If anything I would think it would act like fermcap and reduce krausen formation which to me is a good thing. Very interesting and I too would like to hear an update on its outcome.

I will update after I carbonate. I would still like to hear any experiences or thoughts anyone might have.

It will be fine. the oil will separate and sit on the top. When you rack or bottle, you might want to leave the last half inch in the fermenter.

I hope you have used a bucket or other fermenter with a wide opening. The oil will make a mess of the fermenter, making it difficult to clean.

The oil and butter could be trouble for head retention. I went to a brewery's one year anniversary and they put a cake in the hop rocket when it went through the tap. It was a ris and it turn out really good

Well, it's fermenting quite nicely.

AtlasMaxx said:

Well, it's fermenting quite nicely.

Click to expand...

So when do we start experimenting with BBQ sauce?

AtlasMaxx said:

Well, it's fermenting quite nicely.

Click to expand...

Is your brew still fermenting?

Head retention is the only challenge I would think you would encounter.

something tells me this will be JUST fine... hops have oil in them, youngs double chocolate stout uses real chocolate that has oil in it, your brew will be fine. I have brewed up 30 gallons of stout with real chocolate in the boil kettle that was amazing. 2" head that had no issues holding up. and cheers

Well, I kegged this beer today... OG was 1.058, FG is 1.012. My calculations say it is 6%. It tastes great! Roasty, slight sweetness, super slightly fruity in the aftertaste, BIG chocolate and coffee. Tastes great!.. almost like I planned it. We will see in a week what the head is like.

Dad's Chocolate Stout. Nice.

The head is definitely lacking.... it has good carbonation but almost no head... it carbed more like a soda than a beer.