10 gallon Vanilla-Cocoa Bean Extract Porter

10 gallons (half everything here for 5 gallons)
2 lb of carafa II grains (I guess those are black patent malt without the husk)
6.6 lbs of light malt extract
6.6 lbs of dark malt extract
1 lb of DME
1 lb of maltodextrin
8 oz of crushed cocoa beans
4 oz of Northern Brewer hops
2 oz of Tettnanger hops
1 tblspoon irish moss
2 vanilla beans
1 packet Fermentis US-04 yeast
(recipe calls for US-05 but the 04 is supposed to be more English style)

Steep carafa grains at 155 F for 15 minutes
Bring to boil and add sugars and Northern brewer hops
with 30 left in boil add 2 oz of cocoa beans
with 15 left in boil add irish moss
with 5 left in boil add Tettnanger hops
with 1 left in boil add 2 oz cocoa beans
chill and pitch yeast
ferment at 55 deg (in my basement)

shuck and steep vanilla beans in 100 proof whiskey 48 hours before bottling and put in fermenter 24 hours before bottling (this can be done in either the primary or secondary although recommendations are coming in to rack and do it in the secondary).

prime and rack to keg or bottle

Here's some pics...
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery...321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Edit: I was mistaken on the grains. Make that 2 lbs. 1 lb for 5 gallons.

So this isn't right. My calculations show my OG should be 59 and I got 40.

I'm thinking two things.

1. My temp might have been off. It should be 1.059 at 60 degrees and I don't know what temp it was when I took the reading but I'm thinking it may have been a little cold. Added water was cold and the chiller is a beast with my cold tap water.

2. It may not have been homogeneous yet when I took the reading. I took the reading about 2 minutes after filling to volume.

What do you guys think?

If you used the ingredients in the list:

13 lbs LME
1 lb DME
1 lb Maltodextrin
2 lbs grain

You should be pretty close to 1.058. There is pretty much no variation with the extracts or Maltodextrin. The only one that will vary is the grain, and that's notr a big contributor.

Assuming you did add everything, then you did something wrong with your hydrometer measurement.

Calder said:

If you used the ingredients in the list:

13 lbs LME
1 lb DME
1 lb Maltodextrin
2 lbs grain

You should be pretty close to 1.058. There is pretty much no variation with the extracts or Maltodextrin. The only one that will vary is the grain, and that's notr a big contributor.

Assuming you did add everything, then you did something wrong with your hydrometer measurement.

Click to expand...

I'm thinking the wort/fill water wasn't mixed completely yet.
We did a 6 gallon boil and ended at about 2-2.5 in each carboy (equal amounts) and then filled to 5 for both. So it must not have been homogeneous yet. I measured close to 3 or 4 times with the hydro. 1.040 all times.

Skrimpy said:

I'm thinking it may have been a little cold.

Click to expand...

Low temps increase measured gravity. High temps decrease it.