Pale Chocolate

SWMBO had found me an extract brown ale recipe from online way back many moons ago. It was one of the best beers I've made so far. In it was (my page got wet where the volumes/amounts are) what looks like 12 oz of pale chocolate. The LHBS doesn't carry pale chocolate and they don't know what they gave me. It also had what looks like 10 oz crystal 60 and 6 oz crystal 120, and I added a little light brown sugar.

I've used pale chocolate in another attempt, but it turned out roasty and more porter like. All of them have.

How much pale (or dark for that matter) chocolate can you use and get a nice chocolatey taste without it becoming roasty?

I'm planning on using baker's chocolate in another attempt, and was told to use 3-4 oz for 5 gals. I don't trust this guy's advice as he's given me bad advice before. Does that sound good?

I intend on adding some pale chocolate to it as well as I'll be buying a pound of it milled for my mild brown ale that calls for 1/4 lb. How much would I want to add to it that won't bring out a roasty taste?

Remember that "chocolate malt" doesn't taste like chocolate. It's more about the color than the flavor- chocolate malt is roasty flavored.

I use 6 oz of Pale chocolate in my 5.5 gallons of brown ale for color and use Crystal 20, 40 and 60 in equal parts to give it a nice sweet/malty body.

What would have likely been given to me as a substitute for pale chocolate (steeped grain) that would have brought out such a nice chocolatey taste?

For a nice chocolatey taste, you can use either bakers chocolate in the last 25% of your brewing wort or you can go with about 4oz of cocoa nibs in your secondary for about 2 weeks. using both will give you more chocolate flavor, but if it a hint your after, one or the other should suffice.

Good Luck

I personally get an **impression** of chocolate from chocolate malt with some medium crystal; I get some aroma and flavor aspects that are "in-line" with cocoa. Granted, it's not a concrete aroma/flavor like you'd get from using some form of real chocolate but I do get an "impression" from them. An example I'm thinking is Orfy's Mild Mannered ale which has a little chocolate malt with some medium crystal. The kind of impression I would describe is something like the smell of semi-sweet chocolate, and flavor of semi-sweet or bittersweet. Of course, it may all be in my head

"...you can use either bakers chocolate in the last 25% of your brewing wort..."

Do you mean to add baker's chocolate in the last 15 mins?
How much baker's chocolate should I use? Say a 5.8 gal batch.
I want more than a hint of chocolate. That kinda describes how that brown ale was, and so maybe it had something to do with the crystal 60 along with whatever was substituted.

If you are boiling your wort for 1 hour, then yes, put the chocolate in at the last 15 min of the boil. As for the bakers Chocolate, I just use 4 oz. of hersheys unsweetened bakers chocolate powder. if you are using bakers chocolate bricks..well I am unsure of the conversion from brick to powder. If I go with brick form, I just use a whole Lindt 85% Cocoa Chocolate Bar in the last 15 min of the boil. If you go this route, you have to stay with the wort for the remaining 15 min and keep a good stir on it as the chocolate will settle to the bottom and potentially burn. Keep it stirred and you should be fairly pleased with the chocolate infusion you get from this.

Good Luck!

Awesome. Thanks!