Cocoa-oat Italian roast stout

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Samtoberfest

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Extract:
7lbs Dark malt extract
curious as to what people think of this recipe Im doing based off of a mix of two others....

Steeping bag:
.5lb roasted barley
.25 black patent malt
.25 chocolate malt
1lb crystal 60l
1/2 cup oats

Hops:
1oz Norther brewer- 60 min
.5oz Tettnag- 60 min
1oz Fuggles- 20 min



Other
.75 cup cocoa- 5 min
Cold brewed Italian roast- secondary
 
I don't see any major issues but do have some suggestions. If you don't have prior experience with dark extract, go with a gold. Too many times I see people get stuck with high finishing gravities when using it. Then also, if I was brewing a coffee stout it would just have a bittering hop addition to keep from masking the coffee aroma. 1 oz of Fuggles @ 20 minutes is not going to be real intense so if you are looking for just a touch of a later hop addition that should do it.
 
As the recipe stands, for a 5 gallon batch I figure you're looking at a 1.059 starting gravity and would plan on finishing around 1.020. That's a 5.1-5.2% ABV.

Sub in light extract for the dark and would think you should be able to finish around 1.015. That's about 5.8% ABV.

Your yeast is going to be a factor. I would certainly use something like Nottingham or US-05.

I haven't used dark extract in many years but have noticed that people will post higher finishing gravities when brewing with it. Like I said, it's just a suggestion. What ever you use, keep notes. With a little experience you can make almost anything work.
 
Awesome, thanks! One more question while I have your attention. What do you think about mixing a dark and light extract?
 
From my experiences with extract there would be no issues with mixing dark and light extract. I always used extra light extract for every beer, and then used the specialty grains for color. With a stout and the roasted malts though it probably won't matter what extract you use with regard to color, just IMO.
 
Another recommendation would be 8-12 oz of raw cacao nibs in the secondary along with the coffee... I did that for a coffee chocolate stout that was one of the most delicious beers I've ever made...
 
What do you think about mixing a dark and light extract?

You can certainly go that route.

Maybe I should ask what it is you're going for. The recipe didn't have any crazy percentages or out of place hop additions so I wouldn't say you should feel obligated to change anything. But if there is a particular profile your looking for then it might need to be tweaked.
 
Quick update: brewing process went well. The "jump" process after adding the lbs of extract took awhile. I'd say we removed it from heat and let it settle about 20-25 times. She started fermenting in under 24 hrs and is now rapidly bubbling and highly active. I will admit though, despite adding 3 lbs of adding gold extract, with all the other dark ingredients I'm surprised that the beer in the fermented is currently dark brown rather than black...
 
I have to ask what is a jump process?

It will probably look brown in the fermenter with yeast and break material in suspension. When fermentation nears completion you should start to see a black top layer.
 
By "jump" I was referring to the period after I add the extract where the foam rises and falls. Not sure the technical term? That's good to know though
 
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