Chocolate mint stout

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voegeli51

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I just ordered an ingredient kit from Austin Homebrew, double chocolate stout, and I am looking to make an Andes Mint stout for a Christmas beer. I have yet to find any good advice on adding mint to a beer. Didn't know if I should add mint extract in the secondary or the bottling bucket. Any suggestions/ideas?
 
I thought I had a pretty unique idea. Now I see a few recipes for Chocolate Mint Stout.

I have not read up on how to add the mint. I have some spearmint from our yard that I have soaking in some Vodka. I plan on adding a few drops to a bottle of Chocolate Stout from the store and see what it tastes like. Then I can figure out how much I need for 5 gallons, or if I even want to brew it up.

What I did was to take the mint and strip the leaves. Then purreed the leaves in a small food proccessor. Then press into a small canning jar and pour vodka on top. Let it sit for a couple of weeks and it should pull the mint flavor into the vodka, which you can pour into your beer.

I have not read up on using any other flavorings, but the RX probably has every mint flavor out there in oil form. Not sure how they'd work in beer though.
 
I brewed a chocolate mint stout from a recipe in a book titled Radical Brewing...the recipe called for an ounce of mint leaves added to the boil and also adding a mint lifesaver as well...the beer turned out a bit too minty for my taste...i let it sit for a couple months and it was still too overpowering and i decided to dump it...well i must have left one of the 12 oz bottles in my fridge and one day 9 months later i popped a beer that i thought was an old irish stout clone i made and it happened to be a lone chocolate mint stout that i had made 9 months earlier and it was awesome...still wouldn't be able to drink more than a couple at a time but just a reminder to not dump a batch because it changes quite a bit over time...anyway i would be careful with the ammount of mint you add to your beer...personally i would start light on the fresh mint maybe 1/2 ounce or less for 5 gallon batch and if it's not enough add a tea to the secondary right before you bottle...still wish i had that batch of chocolate mint stout...might have to brew it up again and let it age tasting every couple months to see how it changes over time...good luck and hope it works out!
 
I brewed a chocolate mint stout from a recipe in a book titled Radical Brewing...the recipe called for an ounce of mint leaves added to the boil and also adding a mint lifesaver as well...the beer turned out a bit too minty for my taste...i let it sit for a couple months and it was still too overpowering and i decided to dump it...well i must have left one of the 12 oz bottles in my fridge and one day 9 months later i popped a beer that i thought was an old irish stout clone i made and it happened to be a lone chocolate mint stout that i had made 9 months earlier and it was awesome...still wouldn't be able to drink more than a couple at a time but just a reminder to not dump a batch because it changes quite a bit over time...anyway i would be careful with the ammount of mint you add to your beer...personally i would start light on the fresh mint maybe 1/2 ounce or less for 5 gallon batch and if it's not enough add a tea to the secondary right before you bottle...still wish i had that batch of chocolate mint stout...might have to brew it up again and let it age tasting every couple months to see how it changes over time...good luck and hope it works out!

Sounds like beer mouthwash...
 
We made a coffee, chocolate, mint stout last year and it turned out fantastic. In fact this year we made it as our first 10 gallon batch. It was that popular. Last year it was an extract kit from midwest that we doctored up, this year it is a all grain that we are calling " M & M coffee stout" Mint and Milk chocolate coffee stout. If this turns out like last year I will be posting my first recipe on this site.
As for adding the mint, we only tried it on half the batch because we were not sure how it would turn out. This mint beer was preferred over the one without the mint addition.

We used pure mint extract in the bottling bucket, to the tune of 1/4 of a tsp. for half a batch. Sooooo, for a full five gallon it would have been 1/2 tsp. The mint was not overpowering at all. Just a hint at the end. we may put in 3/4 of a tsp this go round to make it a little more noticeable.
We have our 10 gallons in the secondary now, and I think we will let it sit for a few more weeks until we bottle.
Just a little disclaimer, we added a ton of cocoa and also lots of coffee, so YMMV.

Good luck, and look for the M&M Coffee Stout recipe towards Christmas.
 
Mint flavored beer? May the beer gods bring great torment and despair upon any who formulate such a vile concoction. :D
 
I brewed a chocolate mint stout from a recipe in a book titled Radical Brewing...the recipe called for an ounce of mint leaves added to the boil and also adding a mint lifesaver as well...the beer turned out a bit too minty for my taste...i let it sit for a couple months and it was still too overpowering and i decided to dump it...well i must have left one of the 12 oz bottles in my fridge and one day 9 months later i popped a beer that i thought was an old irish stout clone i made and it happened to be a lone chocolate mint stout that i had made 9 months earlier and it was awesome...still wouldn't be able to drink more than a couple at a time but just a reminder to not dump a batch because it changes quite a bit over time...anyway i would be careful with the ammount of mint you add to your beer...personally i would start light on the fresh mint maybe 1/2 ounce or less for 5 gallon batch and if it's not enough add a tea to the secondary right before you bottle...still wish i had that batch of chocolate mint stout...might have to brew it up again and let it age tasting every couple months to see how it changes over time...good luck and hope it works out!

I made this recipe earlier this year with fresh mint. The only difference is that I didn't add the mint lifesaver, just the fresh stuff. Mine turned out very balanced with the mint being noticeable, but not over the top. The only think I found was this beer lacked a bit of body. I used the scottish ale yeast he suggested, and it over attenuated by a few points. So I had some issues with the grain bill, but the mint was spot on in my honest opinion.

To answer the OP, I would add any mint you'll be using towards the end of the boil. But I would use fresh. I think the mint oils and mint candy are too potent. Just my $0.02.
 
Mint flavored beer? May the beer gods bring great torment and despair upon any who formulate such a vile concoction. :D

I guess the same could be said for anyone who brews a beer where one of the descriptions of the beers flavor is "horse hair" barnyard like". Yeah, I will take my mint, chocolate, and coffee any day.:D
 
I made this recipe earlier this year with fresh mint. The only difference is that I didn't add the mint lifesaver, just the fresh stuff. Mine turned out very balanced with the mint being noticeable, but not over the top. The only think I found was this beer lacked a bit of body. I used the scottish ale yeast he suggested, and it over attenuated by a few points. So I had some issues with the grain bill, but the mint was spot on in my honest opinion.

To answer the OP, I would add any mint you'll be using towards the end of the boil. But I would use fresh. I think the mint oils and mint candy are too potent. Just my $0.02.


Yeah...it's definitely something i want to try again...i will definitely reduce the ammount of mint i use in the boil and cut the lifesaver...if i think it needs more mint flavor after primary fermentation i'll add a tee when i keg it...good to hear that this recipe did turn out well without needing extended aging tho.
 
Honestly, I am hesitant to recommend this to you. As a mead maker more then a beer maker, mint has always seemed to muddle the mix for me in the most negative way imaginable.

We used peppermint in a batch of mead, and we were delighted by the aesthetics. After a year of monitoring and aging though, we were flabbergasted when we found out that it was undrinkable. It tasted like intense Listerene and was very bitter.

I do not know how this translates to the beer world, but that is my two cents.
 
Honestly, I am hesitant to recommend this to you. As a mead maker more then a beer maker, mint has always seemed to muddle the mix for me in the most negative way imaginable.

We used peppermint in a batch of mead, and we were delighted by the aesthetics. After a year of monitoring and aging though, we were flabbergasted when we found out that it was undrinkable. It tasted like intense Listerene and was very bitter.

I do not know how this translates to the beer world, but that is my two cents.

I don't think it's an issue here. A batch usually lasts me a couple weeks, but I drink a lot and like to pass out bottles to friends.

I highly recommend making a mint tea and mixing and tasting during bottling. Potential oxygenation of your beer is well worth getting the taste just right.
 
Funny, my wife wants to start trying to brew with me, so I was asking her what she thought might be something she would want to make. "How about like a chocolate mint beer" she said, to which I replied "Yeah why don't we just mix some Guiness and mouth wash." Awesome
 
Funny, my wife wants to start trying to brew with me, so I was asking her what she thought might be something she would want to make. "How about like a chocolate mint beer" she said, to which I replied "Yeah why don't we just mix some Guiness and mouth wash." Awesome

*crickets*
 
My 2 cents;

I make my Famous Choc O' Mint Milk Stout a lot and to infuse the mint flavor I like to muddle and soak mint in vodka (mint elixir) to extract the oils and flavors of the mint and then add it to the beer (Keg, not secondary).

I dont use a secondary actually, (but that is another thread) and my beer is clear and tasty!!!!!

Hope the best for you, but remember "Less is More"
 
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