Mexican Chocolate Stout

Another brew idea I am kicking around. This one is based on the NB Milk Chocolate Stout extract kit but with quite a few additions. I'm looking for dessert in a glass, sweet but not cloying, a nice semi-sweet coco flavor, and a subtle spice kick. Let me know what you think or if you have brewed anything similar!

Mexican Chocolate Milk Stout

Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer OG: 1.060
Type: Extract FG: 1.015
Rating: 3.5 ABV: 5.90 %
Calories: 196 IBU's: 43.14
Efficiency: 70 % Boil Size: 5.57 Gal
Color: 37.9 SRM Batch Size: 5.00 Gal
Preboil OG: 1.056 Boil Time: 60 minutes

Fermentation Steps
Name Days / Temp
Primary 14 days @ 70.0°F
Secondary 21 days @ 72.0°F
Bottle/Keg 21 days @ 74.0°F

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name Time Gravity
0.25 lbs 2.78 % Simpsons Extra Dark 60 mins 1.033
0.75 lbs 8.33 % Simpsons Chocolate 60 mins 1.034
6.00 lbs 66.67 % NB Dark Malt Syrup 60 mins 1.036
1.00 lbs 11.11 % Briess Dark DME 60 mins 1.043
1.00 lbs 11.11 % Lactose 60 mins 1.030

Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
1.50 ozs 34.34 Cluster 60 mins 7.00
0.50 ozs 8.80 Cluster 30 mins 7.00

Yeasts
Amount Name Laboratory / ID
1.00 pkg Safale S-04 Fermentis S-04

Additions
Amount Name Time Stage
4.00 oz Chocolate 60 mins Boil
4.00 oz Cacao Nibs 21 days Secondary
2.00 each Vanilla 21 days Secondary
2.00 each Cinnamon Stick 21 days Secondary
0.50 tsp Ancho Pepper 21 days Secondary
0.50 tsp Cayenne Pepper 21 days Secondary

Mash Profile
(none)

Carbonation
Amount Type Beer Temp CO2 Vols
2.98 oz Corn Sugar - Bottle Carbonation 74.0°F 1.90

This looks great! Let us know how it turns out.

Quick question - Why does NB use both LME and DME? If I brewed this with all DME, would it be much different?

Actually in the kit they only have the LME. I added the 1lb of DME to up the OG. I really don't have any rhyme or reason for mixing except it seems easier to control the specific amount of DME you want to use as opposed to LME. I have seen kits with both though. Anyone with more experience know if there is a better reason for mixing?

Very interesting line of thinking- like the combo of peppers, vanilla, cinnamon and cocoa. Did this happen yet? Can you share tasting notes, lessons learned, etc...

I did brew this. It went into bottles this past Sunday. It smelled like a big cup of Mexican hot chocolate. Tasted pretty good. Little bit of heat from the pepper in the back of the throat. I actually upped the cinnamon to 4 sticks and the cayenne and ancho to 1tsp each. I did a lot of reading on cocoa powder and went with scharfenburger 100% cocoa since it has no other ingredients and is not dutch processed. You can get two 6oz tins on amazon for $7ish. I'll let you know in a few weeks how it turns out!

That sounds awesome! Thanks for the reply. Just to clarify- you did the chocolate at the beginning of the boil? I have used cacao nibs in secondary, but never in the boil. What would you say is the difference there? And you mentioned that you used 4 cinnamon sticks. Did you use those for the full 21 days you specified in the original recipe posting? Trying to get a feel for the amount and you read some information that strongly cautions against using too much cinnamon, saying it is easy to do, but I like real (and real current) advice, so you input is welcome. Really checking on the duration there. Did you sanitize the cinnamon (vodka, etc...) or just rely on its own antiseptic properties? Lastly, you mention using powder for your chile sources- what would you say is the advantage of using powder over whole, dried chilies? I have access to both, so I am curious about which choice might be better, so I am looking (again) to those with experience. I really appreciate your feedback and willingness to share. I have hit a couple of other posts and not heard back on those, so I am stoked to have some contact out there in this digital forum. Prost!

Aa760 said:

That sounds awesome! Thanks for the reply. Just to clarify- you did the chocolate at the beginning of the boil? I have used cacao nibs in secondary, but never in the boil. What would you say is the difference there? And you mentioned that you used 4 cinnamon sticks. Did you use those for the full 21 days you specified in the original recipe posting? Trying to get a feel for the amount and you read some information that strongly cautions against using too much cinnamon, saying it is easy to do, but I like real (and real current) advice, so you input is welcome. Really checking on the duration there. Did you sanitize the cinnamon (vodka, etc...) or just rely on its own antiseptic properties? Lastly, you mention using powder for your chile sources- what would you say is the advantage of using powder over whole, dried chilies? I have access to both, so I am curious about which choice might be better, so I am looking (again) to those with experience. I really appreciate your feedback and willingness to share. I have hit a couple of other posts and not heard back on those, so I am stoked to have some contact out there in this digital forum. Prost!

Click to expand...

I did the cocoa powder in the boil and added nibs to secondary. Really trying to pump up the chocolate. The cinnamon, vanilla, nibs, cayenne, and ancho all went into a jar with a few oz of vodka a few days before adding to secondary. They were all in for the full 21 days. I have no idea what advantages/disadvantages would be with dried whole peppers vs powder. I used powder because it was easier to control the amount and predict how much it would come through.

Another note, the vanilla was added not for a vanilla flavor but to enhance the chocolate flavor. I got that tidbit and some more info from this video of Troegs brewing a cocoa porter:

That is an awesome vid! Thanks for sharing and for the info. Much appreciated!

how did it turn out?