badducky
Well-Known Member
Howdy,
Apologies for a long post.
I've only got six beers under my belt, now, two of them original recipes, and I face my greatest challenge, as a homebrewer, to date. My wife has not really liked anything I've made! Other people have, and I have, but she has not! She's not really a beer drinker, strictly-speaking, and this whole hobby to date, from her perspective looks like this:
1) I clean and sanitize the kitchen (Yay for your new hobby!)
2) I make our guest bedroom smell funny for three weeks (Boo for your new hobby!).
As it is, she seems quietly undecided about it, and I sense she really hates that smell.
Ergo, I need to make her something she will *love* and I will be able to pull it out any time she gets frustrated by the smell of yeast brewing, to remind her how awesome a sanitized kitchen is.
I'm trying to come up with something that's close enough to a non-alcoholic beverage she adores to win her over to my new hobby (and to beer, in general!)
Anyone familiar with the Caribbean beverage, Cocoa Tea? It's not really hot chocolate, but that's the closest thing to it, for the uninitiated. It uses unprocessed cocoa (preferably from Grenada), condensed milk, various spices, and has a distinctive texture and flavor that you either love instantly or hate forever.
I'm trying to come up with an extract brew that emulates Cocoa Tea.
As I am a beginner, I have no experience making chocolate beer.
I'm also interested in that creamy mouthfeel one gets from condensed milk. I understand Lactose adds pure sweetness, but does not actually create that thick, milky texture. I've read about Dextrine, but I wonder if Cocoa and oily Cocoa Nibs will do, instead.
Advice on Hops and Yeast are very welcome!
Here's what I've come up with, so far, for a five gallon batch:
3 lbs of Briess Pilsner Dry Malt Extract
3 lbs of Briess Dark Dry Malt Extract
8 oz of Milk Sugar
8 oz of Cocoa Powder
some sort of hops @60 for bittering.
some sort of yeast.
whole nutmeg and cinnamon added @30 to the boil, and left in through the primary.
In the primary, 12 ounces of cocoa nibs, and a bay leaf
I'm not really sure if this will net the result I'm aiming for. I'm aiming for a sweet, spicy chocolate flavor, with a creamy mouthfeel, as if this drink were half cocoa tea and half sweet, brown ale.
Anyone have any advice?
I've heard Molasses can add a buttery toffee flavor to beers. Do you think replacing some of the cocoa or milk sugar with molasses might work?
Apologies for a long post.
I've only got six beers under my belt, now, two of them original recipes, and I face my greatest challenge, as a homebrewer, to date. My wife has not really liked anything I've made! Other people have, and I have, but she has not! She's not really a beer drinker, strictly-speaking, and this whole hobby to date, from her perspective looks like this:
1) I clean and sanitize the kitchen (Yay for your new hobby!)
2) I make our guest bedroom smell funny for three weeks (Boo for your new hobby!).
As it is, she seems quietly undecided about it, and I sense she really hates that smell.
Ergo, I need to make her something she will *love* and I will be able to pull it out any time she gets frustrated by the smell of yeast brewing, to remind her how awesome a sanitized kitchen is.
I'm trying to come up with something that's close enough to a non-alcoholic beverage she adores to win her over to my new hobby (and to beer, in general!)
Anyone familiar with the Caribbean beverage, Cocoa Tea? It's not really hot chocolate, but that's the closest thing to it, for the uninitiated. It uses unprocessed cocoa (preferably from Grenada), condensed milk, various spices, and has a distinctive texture and flavor that you either love instantly or hate forever.
I'm trying to come up with an extract brew that emulates Cocoa Tea.
As I am a beginner, I have no experience making chocolate beer.
I'm also interested in that creamy mouthfeel one gets from condensed milk. I understand Lactose adds pure sweetness, but does not actually create that thick, milky texture. I've read about Dextrine, but I wonder if Cocoa and oily Cocoa Nibs will do, instead.
Advice on Hops and Yeast are very welcome!
Here's what I've come up with, so far, for a five gallon batch:
3 lbs of Briess Pilsner Dry Malt Extract
3 lbs of Briess Dark Dry Malt Extract
8 oz of Milk Sugar
8 oz of Cocoa Powder
some sort of hops @60 for bittering.
some sort of yeast.
whole nutmeg and cinnamon added @30 to the boil, and left in through the primary.
In the primary, 12 ounces of cocoa nibs, and a bay leaf
I'm not really sure if this will net the result I'm aiming for. I'm aiming for a sweet, spicy chocolate flavor, with a creamy mouthfeel, as if this drink were half cocoa tea and half sweet, brown ale.
Anyone have any advice?
I've heard Molasses can add a buttery toffee flavor to beers. Do you think replacing some of the cocoa or milk sugar with molasses might work?