Theobroma

Posted this on another home brew forum as well... sorry if anyone reads both forums.

Just sampled the limited quantity Dogfish Head "Theobroma"... very impressive! It's probably too early for anyone to have a clone recipe but I thought I would put the feeler out... anyone have a recipe for something similar?

According to the Dogfish Head documentation it's brewed with:

• Honey
• Ancho Chilies
• Ground Annatto
• Soconusco Cocoa Nibs
• Cocoa Powder

bumpity bump. I'd really like to see someone take a stab at this one.

That would be a rough one to try and figure out. I'd normally be game for a recipe challenge, but that one could come out very badly. I'd personally look up Brew_Pastor's chili ale recipe (can't recall the name atm) and then use that as a starting point. Is this a sweeter type ale? What about the hops?

I tried this at a Dogfish tasting after GABF, I gotta say, it was light colored, slight hint of chiles, but I didn't get any chocolate and didn't really like it.

ColoradoXJ13 said:

I tried this at a Dogfish tasting after GABF, I gotta say, it was light colored, slight hint of chiles, but I didn't get any chocolate and didn't really like it.

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I was there too and I quite enjoyed it.

Agree on the light color and subtle taste of the chilies. Disagree on the Cacoa - thought it came through pretty well.

I too had this at GABF and I thought it was very mild, if you didn't tell me there were chiles or cocoa in it, I would have never known.

I have a feeling this is a low gravity mead more or less with VERY light adjunct spicing.

I had some of this too in Madison last fall. I thought it was great but unfortunaty it disappeared from the shelves very fast. Does anyone have a clone recipe yet or know if Dogfish Head is planning on making another batch?

MeatyPortion said:

I had some of this too in Madison last fall. I thought it was great but unfortunaty it disappeared from the shelves very fast. Does anyone have a clone recipe yet or know if Dogfish Head is planning on making another batch?

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The next batch has been released as someone I know from PA bought a couple of bottles today.

Little place in town just got 12 in and I got the first bottle! I cant wait to try this.

Is it really that rare?? I picked up up a bottle last weekend when I saw it. Had I known it was that rare, I'd bought 2.

I tried this last month. I had bought a bottle about 4 or 5 months ago and finally got around to it. I really liked this beer and I think cocoa and chilis flavor came through nicely. I think this is one of their better push the envelope beers. Way better than the Palo Santo Marron, Yuck!

FatMonsters said:

Way better than the Palo Santo Marron, Yuck!

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One of my favorite beers!

bubbachunk said:

The next batch has been released as someone I know from PA bought a couple of bottles today.

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Damn, I am in no position to purchase any at the moment. I'll have to wait until next year but at least now I know when it's supposed to come out.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have been looking for anyone that has managed to reproduce this (or at least gotten close) to share the recipe.
Its an amazing drink, and I would love to be able to make some of my own.

BUMP! YEP, me too F..Wizard !

To throw in my two cents... when I tasted it last year, I was reminded a little bit of Midas Touch. Both beers do have a similar profile, with the big difference from MT being the addition of cocoa powder, cocoa nibs and ancho chillies.

So I would say that a good base for it would be the same recipe as Midas Touch (even the honey... orange blossom) and then playing with the cocoa & chili additions. From what I remember, the chili didn't really jump out and punch you in the taste buds, so I'm assuming its use is relatively small.

For a 5 gallon batch, it would probably break down to 10 or 11 lbs. of a good two-row, 3lbs. of OB honey at 0 min, 1/2oz Williamette at 60, 1/2oz Williamette at 15, 1/2tsp of Annatto at 15, 8oz of cocoa powder at 0, and then in the secondary probably about 5 ancho chilis and 4oz of cocoa nibs for about a week. Yeast would probably be the same as with the MT.... probably a Trappist ale yeast.

I'm about 6 batches out in my planning/brewing schedule, so I wouldn't be able to do this...... but if anyone wants to take the hitch and run with it, let us know how it turns out!

Well, I'll rise this thread from the ashes again. We just finished this semi-clone using the ingredients found above. The wort has a extremely chocolate smell and taste and is very very dark. It went into the primary about 30 mins ago with a gravity of 1.074. I'll keep anyone who's interested, informed about it's progress in this thread.

Yes, in whatever fashion.....let me know how this goes!! I'm totally interested! and thanks for "bump"ing it!

_John

Hi all,

I brewed the theobroma clone with pamedic and a third, unnamed mystery individual.

We re-racked it into a tertiary last night. From the initial gravity of 1.074, we were down to 1.003 (nearly water). That's an ABV around 9.35% (right where we wanted to be). It tasted somewhat fruity, definitely chocolatey, and very smooth. From primary to secondary (before the nibs and chilis) it was somewhat, uh, "brisk". I'm really glad that it's mellowed. It's a dark clear and like a burnt umber color.

We're going to leave it in the tertiary for about a week to clear, and then bottle condition. So far so good. Here's the recipe nearly exactly to what fergy posted:

For a 5 gallon batch:
Yeast: Wyeast Trappist High Gravity

• 12 (or 13) lbs. Breiss 2-row
• 1/2oz Williamette at 60
• 1/2oz Williamette at 15
• 1/2tsp of Annatto at 15
• 1tsp irish moss at 15
• 10oz of ghiardelli cocoa powder at 0
• 3lbs. of OB honey at 0 min

In the secondary:

• 3 ancho chilis
• 4oz of cocoa nibs

Let sit for about a week.

Rerack to tertiary to settle out.

We're probably going to net around 3.5 gallons.

How did this brew turn out? I love this beer and would love to make it if its reasonably close.

We bottled on Tuesday. It tastes superb. We only used 3 chilis, and it looked substantial but it wasn't quite enough. I would go 5 next time.


I'm letting it bottle condition for 2 weeks, stay tuned.

In for the results!

An update: it hasn't finished carbonating. Somewhat fruity flavor, with notes of chocolate and a light spice to it. We definitely could have put more chilies into it. Smooth mouthfeel, light and crisp.

Another week, I think.

I just drank another. I don't think I'm going to get to the carbonation I like, but regardless, it's right about where I would like it to be.

Next batch, and for subsequent brewers: Add another chili. Just a bit more spice.

For a review: The brew is fantastic. Just great. Consequently, at 9.35%, it keeps getting better the more you drink.

For my first beer that I've ever brewed ever, I'm pretty damn proud.

Cheers!

Congrats man there is no better feeling than trying a beer that you brewed and it being really good

Any last words of advice on this puppy? We're revving up to brew it tomorrow; planning 4 anchos and one chipotle ('cuase we're freaks like that)... everything else ought to be on-target... maybe burn up a little 10L crystal in there just because...

Brewed this yesterday - but had trouble hitting our numbers. Think we ended up too wet on the mash, my fault (threw the brew together too quickly, not enough time to run through all the preparations...).

So we ended up throwing the entire 6# of honey on-hand, got us back up to the intended numbers (21Br post-boil). Also ran a touch low on cocoa powder, only 7oz. Still, should certainly be pretty tasty!

I'm guessing this is about 1/10th the cost of the orig...

Sorry I couldn't get back to you in time. I am certainly a novice brewer, but from what you've described, it sounds okay. Might be low on the chocolate, but you can adjust with extra powder in the secondary. Good luck with that much spice. We were lucky and hit right in a sweet spot that wasn't overpowering. You'll know in a few weeks.

No prob! It's all for fun... and we do like a good bit of spice in there... more our own take on the concept, ultimately, and less of an exact copy...

A few days later, it's still rockin' to bead the band... that's 6gal in a 6.5gal carboy...

Update - bottled yesterday. Recall we did 5 anchos plus 1 chipotle.

WOW. What a beer. Even warm and flat, it's amazing. It'll also probably knock you on your butt in a hurry - 'cause it's real light and tasty, you don't even realize that it's now up to 11%!!!

Next time... we'll probably dial it back to around 9%, but also intend to add maybe a teaspoon of smoked habanero flakes in the secondary, with the other chiles. 'Cause we're nuts like that.

Really awesome beer, not at all regretting making it...

924RACR said:

Update - bottled yesterday. Recall we did 5 anchos plus 1 chipotle.

WOW. What a beer. Even warm and flat, it's amazing. It'll also probably knock you on your butt in a hurry - 'cause it's real light and tasty, you don't even realize that it's now up to 11%!!!

Next time... we'll probably dial it back to around 9%, but also intend to add maybe a teaspoon of smoked habanero flakes in the secondary, with the other chiles. 'Cause we're nuts like that.

Really awesome beer, not at all regretting making it...

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Any thoughts on what an equivalent extract recipe may look like? I'm a noob w/6 extracts under my belt, and this will be the first recipe that is a departure from an extract kit. I've had a bottle of Theobroma (lucky to be stationed in Delaware, this place is a beer gold mine!) and instantly fell in love with it. Anything close to a clone would be awesome. Thanks!!

Yeah, honestly since it's a pretty simple mash, it shouldn't be hard at all to convert to extract. Just a matter of swapping in pale and maybe a half a pound or so of Munich, then rebalancing. That's a lot easier to figure out than some of the more complex beers.

All the fun and games with this one come in the boil and secondary...

Do you have BeerSmith or similar to work the numbers for you?

@ derm

Use these equations to help convert from all-grain to extract

amount of base malt x .8125 = amount of liquid malt extract

or

amount of base malt x .6875 = amount of dry malt extract

So 10 lbs. of all-grain would convert to 8.1 lbs. of liquid malt extract, or 6.8 lbs. of dry malt extract.

fergy89406 said:

@ derm

Use these equations to help convert from all-grain to extract

amount of base malt x .8125 = amount of liquid malt extract

or

amount of base malt x .6875 = amount of dry malt extract

So 10 lbs. of all-grain would convert to 8.1 lbs. of liquid malt extract, or 6.8 lbs. of dry malt extract.

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Thanks for the help! I'll give it a shot!

924RACR said:

Yeah, honestly since it's a pretty simple mash, it shouldn't be hard at all to convert to extract. Just a matter of swapping in pale and maybe a half a pound or so of Munich, then rebalancing. That's a lot easier to figure out than some of the more complex beers.

All the fun and games with this one come in the boil and secondary...

Do you have BeerSmith or similar to work the numbers for you?

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I don't but I think I'll pick it up tonight. I had the trial but didn't have much use for it at the time.

Thanks for the reply!

I just paid $14 for a bomber. I really like it! I definitely want to try to clone this!