Chocolate Stout - What kind of chocolate?

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thedailyaustin

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I'm making a chocolate stout for my wife, here is my recipe:

9# 2-row
3# chocolate malt
0.5# CaraPils
0.5# Crystal 120L
1# Lactose
0.5oz Warrior Hops at 16% AA
White Labs WLP004 - Irish Ale Yeast

I plan on adding some chocolate, maybe baker's chocolate or semi-sweet and I need some opinions. I've read some people put the chocolate in the boil, some put it in at flame out, and some throw it in the secondary. Anyone have any advice on what type of chocolate to use and when to use it? Also I bought 1oz of warrior hops at 16% AA and that seems really really high to me for a stout so I knocked it down to 0.5oz, but maybe its needed to balance out. Anyone got any opinions on that?
 
Cocoa powder.

Add around 8 oz of cocoa powder and any other spices to a small amount of water. Bring the mixture to around 180*F. Exact temp is not important. You are just trying to kill bacteria/wild yeast while not bringing the mixture to a full boil. Whisk to incorporate the cocoa powder in the water. You could also add in the lactose here. Just compensate with more water and a slightly bigger pot. Add this mixture at flameout, to the cooled wort or in the secondary.

For more chocolate info, read
What you need to know about chocolate for brewing
and
The Chocolate Emulsion: My Crazy Theory
 
That looks like a lot of Chocolate Malt to me. I'm not sure what kind of flavors that much would give you. I think the most I have used in a 5 Gallon chocolate stout recipe was 1#

+1 on cocoa powder, I have also just added the powder straight to the end of the boil
 
I agree use 8oz cocoa powder. I used Hershey's in my chocolate espresso stout. I wanted to use something better, but that was all they had at the store I went to and I was in one of those "I'm gonna brew right now, dammit" kinda moods. Didn't wanna chase around. I actually just finished bottling it about 15 min ago and it smells like it may just be the greatest thing I have ever created. So the hershey's chocolate vs more expensive chocolate might not make a huge difference.
 
fyi, not sure if you know this, but cocoa powder does not dissolve. emulsify it carefully in boiling water before you add it to your wort, so it's like adding a chocolate sauce. If you put the powder straight in the wort you will end up with a lumpy mess. You will also have a ton of chocolate in your primary. I waited until I was satisfied that it had all settled before I racked to secondary. It took awhile for it to come out of suspension.
 
After looking up "emulsify" this seems like its gonna be a bit more involved than I originally thought. Also seeing as this is my first AG batch its gonna be fun! Do chocolate stouts benefit from sitting in the secondary for a long time or will my usual 3 weeks to a month work fine?

Also anyone have an opinion on the hops? The recipe I based this off of used 1oz of Warrior but that is 1oz of 16% AA. Is that too much or is that needed to balance out the sweetness?
 
I had mine in secondary for about 5 months, but that was just mostly due to laziness on my behalf. I just couldn't motivate myself to bottle it. I did taste it after about a month and it was a little harsh tasting yet so I figured I'd let it sit. Mine was an imperial stout though and high grav beers generally go longer.
 
This may be arguing semantics but is cocoa powder and hot chocolate mix the same thing? I was thinking about trying this in a porter with Godiva hot chocolate mix
 
The BEST is Chocolate Nibs. You can find them at your local Whole Foods or Natural food store. Most pros use Nibs. They are teh essence of Chocolate.

Most Chocolate has many other chemicals mixed in including sugar. Nibs are the real deal.
 
Use either bakers chocolate or the already mentioned cocoa powder. Whatever you use make sure it does not have any dissolved cocoa fats in it. I made that mistake and well im not sure how its gonna turn out.

Im due to bottle this weekend so hopefully everything comes out ok.
 
The BEST is Chocolate Nibs. You can find them at your local Whole Foods or Natural food store. Most pros use Nibs. They are teh essence of Chocolate.

Most Chocolate has many other chemicals mixed in including sugar. Nibs are the real deal.

I thought i remembered hearing something on one of the podcasts from the brewing network about not using nibs because of the high concentration of oils they have. I thought i remembered them saying they use cocoa powder.

This is just going of what i remember, so i might be completely wrong...
 
The BEST is Chocolate Nibs. You can find them at your local Whole Foods or Natural food store. Most pros use Nibs. They are teh essence of Chocolate.

Most Chocolate has many other chemicals mixed in including sugar. Nibs are the real deal.

I disagree. Cocoa powder is the essence of chocolate as it is mostly cocoa solids. Cocoa nibs will work, but they have a much higher fat content. Not 100% sure of the consequences (if any) of adding that much fat to beer. Some seem to think it will impede head retention. Others seem to not have a problem. Bottom line is that I don't go dumping other types of fat into my beer, so why should I put in cocoa butter?

I'm not really trying to debunk nibs. I'm just tired of people thinking cocoa powder is an inferior product. IMO, skip the nibs and source quality fair trade powder if that is an issue.

i would imagine that hot chocolate mix has a bunch of sugar in it as well as cocoa powder
Hot chocolate mix is usually cocoa powder, powdered milk, sugar, salt, some type of emulsifier, and an anti clumping agent.
 
Also, in regards to the recipe posted I would cut back on the chocolate malt. I think the max recommended in a grain bill is 10%. You're almost at 25% with that recipe.
 
I did a bunch of research for a chocolate stout a few months ago and discovered that many brewers have passionate opinions on what kind of chocolate to use. My conclusion - there are no right or wrong ways, just different ways. The following advice helped me immensely:

1. Higher alcohol beers need less chocolate, as alcohol aids in the flavor extraction.
2. Baker's chocolate contains additional oils, which can damage head retention.
3. Chocolate nibs in the primary may inhibit yeast activity.
4. Cocoa adds to the bittering, so extra cocoa should be accompanied by slight bittering hop reduction.
5. Cocoa beers have a harsh bite for the first month or two, then they mellow out. Other chocolates will start smoother.
6. Cocoa thins out very quickly when boiled.
7. A tiny bit of vanilla can brighten-up the beer and round out the flavor profile.
8. Cocoa powder can cause boilovers if you are not careful.

I hope this helps some. BTW, the beer was made with cocoa powder added at the end of the boil, and 2 months later it is fantastic!!
 
I think the reason Pro Brewers are against powder is that it makes a mess for them - not so much for us small guys. I used powder and was unimpressed with the results - thus I'm purchased nibs for my next try.

as spage says - lots of opinions with Chocolate. I have even heard there have been GREAT results with using the Cocoa shells you buy for mulch. They DO smell awesome and it's aroma you are looking for.
 
I made a chocolate coffee stout before Christmas and used 4 oz. of Ghiradelli unsweetened bakers chocolate. I added it during the last 10 mins of the boil. It made a really nice balance with the Sumatran coffee that was in it.
 
I have had great success with Organic Chocolate extract. 2-4 oz. I have also found Cacao Nibs to work just as well. 4oz. of those will do the trick. Just drop either one in the secondary fermenter.
 
This may be arguing semantics but is cocoa powder and hot chocolate mix the same thing? I was thinking about trying this in a porter with Godiva hot chocolate mix

they are definitely not the same. I would not recommend using hot choc mix. they have all sorts of crap in them that I would never want in my beer. just my 2 bits.
 
Right now I've got 8oz of Hershey Cocoa Powder. So I'm thinking I'll combine some different ideas. First make a cocoa soup with the lactose and put it in at flame out and then put in some nibs in secondary and let it go for a few months before I try some out to see if it needs more time to mellow out. Sound good?
 
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