Chocolate porter extract recipe

I just got done brewing a recipe of the month kit that I picked up from my LHBS. This kit came with 6 oz of solid bakers chocolate. The directions that came with the kit reccomended melting the chocolate in a double boiler and then adding to the boil. I followed the directions in the kit and just got the beer into the primary.

I started reading a few other posts on this board regarding using chocolate and now im wondering if my LHBS might be wrong on using the chocolate in the boil. Most posts I have seen rack it to the secondary and then let the beer sit on it.

Im just wondering if I will even be able to taste the chocolate in the beer or if it will just settle to the bottom of the primary and not give the beer any benefit.

I've not used baker's chocolate before so I don't know how well the flavor will come through but you can always add some cocoa to the secondary if you don't think it's enough.

Does the flavor of chocolate usually increas or decrease with time? If I taste the beer before I move it to the secondary and add cocoa I just want to make sure its not going to get more chocolatey over time and become too chocolate to enjoy.

I've never found the flavor changed much over time. One thing I didn't mention is that cocoa and baker's chocolate is very bitter and too much can really be tasted. I've usually added lactose at bottling to mellow the bitterness out a bit.

I don't know much about using chocolate for beer purposes but with what I've read about heating chocolate for food purposes, you should use a high quality chocolate and chop it up real small. Melt half of it in a pan, take it off the heat and put the other half in to melt on it's own at the lower temps. This is supposed to preserve the natural flavors and oils that are supposedly ruined from high heating chocolate. So, I can imagine boiling isn't a good idea.

But, I haven't worked with it in beer so take it fwiw. Either way, I'm sure your beer will be fine and tasty.

Cheers!
Mark