Partial Mash: Contraband Chocolate Imperial Stout

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HackInBlack

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I'm planning on doing my first partial mash (according to Deathbrewer's counsel) this coming week. Here's the recipe:

Recipe: Contraband Chocolate Imperial Stout
Brewer: Dechert
Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: Extract

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Boil Size: 6.01 gal
Estimated OG: 1.115 SG
Estimated Color: 35.6 SRM
Estimated IBU: 62.0 IBU
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 50.00 %
5.50 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 34.38 %
1.00 lb Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 6.25 %
0.75 lb Black Barley (Stout) (500.0 SRM) Grain 4.69 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 3.13 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 1.56 %
1.00 oz Chinook [11.00 %] (60 min) Hops 23.0 IBU
0.50 oz Warrior [15.80 %] (40 min) Hops 14.5 IBU
1.00 oz Williamette [4.50 %] (10 min) Hops 3.4 IBU
1.00 oz Belgian Chocolate (Bottling 0.0 min) Misc
2 Pkgs Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728) Yeast-Ale


Partial mash grains 60 min. at 155 degrees. Sparge with 168 degree water.

Full boil 5.5# DME. Add 8# DME at end of boil.

Notes:
------
Make 2.3L starter with 2 packs of yeast.

Primary – 7 days at 70 degrees. Secondary – 7-14 days at 70 degrees.

Dissolve chocolate in boiling water. Cool and add with priming sugar before bottling.

----------------------

I want to have it bottled by early November so it's ready for Christmas. Any input/changes/suggestions are welcome.
 
None of the grains you listed have any diastatic properties, so you can't really mash them. I'd throw 2-3 lbs of two-row so you have proper conversion of your speciality grains and lower the amount of extract to still hit your OG. That or some German Munich for even more malt character.

If you are using the BIAB method and had your LHBS crush te grain, shoot for 60-65% efficiency maximum for your partial mash. If you shoot for the 75% efficiency you see most recipes use, you're calling for trouble or disappointment: better off using a bit more grain or extract than undershooting by 10 points and settling for something weaker. You can always top off if you magically hit 85%.

As far as recipe composition, I'm way too much of a noob to help you there. But you don't seem to have gone overboard with the speciality wich is a common first timer mistake, so I assume it will be good. Another thing, higher ABV brew may tend to take longer to carbonate and condition, so take that into considration if you want to give it away as Christmas gifts for example. fianlly, you might want to add some very fermentable sugars (candi, sucrose, etc.) to up the OG instead of going all extract, unless you want the beer to finish at 1.020 and very sweet (especially while mashing at 155F)
 
Be very careful of the sugars in the chocolate making bottle bombs with the priming sugar. Maybe secondary would be a better choice. Check around here and see what other people are doing with chocolate.

B
 
Yea - most people seem to be adding chocolate to the boil or secondary. The AHB site recommends adding to the bottling bucket. I'm still trying to figure that out.

On the ABV side, I've realized that it is too big to be a Christmas beer. Thus, I'm thinking of making it a low alcohol Imperial or a Dry Stout and dropping the ABV significantly. I'd have to refigure the grains, but it should help the beer finish by Christmas.
 
Ok, how does this look for a modified recipe? Knocked back the OG so it might be ready by Christmas. Added some 6-row for the diastatic properties (HT jfr1111). Added an ounce of cocoa and changed from bottling to secondary for the cocoa addition. Any comments? My starter's going and I'm planning on putting this in the can on Thursday, so any input in the next couple of days would be welcome! Thanks!

Recipe: Contraband Chocolate Imperial Stout
Brewer: Dechert
Style: Imperial Stout
TYPE: Partial Mash

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.25 gal
Boil Size: 6.01 gal
Estimated OG: 1.079 SG
Estimated Color: 34.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 54.1 IBU
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 34.78 %
3.00 lb Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM) Dry Extract 26.09 %
2.00 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 17.39 %
1.00 lb Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 8.70 %
0.75 lb Black Barley (Stout) (500.0 SRM) Grain 6.52 %
0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4.35 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 2.17 %
0.75 oz Chinook [11.00 %] (60 min) Hops 22.8 IBU
0.50 oz Warrior [15.80 %] (40 min) Hops 19.2 IBU
0.50 oz Williamette [4.50 %] (10 min) Hops 2.3 IBU
2.00 oz Belgian Chocolate (Secondary 0.0 min) Misc
2 Pkgs Scottish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1728) Yeast-Ale


Mash grains at 155 degrees for 50 min. Sparge with 168 degree water.

Notes:
------
Make 2.3L starter with 2 packs of yeast.

Full boil 3# DME. Add 4# DME at flameout.

Dissolve chocolate in boiling water. Cool and add to secondary.
 
I made this according to the recipe and when I racked it to the bottling bucket I could barely tell there was any chocolate in the mix. So, I boiled and added another 1 oz. of unsweetened cocoa powder with the corn sugar before bottling. I just tried the first bottle after two weeks - in a word, delicious. :rockin: A little green, but this is going to be a great Christmas brew. Very happy with it. Since the cocoa was unsweetened, I figure it added taste but nothing else to the conditioning process.
 
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