I have only been brewing for about a year now and this is my first attempt at this brew. I bought a Russian imperial stout kit and added an extra pound of dark brown candied sugar. In the last 15 min of the boil I added 4 oz of cocoa powder mixed with a cup of dark brown sugar and 8 oz bag of cocoa nibs. Any suggestions on how to make sure I get a robust chocolate character in the end? I always transfer to secondary and have heard.you should add chocolate then also
double chocolate imperial stout
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Run3minman
Well-Known Member
This sounds fabulous. How long would you keep this in a carboy???
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aharri1
In Rembrance 6/2023
fletchsj said:
Thanks for the info! How much aging would you recommend? I have read that some people leave it in the primary for a month then bottle. I have been transferring mine to secondary after seven days and added 8 oz of nibs and 4 iz cocoa powder at the last ten mins of boil. I also read somewhere where a guy soaked his nibs in just enough vodka to cover them and poured it into his secondary. Any advise?
aharri1 said:
Could have been me - I've posted that a few times on HBT, it's part of my Triple Chocolate Imperial Honey Stout (a name to match its mouthfeel
) recipe. Go big or don't bother, I say!For 5.5g hitting primary, I add 8 ounces of the lowest fat cocoa powder I can find at the end of the boil. I let the primary simmer for a couple of weeks, then rack it on top of 8 ounces of cacao nibs that have been soaked for a few days in just enough (cheap!) unflavored vodka to cover, giving the sealed container a shake any time I pass through the kitchen.
Then I let the secondary stew for another couple of weeks before kegging, and at that point I finally add a good ounce of Nielsen-Massey pure chocolate extract (the good stuff).
The result is a wonderful dessert beer. Imo it's even better than Young's draught Double Chocolate - which I love (and fwiw, what they sell in cans is horrible by comparison, imo).
It's the perfect "last pour of the evening", as the 9+% ABV inevitably kicks my arse right into bed
Cheers!
[edit] As for "how long", 2w in primary, 2w in secondary, 2w resting in the keg, and finally 2w carbing, before it hits my keezer. So eight weeks from boil to glass...
Could have been me - I've posted that a few times on HBT, it's part of my Triple Chocolate Imperial Honey Stout (a name to match its mouthfeel
For 5.5g hitting primary, I add 8 ounces of the lowest fat cocoa powder I can find at the end of the boil. I let the primary simmer for a couple of weeks, then rack it on top of 8 ounces of cacao nibs that have been soaked for a few days in just enough (cheap!) unflavored vodka to cover, giving the sealed container a shake any time I pass through the kitchen.
Then I let the secondary stew for another couple of weeks before kegging, and at that point I finally add a good ounce of Nielsen-Massey pure chocolate extract (the good stuff).
The result is a wonderful dessert beer. Imo it's even better than Young's draught Double Chocolate - which I love (and fwiw, what they sell in cans is horrible by comparison, imo).
It's the perfect "last pour of the evening", as the 9+% ABV inevitably kicks my arse right into bed
Cheers!
[edit] As for "how long", 2w in primary, 2w in secondary, 2w resting in the keg, and finally 2w carbing, before it hits my keezer. So eight weeks from boil to glass...
Would you have an exact recipe of that lying around?
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aharri1
In Rembrance 6/2023
Probably so Thanks for the advice! I don't have a kegging system so I'm bottles only. I guess once I add it to secondary put another 8 oz of chocolate nibs in vodka. How long do I soak them in vodka? My OG was 1.081. Will the vodka bring it up any and if I want to can I add a lil more vodka will it raise my abv without ruining taste? Its only been 1 day in primary and looks ferocious!
Thanks for the advice! I don't have a kegging system so I'm bottles only. I guess once I add it to secondary put another 8 oz of chocolate nibs in vodka. How long do I soak them in vodka? My OG was 1.081. Will the vodka bring it up any and if I want to can I add a lil more vodka will it raise my abv without ruining taste? Its only been 1 day in primary and looks ferocious! 
Would you have an exact recipe of that lying around?
Soitenly!
It's a rather simple recipe...14 lb 2 row pale malt
1 lb flaked barley
1 lb crystal/caramel malt 60L
1/2 lb carafoam malt
1/2 lb black patent malt
1/2 lb chocolate malt
1.25 oz Chinook pellets, 90 minutes
1 oz Cascade pellets, 20 minutes
1/2 brown sugar, end of boil
1 lb honey, end of boil
1/2 lb low fat cocoa powder, end of boil
WLP004 (Irish Ale Yeast) in a starter
1/2 lb cacao nibs, soaked in vodka for 3 days, add at secondary
1 oz pure chocolate extract, add at kegging
double infusion full body mash (p-rest @123°F, s-rest @158°F)
7.25g pre-boil, 5.5g post boil, 5g in keg (there's a lot of trub 'n' stuff lost)
2 week primary, 2 week secondary, 2 week keg rest, 2 week carb @2.3V
OG: 1.091, FG: 1.022, IBU 62, SRM 35, ABV 9.2%
I have a keg of this about to kick any evening now, and another keg ready to go that I brewed back in September that's patiently waiting its turn
Cheers!
Has anyone added vanilla beans to this? Seems like you almost always have to add vanilla to anything with chocolate in order to bring out the chocolate flavors. I'm thinking just two or three split vanilla beans soaked in (again cheap, unflavored vodka) for a couple days added to the secondary should give you plenty of vanilla.
You're right, and I definitely recommend adding some vanilla post-fermentation. Since I posted that recipe I've tried to sneak up on the right amount of vanilla by slitting and smashing up a bean or two (so far I'm up to two) and adding it to the cacao nibs as they stew in the vodka for a few days. And on that count, I've switched the soak from vodka to dark rum (highly recommended!)
With two beans the vanilla is "present" but not prominent at all (don't think I'd want vanilla to star after all that work!) and indeed the chocolate seems amped up a bit more.
Still my go-to bedtime snack
Cheers!
With two beans the vanilla is "present" but not prominent at all (don't think I'd want vanilla to star after all that work!) and indeed the chocolate seems amped up a bit more.
Still my go-to bedtime snack
Cheers!
Nightshade
Well-Known Member
You're right, and I definitely recommend adding some vanilla post-fermentation. Since I posted that recipe I've tried to sneak up on the right amount of vanilla by slitting and smashing up a bean or two (so far I'm up to two) and adding it to the cacao nibs as they stew in the vodka for a few days. And on that count, I've switched the soak from vodka to dark rum (highly recommended!)
With two beans the vanilla is "present" but not prominent at all (don't think I'd want vanilla to star after all that work!) and indeed the chocolate seems amped up a bit more.
Still my go-to bedtime snack
Cheers!
I agree on not wanting vanilla to star in this recipe.
I built a coffee vanilla stout that was good the first time with prominent vanilla notes. Basically did like you and slit the beans then used them as a dry hop addition for 5 days.
This time around I did the same but pulled the beans after 3 days (using same amount) and it has become an excellent beer with the coffee being more the showcase flavor.
