Chocolate Beer

I posted over at the beginner forum that I'm going to be brewing a chocolate beer, and was told that there were some tricks with this type. so I'm looking for some advise. Heres the recipe:

3.00 lbs Amber Dry Malt Extract
3.50 lbs Dark Liquid Malt Extract
1.00 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.50 lbs Roasted Barley

1.50 oz Bittering Hops
0.50 oz Aroma Hops

Here's one I found for Young's Double Chocolate. You can play with this recipe:

East Kingston Double Chocolate Stout

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP East Kingston Double Chocolate Stout

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

15-B Stout, Sweet

Min OG: 1.038 Max OG: 1.056
Min IBU: 15 Max IBU: 25
Min Clr: 40 Max Clr: 70 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 15.50 Wort Size (Gal): 15.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 26.50
Anticipated OG: 1.053 Plato: 13.1
Anticipated SRM: 31.7
Anticipated IBU: 3.5
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 20.00 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.041 SG 10.27 Plato


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
58.5 15.50 lbs. Pale Malt Weyermans Germany 1.036 3
5.7 1.50 lbs. Crystal 40L America 1.034 40
7.5 2.00 lbs. Chocolate Malt Great Britain 1.034 475
15.1 4.00 lbs. Dark Brown Sugar 1.048 0
11.3 3.00 lbs. Dark Chocolate 1.040 0
1.9 0.50 lbs. Roasted Barley UK 1.029 575

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.

Nighteagle said:

I posted over at the beginner forum that I'm going to be brewing a chocolate beer, and was told that there were some tricks with this type. so I'm looking for some advise. Heres the recipe:

3.00 lbs Amber Dry Malt Extract
3.50 lbs Dark Liquid Malt Extract
1.00 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.50 lbs Roasted Barley

1.50 oz Bittering Hops
0.50 oz Aroma Hops

Click to expand...

There's no chocolate in that recipe! Chocolate malt doesn't really taste like chocolate. That's more of a stout or robust porter recipe. You could add a couple ounces of unsweetened dark chocolate if you want the flavor. Some guys around here have had good success, though I have never done it. (I need to though, as SWMBO loves chocolate porters and stouts!)

What CC said. Just chuck in 2-3oz. of dark chocolate (not milk chocolate), such as unsweetened or bittersweet. Melt it over a double burner and pour it in while stirring to make sure it doesn't burn and boil it for the full 60 minutes to make sure the oils in the chocolate are well isomerized; otherwise, you risk having a pour head on your beer.

Baron von BeeGee said:

otherwise, you risk having a pour head on your beer.

Click to expand...

Nice typo.

I brewed a chocolate beer last year. I'll try to get the recipe posted tomorrow, but it was based on a recipe in Papazian's second "Joy of Homebrewing" book. I used dark chocolate from a variety of sources. Most of it was left over Valentines day chocolate, like Dove brand. I used about a pound of chocolate, and added it at the very end of the boil.

When you are transfering the beer from one fermenter to the other, you want to be sure not to siphon anything from the surface of the beer. The cocoa butter in the chocolate forms an oil slick of sorts, and that can be a real head killer. I actually added an extra siphoning step on bottling day, just to get any remaining oils out of the beer.

It turned out great. There's plenty of chocolate flavor, and a nice brown creamy head. I recall that the recipe went something like this:

5 lbs 2 row malt
3 lbs light DME
1/3 lb Chocolate Malt
1/3 lb Roasted Barley
1/3 lb Black Patent Malt
1 lb Wheat
1 lb Munich or Crystal malt, (I can't remember)
10 oz Dark Chocolate (I upped it to 1 lb)
I don't remember the hopping schedule, or type of hops, but it was pretty light on the hops.
I'll find out more and post it later.

cweston said:

Nice typo.

Click to expand...

D'oh!

Would using cocoa powder eliminate the oil problem? Has anyone tried this?

PS Go easy on The Baron, he's probably only had one or two pints since he got to work this morning and the two with breakfast have long since worn off!

I've never brewed with chocolate, but isn't better to use something akin to the powdered cocoa stuff so there's no oils or butters or whatever?

abarilla said:

I've never brewed with chocolate, but isn't better to use something akin to the powdered cocoa stuff so there's no oils or butters or whatever?

Click to expand...

A lot of people do exactly that, apparently with great success. Another method is 'dryhopping' with cocoa nibs, but they're relatively expensive and somewhat difficult to come by. I haven't personally tried either of those methods.

Baron von BeeGee said:

A lot of people do exactly that, apparently with great success. Another method is 'dryhopping' with cocoa nibs, but they're relatively expensive and somewhat difficult to come by. I haven't personally tried either of those methods.

Click to expand...

Do you know in what volumes?

Chairman Cheyco said:

Would using cocoa powder eliminate the oil problem? Has anyone tried this?

PS Go easy on The Baron, he's probably only had one or two pints since he got to work this morning and the two with breakfast have long since worn off!

Click to expand...

How much of the coca power would I use ?, also do I boil it for the full 60 ?

Chairman Cheyco said:

Do you know in what volumes?

Click to expand...

I don't. Pretty sure I read about it on the green board, though.

I used chocolate malt with very good results so far. ive used up to 1/2 lb in 5 gallon batches with great results. I guess Im just paranoid about no head from the oils in chocolate, but maybe the cocoa powder would work just as well.

Maybe tonight, I'll pop one open, pour it into a glass, and take a picture of the glorious chocolate porter crowned with a nice creamy head. Then all you doubting Thomases... doubting Thomi... Whatever.... will be convinced.

The oils are a problem if you're sloppy with siphoning, but if you're the least bit careful, it won't be a factor. I've heard good things about the cocoa powder deal, but after brewing a couple really good batches of Choco-porter, I'm afraid to try something else.

Now that I think of it, I may have boiled the chocolate for an hour or so. I think I may have put it in with the DME. Because now I seem to remember a wonderful chocolate smell coming from the brew kettle.

I need to brew that one again.

I have used Baker's Chocolate quit a few times and never had a problem with it, just add it to the boil.