Lürchenbeir Double Chocolate Irish Stout critique

Lürchenbeir Double Chocolate Irish Stout

Brewing my first non kit recipe tonight. I've done a bunch of Brewers best kits and Ciders. So now I thought I'd take the plunge and come up with my own. My LHBS helped me a tad and I decided to add the lactose, cocoa powder, and vanilla beans on my own accord. I basically took some ideas from some other stout recipes and came up with what is below:

Est:
ABV: 6.2-8%
IBU - 24

Gravity
OG - 1.070
FG - 1.020 - 1.015(Target FG, first batch TBD)

Extract:
7lbs of Dark LME

Specialty grains:
12oz Chocolate Malt
8oz Munich
4oz Black Malt
4oz Crystal 120L
10oz of Lactose
8oz of Non Sweetened Dutch Cocoa Powder (last 10 mins)


Hops
1oz North Down (60min)
1oz US Golding (10 mins)

Additionals
2 vanilla beans in secondary(though I don't usually secondary ferment so I'll add this after primary fermentation chills out.

Yeast
wyeast 1084 Irish Ale

I bought all the ingredients. And I've tried several other choc stouts. I know it isn't all grain, I just don't have the room in my little condo. Moving soon though and I am moving to AG when I have the space. If you have any suggestions, lemmi hear them!

Well I can say that I do like black roasted barley in my stouts; Your chocolate malt looks good but your IBU’s are pretty high imo. For a 10gal batch I shoot for 20 or less and bump my lactose to 2lbs for a sweet stout (note: that would be 1lb for a 5gal). Only other thing is I’d watch out for any other ingredients in the cocoa powder (not familiar w/the brand you’re using) to avoid extra oils… though, I’ve read people using chocolate bars in the mash with success. I’d just say watch your IBU’s (just my opinion). Anything I’m missing here?

I am a fan of this recipe which adds chocolate extract at bottling… maybe compare? Or not. Oh, the vanilla beans, how are you going to introduce them? Soak in Vodka? Cut in half and add to a hop bag? Scrap out the seeds and chop the pod? Things to consider before the last minute. I did two split, scraped and chopped added to each of my kegs but am not getting any vanilla. I over hopped (aiming to please roommates) so they are resting (to mellow) so the vanilla probably got lost. Speaking of which, I haven’t went for a taste in a month…

I was worried about the IBUs but my lhbs said that'd like those additions because they compliment stouts very nicely. I ended up dumping the entire 1 pound bag of lactose in to add some sweetness. the cocoa was fat free and sugar free. just pure extract. I might let it sit a while so the bitterness will mellow out. I also added the 1st set of hops in for only 50 mins instead of 60, plus it was a 3 gallon boil instead of a 5, so the hops wont carry over as much as you'd expect. It smelled amazing while in the boil and the fermentation is pretty steady, not too aggressive and it started at around 12 hours of sitting. Really can't wait.

As far as the vanilla bean goes, I've never added it before, I imagine after the fermentation cools off I will add it. Chopped and seeds taken out, soaked in vodka. Let it sit for 2 weeks as it conditions. You won't really notice the vanilla flavor, as its only intention is to cut the bitterness of the chocolate and hops. Vanilla plus the lactose should give me the sweet malty chocolate finish i'm looking for. I hope anyway! I'll add updates as it goes.

Now I'm kicking myself because I should have trusted my instincts and told the lhbs guy that I want a less hoppy beer. Once this one is 2 weeks in I am going to make a 2nd batch with a target range of 20 IBUs like you said. If it tastes too bitter and hoppy after fermentation is done I think I may back sweeten just a tad with a little extra lactose, maybe a half cup. I'll wait and see how it tastes.

I uploaded my recipe in the brew calc and it says my IBUs will be in the 24 range! Looks like this could be a tasty stout after all! My LHBS must have made a miscalculation.

Yeah, my last batch came in at about 25 IBU’s… IBU’s?!@ - for the “13B Sweet Stout” style in BeerTools Pro it seems you can add a sh$# load of hops. This batch was brewed 11/24/2012 and I just pulled a taste now – smell is no hop but the bittering is still there (3oz @ 60min and 2oz@30min). It has mellowed but the bittering is distracting from the chocolate taste I was going for.

So, for this style (in BeerTools Pro) how far can we push the hops? Well:

At 60 min: 5.7oz (w 2oz @ 30min)

At 30 min: 5.7oz (w 3oz @ 60min)

After these settings the Bitterness goes off the chart.

Curious on how yours turns out… post back after a break cap.

It has about another week and some change before I bottle from primary. Which is great because I am gonna be running low on my Irish stout by then. I'm letting vanilla sit in the last two weeks of primary. I did the split, chop, scrape, n soak in vodka method. I have high hopes for this one.

I feel like my next batch will be AG. Every extract brew I make has residual extract flavors. Not that they are bad flavors. Its just that if you use ldme in 3 beers. The flavor profile of all three beers taste like ldme. I'll probably get something more unique next time. Still another week or two in primary but I am getting excited!

discooby said:

Yeah, my last batch came in at about 25 IBU’s… IBU’s?!@ - for the “13B Sweet Stout” style in BeerTools Pro it seems you can add a sh$# load of hops. This batch was brewed 11/24/2012 and I just pulled a taste now – smell is no hop but the bittering is still there (3oz @ 60min and 2oz@30min). It has mellowed but the bittering is distracting from the chocolate taste I was going for.

So, for this style (in BeerTools Pro) how far can we push the hops? Well:

At 60 min: 5.7oz (w 2oz @ 30min)

At 30 min: 5.7oz (w 3oz @ 60min)

After these settings the Bitterness goes off the chart.

Curious on how yours turns out… post back after a break cap.

Click to expand...

It is VERY tasty. Super great body, nice chocolate/vanilla start with a semi sweet/hoppy finish. The lactose is a must. I'd even recommend using some choc nibs in addition to the cocoa powder because you could get even crazier with the chocolate flavor if you'd like. Does have a slight alcohol taste that will mellow with age.