Rogue clone, Oatmeal Stout

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MFSB

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Brewed my first beer today. Very fun and exciting. I enjoyed the relaxed process of doing an DME kit, no hick ups or unexpected events. I did modify the kit though and was looking for some feed back. When adding the sugars from the kit at the 15 minute mark I included 1lb of bakers chocolate. I watched some videos and read quite a bit about adding chocolate flavor to a beer and was wanting a somewhat strong but not sweet chocolate flavor. From what I have learned so far is I had basically 3 options, chocolate nibs with the grain, chocolate powder in the late boil, or syrup at bottling listed from least to most flavoring. I went with the middle with the hopes of not introducing too much sweetness. Anyone have any feed back?
 
Well, I'd be concerned that the fat they add to baker's chocolate would kill head retention. Fats/oils and beer don't mix.

Also, is this a 5 gallon batch? A pound of baker's chocolate sounds like a lot to me.
 
Having done a little more reading, it sounds like the general recommendation with baker's chocolate (or any chocolate with fat, such as chocolate chips), is to add them early in the boil. Another option that you didn't list is to soak cocoa nibs in vodka for several days and then add it to primary/secondary. That's what I did for my recent RIS (along with vanilla beans to make the chocolate flavor a little sweet) and it turned it pretty nice.
 
Yeah, it was a 5 gallon batch, it seemed like a lot of chocolate to me as well. I went with what I had read and saw on a couple youtube videos. We will see how it goes, so head retention, I am not well schooled in that part of it, does that mean the beer will go flat quicker as I drink it? Or less carbonated?
 
Yeah, it was a 5 gallon batch, it seemed like a lot of chocolate to me as well. I went with what I had read and saw on a couple youtube videos. We will see how it goes, so head retention, I am not well schooled in that part of it, does that mean the beer will go flat quicker as I drink it? Or less carbonated?

Head retention is the ability for the foam ("head") to linger. Oil in the beer or on the serving glass can negatively affect it. It won't make it flat or less carbonated, but a proper head helps release volatile aromas, improving the aroma.
 
Huh, not sure how that will affect everything. i am sure that I over did it a bit on the chocolate, but I think it will go well, if not I will drop some vanilla icecream in it and have a beer float! Overall I happy with my efforts so far, it is fermenting well, and I enjoyed the brewing. I look forward to how this is going to turn out.
 
So far it is at 9 days. I can see the majority of the chocolate at the bottom of the vessel. It is still bubbling slowly and seems to be progressing well. Are the little dots on top anything to be concerned about? tried to rotate the image with no success

IMG_0797.JPG
 
It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like yeast rafts with bits of CO2 bubbles clumping around them.
 
So i bottled over 2 weeks ago, and I plan on popping one next Thursday as a celebration for selling my home. Pretty excited to see how it turned out, will post photos.
 
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