Chocolate Cream Imperial Stout

[Jarov]

I'm looking for an extract recipe for a good chocolate cream stout with an ABV of 7-8%. Right now I've got a recipe on BeerSmith that comes to around 7.7%, but I'm curious about how much chocolate will come through. I want the chocolate to be very prominent, and sweet, not bitter. Here's what I've got:

9.15 lbs Dark LME
1 lb. Lactose
12 oz. Chocolate Malt
4 oz. Crystal 120
1 oz. Cluster 60 min - 6-8% AA
.5-1 oz. Cluster 30 min
4-8 oz. Cocoa Nibs in secondary for 1-2 weeks
US-04

OG: 1.074
FG: 1.016
IBU: 13.7
ABV: 7.7%

I'm looking to clone the Breckenridge Breweries 72 Imperial Cream Stout. I'm not sure how much chocolate flavor will make it through, or if it will be sweet. What do you guys think?

 

[SheriffWhiteChocolate]

I would love to see more input on this.

 

[Jebu1788]

Haven't had Breckenridge Breweries 72 Imperial Cream Stout but here are some thoughts:

Whenever I do extract batches, I always like to use the lightest extract as possible and get the color from steeping grains. That gives you a bit more control over the taste since it's not always clear what's in the dark extracts, and I try to find the freshest stuff possible.

If you go that route, I'd use at least 1/2 lb of chocolate and roasted barley each. I can't say much about lactose as I've never used it, but I would bump the crystal up to a full pound too.

The amount of chocolate you have is fine, but if you want it really pronounced I would think about using some cocoa powder at the end of the boil, and/or bumping the total amount of chocolate (nibs + powder) to 8-12 oz. The combo of 1lb crystal and 1lb lactose should be sweet enough that the chocolate won't seem bitter.

 

[Unferth]

Looks good to me. A higher gravity version of the Northern Brewer Kit. I recall a BrewTV episode where they brewed it and the guy added bakers chocolate to the boil.

That seems like a good idea to me, it will round out the chocolate flavor as cacao nibs give kind of a spicier, fruitier version of chocolate.

Also, I think the OPs est FG is off. I'd expect higher given the lactose, lack of adjunct fermentables and the fact that this is extract.

 

[Unferth]

Here's what I got when I plugged it into recipe builder.

 

[triat00]

How does it end?