Chocolate Pale Ale help

[BrewingViking]

Ok so brewing this batch with my girlfriend's cousin. Teaching him how to do allgrain. They like really strange brews, aka DFH ancient ales. Thought this would be a good idea. Let me know what you think of the recipe.

15lb 2-Row
8oz Crystal 40L
6oz Chocolate
0.25oz Galena for 60min
0.5oz Fuggle for 20min
0.5oz Galena for 20min
0.25 Summit for 20min
0.25 Galena for 10min
0.5oz Fuggle for 10min
White Labs California Ale

Was going to mash at 155F for 60min

Also was going to add cocoa powder to the mash. Not sure how much yet. If you have any tips open for help. I've added powder to the boil and ended up with a ton of it in the bottles. Was also thinking of adding lactose to smooth the chocolate bitterness out a bit.

 

[jfr1111]

That recipe, especially with the lactose and chocolate, will make a good milk stout, albeit a hoppy one: it won't ressemble a pale ale in any shape or form (not that that's a bad thing !).

Drop the galena from the late additions (20 min, etc.), the flavor/aroma is not a pleasing one. If you are adding lactose, take care not to mash too hot, lacotse is unfermentable and the points it add go pretty much all to FG.

 

[m00ps]

To get good chocolate flavor without the powder or its color, try using cacao nibs. I've started using them instead of cocoa powder since they seem to give a more genuinely chocolate flavor. I usually boil them with some vanilla beans (to sweeten and round out the flavor) in a bit of water, cool, and add to the fermentor. Works like a charm. I think the vanilla beans with maybe a tad more crystal would work better to counteract any bitterness. I also agree with the notion of dropping late hop additions. Whenever I have a "flavored" beer, I try to steer away from hopping in the last 15 min or so because it clouds whatever flavor you are going for. Unless you're hops are complimenting the flavor like with fruits