Cocoa Powder - TO BOIL OR NOT TO BOIL

[seriousbeef]

It's the night before brewday.

All my browsing in the HBT archives came out with a unanimous YES to adding cocoa powder to the last 10 mins of the boil for a choco-porter.
THEN I stumbled across a thread, stating those with good choc flavour from this method after some aging were simply 'lucky'. The majority suffer off-tasting bitterness and little chocolate flavor.

In addition to this, I am also adding 350g chocolate malt, but expect little flavor from this.

So, I have this supermarket cocoa powder. What do I do? Risk it for a biscuit in the boil? Or add it in primary? I have 250 grams.

Cheers guys.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I brewed a mocha stout earlier in the year in which I added cocoa powder to the boil. It aged in the keg for about 2 months before getting tapped, then another 6 or 8 weeks on tap before it was finished off. During that time, I noticed no bitterness or decrease in chocolate flavor. Granted, that was only a total of maybe 4 months of aging, so a fairly short time span. I have no idea how it would have fared over a much longer term.

 

[Hammy71]

The cocoa should come. I have also used the trick of using a couple of vanilla beans in the secondary. You don't get a lot (if any) vanilla flavor, but it does seem to enhance the chocolate.

 

[Colorowdy]

I put cocoa powder in my boil with five minutes left. I also only use a half cup or so. Haven't had any problems with my chocolate stouts

 

[BigFloyd]

I'm drinking a chocolate stout in which I used 8oz (by weight) of Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder at 10 min. It's yummy and has just the right hint of chocolate I was looking for. IMO, since the unsweetened cocoa powder is very bitter, you need to add lactose to balance it out.

I mixed dry the 8oz of cocoa with 1lb of lactose in a bowl then added enough warm water to make it into a nice pourable slurry. I killed the flame at 10 min, stirred it in, and fired it back up.

BTW- this beer is excellent at 3.5 months. At 6 weeks, it was drinkable, but not good enough that I was pleased to share it with anyone. Give it the time it needs and you will be rewarded.

 

[seriousbeef]

I literally have no time to go out and find lactose!!! Gah

 

[BigFloyd]

I literally have no time to go out and find lactose!!! Gah

In that case, I'd leave the cocoa powder out of this batch and save it for down the road. It will likely turn out bitter without the lactose (milk sugar).

A nice alternative for a porter is to cold brew some coffee and add that to the bottling bucket.

 

[MindenMan]

There's always Splenda, but be careful not to use too much. From my limited experience in making flavored beers, fruit, chocolate, etc., patience is your best friend. The first flavored beer I made was an apricot ale. I used both fresh apricots and apricot extract. What tasted just about right in the secondary was borderline awful 3 months later.

 

[C-Rider]

I literally have no time to go out and find lactose!!! Gah

I don't use lactose in my chocolate coffee stout. and I use coco powder. have not noticed any bitterness. Then I don't like a sweet stout.