I Eat Danger For Breakfast Stout

[Freagan]

I am about to try my hand at brewing my first stout next week. After reading many rave reviews, I decided on Jasper's I Eat Danger For Breakfast Stout. But after having read many different threads about this kit, as well as the lengthy Founder's Breakfast Stout clone recipe thread, i feel like I am left with a few questions.

1) Quite a few people have voiced concern over the use of actual unsweetened bakers chocolate in the recipe, worried about the loss of head retention due to the oils in the chocolate, as well the overall loss of yield of beer lost to the massive trub leftover in the primary. I have read quite a few people suggest possibly just using roasted cacao nibs in the secondary instead. As a newb in this respect, this sounds like it could solve both issues, but am not sure if it would still provide the same rich chocolate profile the recipe calls for. Would this be a viable option without altering the flavor profile too much?

2) The recipe also calls for steeping 5oz of dark roast coffee at flameout, but I have read a lot of people complaining of overly bitter beer afterward. I was considering (as many had suggested) making some cold brew instead of steeping the coffee, as this would impart less acid and be less bitter. Could this provide a more smoother and well rounded coffee profile, instead of an upfront and more bitter coffee flavor?

3) Considering all that is going on in this recipe, would it be a good idea to use a whirlfloc tablet or not?

Recipe in question:
https://www.boomchugalug.com/downloadables/recipes/i_eat.pdf

I have only ever made IPAs which seem a much more simple in comparison, so I apologize if I am over think all of this!

 

[Jtk78]

I can't comment on the chocolate side, as I've never used either. If I were to try either though, I would lean toward the nibs side.

I did a coffee stout in the spring and used 5oz of course ground beans. After a lot of research myself, I went with the cold brew. I used RO water in a cheap French press. Left it in the fridge for a day and a half. I then heated that up to about 170F to pasteurize it, added my priming sugar, stirred to dissolve, cooled it and added it to my bottle bucket before racking the beer on it.

What I got was perfectly carbed bottles and a wonderful, smooth coffee flavor. WHEN I do it again, I would probably bring the coffee addition down to 4oz. I was looking for a little more subtle flavor, but it is pretty coffee forward. Not bitter, not pungent, just coffee forward.

Lastly, leave it alone. I wish I had let mine age more. Unfortunately, I have about a 6 pack left, and they are certainly better with a bit of maturity. Don't touch it for a month, expect it to be good at three, and great at 6 months. Mine will probably not see beyond that, at least this time.

 

[Freagan]

Thank you Jtk78, I'm definitely going to go the cold brew route.

Does anyone have any advice on using whirlfloc tablets in this type of brew?