Adding chocolate character in a stout

[mther]

Hi guys,

5 gallons of brupak irish stout are currently fermenting in the primary. However, I would like to add some character in the stout using oak chips which are soaked in rum and maybe some chocolate. I know it is an Irish stout which are typically 'dry' or malty, but I would like to experiment a bit. Would you combine rum soaked chips with chocolate? And what chocolate would you use? I have read that many people use chocolate powder, boiled in water, cooled and then added in beer. What do you think?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ArcLight]

If you want to use cocoa powder (dark, not milk chocolate) then I'd have added it to the boil.
Not "cooled and added to the beer" but directly in the brew kettle.

 

[Homercidal]

Chocolate powder boiled.

If you want to add chocolate flavor now, I'd recommend a bit of chocolate extract and just add tot he bottling bucket or keg.

 

[solbes]

I just added 6 oz of unsweetened cocoa powder at flameout in my porter. This in addition to some chocolate malt. The wort tasted okay, have no idea on how it will taste feremented. It does add some bitterness, so I mashed pretty high to balance this out. In a dry stout, I don't think I'd go the route of cocoa powder.

I'd probably do the cocoa nibs soaked in vodka or rum for a couple of weeks and then added to a 2 week secondary. 4-8 oz of nibs depending on intensity.

 

[mther]

Thank you all for your replies. The fermentation will finish soon. I have oak chips soaked in rum and I also want to choose one of the following ingredients to make it interesting in the 'dry hopping' stage; vanilla pods, cocoa nibs and cocoa powder! Which one would you select?

 

[Calder]

I've never used nibs. A lot of people say they are the only way to go.

I have used cocoa powder on several occasions, and it works fine. However there are a couple of things you need to remember:

- Do not add it dry. It will clump and will not mix with the beer.

- Mix with water (or beer) before adding. Boiling water is not needed.

- Add slurry to fermenter a little at a time. Adding the slurry seems to provide nucleation sites and the C02 starts to come out of solution. result is the beer starts to foam up, and can come out of the fermenter if you are not careful.

Add both the vanilla and cocoa.

 

[SteveHeff]

I've used nibs on 5 or 6 stouts so far. I really enjoy how the beer comes out when I do use them. My two cents: soak 3-6 oz of nibs (I usually do 3oz for 5 gallons) in your rum for 2-5 days. The alcohol, for some scientific reason I can't think of at the moment, extracts more of the cocoa flavor from the nibs. I've done this method using vodka and/or vanilla extract. It's been delicious every time. If you just chuck them into your fermentor without soaking, you're really wasting them. Throw them into a muslin bag and toss into the fermentor for the last 3 or so days. Good luck.

 

[ivegot2legs]

I wanted to make a very chocolate stout, so I started with 4 oz of nibs, soaked in some bourbon. I didn't get much, so I added 6 oz more. Both for a few weeks at a time. Still not much.

I've been told from chefs that cocoa nibs give a roasted flavour, reminiscent of chocolate. If you want a chocolate flavour, I think cocoa powder or very dark chocolate is the way to go.

Since it's post boil, a chocolate extract is probably wise. Extracts are great for adding a forward flavour.

 

[jbsg02]

using roasted malts plus the residual sweetness of a beer gives a chocolate taste. a local brewery makes an imperial sweet stout that's very chocolatey but no actual chocolate is used.

 

[Paps]

It's probably a little late for this but i would recomend "Meyers" Jamaican rum. I've made some Diplomatico with it (chocolate coffee cake) and would probably go well with what your intended flavors are.

 

[mther]

Thank you guys. I soaked the nibs in a dark rum. The fermentation is finished after 7 days so probably tomorrow I will transfer to a secondary and add the rum soaked oak chips and cocoa nibs in the fermentor. I will use a muslin bag for the nibs and nothing for the oak chips. I will leave them in secondary for 1.5-2 weeks and let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

 

[mther]

Beer was bottled yesterday and had a wee taste from the sample I got for the gravity measurement. i have to say that it tastes wonderful a bit bitter chocolatey with aweet aftertaste and has vanilla and smokey aroma. Cant wait to taste it after priming. Thank you all for your advices!

 

[solbes]

Glad to hear it worked out! I will go that route next time I think after my recent experience.

The 6 oz of unsweetend cocoa powder added late in the boil did not turn out so well. I even mashed high to leave the FG sweeter. I racked to a keg a week ago and there was a pretty unpleasant aftertaste left behind. I'm gonna let that keg sit this one out in the rotation. Maybe tap it by the first of the year and see if it improves aging at room temp.

 

[FATC1TY]

I do a double chocolate stout..

3-4 ounces of dutched dark cocoa powder to the boil with 15 minutes left in the boil.

I add 4 ounces of crushed nibs to the primary fermenter that I had soaked in some bourbon, and I will also add in after fermentation, 3 vanilla beans. Vanilla will give you the impression of the milky sweet chocolate aroma we all know and love when it's in the beer with the roasty chocolate notes.


I also get the flavor from my grain profile. I used a dark chocolate malt, and then I use the lightest roast chocolate malt, generally called pale chocolate in my grist. The two together will lend a milky smoother chocolate roast note.

 

[herc1354]

I wanted to make a very chocolate stout, so I started with 4 oz of nibs, soaked in some bourbon. I didn't get much, so I added 6 oz more. Both for a few weeks at a time. Still not much. I've been told from chefs that cocoa nibs give a roasted flavour, reminiscent of chocolate. If you want a chocolate flavour, I think cocoa powder or very dark chocolate is the way to go. Since it's post boil, a chocolate extract is probably wise. Extracts are great for adding a forward flavour.

I added 12oz of cocoa nibs to secondary and the chocolate flavor is amazing

 

[BigFloyd]

The 6 oz of unsweetend cocoa powder added late in the boil did not turn out so well. I even mashed high to leave the FG sweeter. I racked to a keg a week ago and there was a pretty unpleasant aftertaste left behind. I'm gonna let that keg sit this one out in the rotation. Maybe tap it by the first of the year and see if it improves aging at room temp.

If you add cocoa powder to a stout toward the end of the boil, you should also include some lactose to balance out the bitterness. The rule of thumb I like is 2oz of lactose for every 1oz unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix them dry in a bowl, add warm water to create a slurry and dump it in at 10min.

Oh, and let the beer age 3-4 months in the bottles at room temp. It won't really be good until then.

 

[solbes]

Good to know. The FG was fairly high for a moderate gravity, I think it finished at 1.017. Regardless, I think I will take your advice and let this keg sit in the basement until Feb 1, which would be 3 months.

I will try more chocolate malt and soaked nibs next time.

 

[solbes]

If you add cocoa powder to a stout toward the end of the boil, you should also include some lactose to balance out the bitterness. The rule of thumb I like is 2oz of lactose for every 1oz unsweetened cocoa powder. Mix them dry in a bowl, add warm water to create a slurry and dump it in at 10min.

Oh, and let the beer age 3-4 months in the bottles at room temp. It won't really be good until then.

Hey Big Floyd,

Excellent advice about letting it age for 3-4 months. I let the keg drop back in the rotation and tapped it last Wed (just over 3 months). I could taste just a tad of that weird bitterness at first. Now it seems to be really good with about a week of fridge time. Quite a bit of chocolate flavor and very tasty.

 

[BigFloyd]

Hey Big Floyd,

Excellent advice about letting it age for 3-4 months. I let the keg drop back in the rotation and tapped it last Wed (just over 3 months). I could taste just a tad of that weird bitterness at first. Now it seems to be really good with about a week of fridge time. Quite a bit of chocolate flavor and very tasty.

Excellent. I trust that it was worth the wait.

 

[nychb]

I'm looking for a little help along these lines myself. I saw several interesting forum posts about a Mexican hot chocolate style stout and decided to make one using a fairly basic sweet milk stout recipe. my LHBS guy who is always very helpful and informative recommending adding 4oz cocoa nibs and 2 diced chili peppers with 10 minutes left in the boil and then 2 cinnamon sticks with a couple minutes left. I just racked from primary to secondary and had a taste. none of the added flavors are really standing out. so a couple of questions:

do you think the flavors will develop more with aging or is this it?

given I've already added some ingredients in the boil would you recommend adding anymore in the secondary? and if so, how would you do it?

I really just wanted a hint of cinnamon and a hint of heat to cut through the sweetness, so it's not the end of the world if these flavors are not prominent, but I would kind of like to have a more chocolate forward flavor, so I was thinking if the nibs didn't do the trick maybe some cocoa powder. I have done a really great coffee porter where I added some cold brewed coffee at bottling, but most people don't recommend that technique with chocolate.

any ideas? thanks in advance.

 

[BigFloyd]

You can try nibs in the secondary if you like.

 

[Paps]

Take Floyds advice and do the nibs.
Some wines are made with chocolate powder but they age those for
A YEAR plus before drinking them.
I vagely recall it has something to do with oils present in the powder taking a long time to break down and mellow in the flavor.
I've done whole cinnamon sticks in secondary for some ciders which works great but i can't say i've ever tried it in a beer.
Regardless of what you do it will be beer and one should not let a beer go to waste....There are sober people in China ya know.

 

[C-Rider]

I made a chocolate coffee dry stout using 1 oz of cocoa powder in a 2 gallon batch. Powder added with 5 min left it the boil. It comes across very nice