adding chocolate powder to brown ale

[ReaperOnefour]

Hello all. So ill be brewing an American brown ale (partial extract) in the next week or so. Its a 2.5 gallon batch. I would like to add some chocolate powder to the beer. I'm looking for a nice subtle aftertaste. I don't want it to be overpowering. The thing is i don't know how much to add, or when to add it to the boil.( I usually boil for 45 minutes. ) I was thinking about using two tablespoons at flame out. The chocolate powder that i'm thinking of using is Hershey's 100% cacao natural unsweetened powder. Can anyone please help me out with this?

 

[bobeer]

I would just use some chocolate malt and call it a day. The brown I make, 5 gallons, has 4oz of chocolate malt in it and I find it to be just the right amount for both color and chocolate flavor.

I've used unsweetened bakers chocolate in a stout I brew from time-to-time... Never have used the powder. I usually melt the chocolate in a bowl and dump it into the last 5-10 minutes of the boil.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Chocolate malt isn't always that chocolatey - and note that eg British versions tend to be more roasted than their equivalents across the pond.

For adding chocolate, see this thread.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

Thanks for the tips guys. So that cacao powder is no good then huh?

 

[triethylborane]

Cacao powder is fine, virtually no fat and easy to measure, but the sort of flavor you want will only come from experimentation. Ive not used cacao powder much since I find subtle chocolate flavors are present in my various beers due to grain bill, yeast, brewing methods etc . . . so generally my goal is to go beyond a subtle chocolate flavor. Id imagine its probably fine to just add directly to the fermenter, but if you wanted to sanitize it, 24hrs mixed in a small volume of vodka would handle it. There is an overwhelming amount of information on brewing with chocolate here so dont be afraid to refine your search.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Thanks for the tips guys. So that cacao powder is no good then huh?

Powder can work, it is just a bit messier to deal with than the Cacao Nibs.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

Ive seen those cacao nibs too. I think im going to try the cacao powder. Do you guys think that 2 table spoons at flame out will be ok?

 

[applescrap]

Cacao and cocoa are different, more in a second. Pow pow is king. I have made a ton of founders kbs or breakfast essentially and iirc the recipe is both nibs, and bakers. Iirc it is some of a bittersweet bar and I use powder with it. That makes a nice beer. Cocoa is called for in the recipe and has been processed. Cacao is a different product, but guess could be used. I recently bought dutch processed americas test kitchen winner, it is pretty good. It will make a good beer.

Funny side note, I went to get recipe for you and I cant find sd card from old phone. I lost my recipe.

Thanks for the tips guys. So that cacao powder is no good then huh?

 

[ReaperOnefour]

It's cool bro. I really appreciate all the great tips. Maybe I should use coca powder instead of cacao then.

 

[applescrap]

Yes cocoa. Or cacao. They taste different, when you think chocolate its cocoa. Cacao could be good too. Albeit not necessarily "chocolate".

Edit...Are you sure your Hershey's is cacao. Mine says cocoa.

Edit, edit, so my hersheys says 100 cacao on it. Haha. Ingredients says cocoa. Yes use that and I would give you amount if I could find recipe.

It's cool bro. I really appreciate all the great tips. Maybe I should use coca powder instead of cacao then.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

Thanks applescrap. Coca powder it is.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I think if you want to notice the flavor you’ll need more than 2tbs — 1/2 cup at flameout or the last 5 minutes is more like it.
Also, when it comes to using chocolate malt, there are different ones, for umore chocolate flavor go with chocolate rye.

Happy brewing!

 

[ReaperOnefour]

Thanks hoppy2bmarry. I'm going to try that. Hopefully I don't screw it up.

 

[Toxxyc]

Thanks for the tips guys. So that cacao powder is no good then huh?

I love cocoa powder in stouts. The one in my PP was a dry Irish stout, 23l (6 Gal) batch, and I added 6 fl oz of unsweetened, natural cocoa powder to the dry stout recipe. It gave it a rich, but not overpowering chocolate taste and smell. It was wonderful.

EDIT: Oh yes, and the cocoa powder was added after fermentation was complete. I dissolved the powder in a cup of beer I tapped out of the fermenter, heated up in the microwave until it was pasteurised, added the cocoa and pitched back into the fermenter. Worked wonderfully.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

That sounds good. Thanks again guys for all the great tips. I can't wait to brew this brown ale, & of course drink it. I figured with winter coming, a nice brown ale would taste really good. Especially around Christmas time.

 

[applescrap]

I was thinking a quarter to half, I couldnt find my recipe and i also use bakers chocolate. To op the bakers chocolate and the powder is what you want even in small amounts. Happy brewing!

I think if you want to notice the flavor you’ll need more than 2tbs — 1/2 cup at flameout or the last 5 minutes is more like it.
Also, when it comes to using chocolate malt, there are different ones, for umore chocolate flavor go with chocolate rye.

Happy brewing!

 

[ReaperOnefour]

Thanks applescrap. I'm going to try using the coca powder. Hopefully it all works out.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have limited experience with chocolate...but...I made some tinctures by soaking cacao nibs in vodka and adding an amount to taste to an Imperial Stout and I really like the chocolate flavors. My girlfriend made a chocolate mint stout using powdered cacao (or cocoa??). It was okay, but I think she used too much. She added it at flameout and it tended to float on the beer during fermentation and the beer had an odd looking film that made use worry it was infected.

I did some reading on cacao vs cocoa. It seems there is some confusion about when to use what term, but it did seem that cocoa should have less fat than cacao. The cacao nibs I have do have much more fat than the cocoa powder I have on hand, but I never noticed any fat issues with the cacao nibs.

 

[brewbama]

I saw Don O in a video recently that said Drew Beecham said to soak the nibs in vodka, strain them thru a coffee filter and place the liquid in the fridge for a while to skim off the top layer ‘stuff’. Add the de-‘stuffed’ liquid to the beer.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

I've seen the cacao nibs before. I just wasn't sure how to use them.