Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Andes Mint Chocolate Stout

[Sepanik1986]

I'm kind of regretting using a hop bag for the boil. I went to check the gravity and all I got scent wise was a nutty smell. No hint of mint. Gravity is at 1.020 after a week fermented at 61 degrees fahrenheit. Took a taste and got a roasted nut and chocolate flavor, again, no hint of mint. Gonna give it another week of primary, then I'm gonna rack to a secondary to clear out extra yeast and get it off the trub. If at that point still no mintiness, I'll debaate on using some peppermint extract or a dry addition of more mint bags.

 

[mdbrewer1]

I did my first PM today with this recipe. Forgot to add the flaked barley right away since it was in my other ingredient bag, so I had to open everything back up to get it in. Final temperature at end of mash was down to 146. I added 1/2 lb. of lactose and pitched a saved mason jar of WLP004. I ended up going without a starter. I have another jar in the fridge that I can use if it doesn't take off.

That hydro sample was deeeeelicous. Minty, chocolatey, and just a hint of hops. If the finished product is as good as that tasted, I'll be a happy camper.

Thanks for the recipe! I look forward to sharing these at Christmas.

 

[mdbrewer1]

If this comes out as good as I hope, I'll share the PM recipe I used. Someone posted a rough extract recipe early on in the thread that I based it on, and I figure I'd hopefully add a little clarity to other PMers interested in this.

 

[Carros]

Question for those that have brewed this, since the only hop addition is at 60 minutes is there really any flavor or aroma contributions? I'm thinking about brewing a batch of this, and wondering if I can just bitter with some neutral hops I have on hand, or if I should go ahead and get the actual hops.

 

[modernlifeisANDY]

Question for those that have brewed this, since the only hop addition is at 60 minutes is there really any flavor or aroma contributions? I'm thinking about brewing a batch of this, and wondering if I can just bitter with some neutral hops I have on hand, or if I should go ahead and get the actual hops.

Anything neutral is probably fine. I've brewed it with Magnum before and that was fine, too.

 

[peejaynj]

I'm kind of regretting using a hop bag for the boil. I went to check the gravity and all I got scent wise was a nutty smell. No hint of mint. Gravity is at 1.020 after a week fermented at 61 degrees fahrenheit. Took a taste and got a roasted nut and chocolate flavor, again, no hint of mint. Gonna give it another week of primary, then I'm gonna rack to a secondary to clear out extra yeast and get it off the trub. If at that point still no mintiness, I'll debaate on using some peppermint extract or a dry addition of more mint bags.

I agree, I ended at 1.014 and it's more of a nutty taste, almost like a dark Newcastle (which I'm not complaining about, just not the chocolate mint taste I envisioned). Do you think racking to a secondary with some priming sugar, and more mint and chocolate powder would jack up the flavors before bottling?

 

[Sepanik1986]

I just racked mine to a secondary with a teaspoon of mckormick mint extract. I'm going to let that sit for another 2 weeks before attempting to bottle. Even if it's not as expected I can still say I tried. And it'll be drunk so it won't be like I wasted money

 

[mdbrewer1]

I just noticed that the AA of the EKG in the original recipe was only 4.5%. Mine were 7.2%. I added 2 oz. of them into my 3.5 gallon boil. I don't have Beersmith on this computer, so I'm wondering how much extra bitterness I'll end up with. I imagine it's not a simple math equation, but if it is, mine should come out fairly close.

Anyone have any thoughts on how mine might compare to the original?

 

[guitarman31]

I'm going to be brewing this weekend, but my LHBS only has Carafa I and II. Would one of these work as a substitute for the carafa III?

 

[dibs78]

I bought Carafa Special III thinking it was the same just that I wouldn't have to milll it. I'm now reading that is not the case. If I use the special will that have a significant negative impact on the flavor? Should I mill it?

 

[mdbrewer1]

I bought Carafa Special III thinking it was the same just that I wouldn't have to milll it. I'm now reading that is not the case. If I use the special will that have a significant negative impact on the flavor? Should I mill it?

Based on this old thread, it sounds like you probably should. One of the suggestions in there is to use a coffee grinder to get as much color out as you can.

 

[toestothesun]

Just brewed this tonight, I'll post up after it's ready.

 

[peejaynj]

And bottled. Awesome recipe thanks!!

 

[mdbrewer1]

I took my first gravity sample in preparation for bottling this weekend and am down to 1.016. I'm expecting it will be good to go.

The sample was a bit more bitter than I remember the OG sample tasting. I'm guessing it was because the AA% in my EKG were a bit higher than the original recipe. I'm thinking about adding the other 1/2 lb. of lactose I have at bottling. Does that sound like a good plan or should I trust that some time in the bottles will bring it back closer to how the OG sample tasted?

 

[mdbrewer1]

I bottled yesterday and had a couple complications. The biggest being the nearly 1 gallon of trub! I'm guessing it was related to the 4 oz. of chocolate powder. I wasn't expecting that much, and my siphon kept dropping down into it even though it was at my normal level. The end result was an overprimed batch with lots of sediment. It was so bad that it clogged up the bottling wand at one point. I ended up with 41 bottles instead of my normal 50/51.

The other issue was the extra lactose. I'd probably have been better off adding just a 1/4 lb. instead of the full 1/2 lb. since it was borderline cloying. I added it with the priming sugar mixture, so I didn't get a chance to add a little at a time. Hopefully the flavors all blend together and it ends up a little less sweet.

I'm going to let this one carb cool and slow. I'll probably end up with gushers, which will do a great job of bringing all the extra sediment back into solution.

A couple of good lessons learned, even going back to the brew.

1. Double check the AA% of the hops I have against the recipe.
2. Chocolate powder makes lots of trub.
3. Transfer everything to bottling bucket before making the priming solution. Next time I'll siphon first, then make the priming solution after verifying the volume, and sanitize bottles while it cools.
4. Add lactose in small increments to have better control over the sweetness. I should have known better on this one.

I'll proably let them sit in the basement til around New Year's and give them at least a week in the fridge. I'll report back.

 

[peejaynj]

I bottled yesterday and had a couple complications. The biggest being the nearly 1 gallon of trub! I'm guessing it was related to the 4 oz. of chocolate powder. I wasn't expecting that much, and my siphon kept dropping down into it even though it was at my normal level. The end result was an overprimed batch with lots of sediment. It was so bad that it clogged up the bottling wand at one point. I ended up with 41 bottles instead of my normal 50/51.



The other issue was the extra lactose. I'd probably have been better off adding just a 1/4 lb. instead of the full 1/2 lb. since it was borderline cloying. I added it with the priming sugar mixture, so I didn't get a chance to add a little at a time. Hopefully the flavors all blend together and it ends up a little less sweet.



I'm going to let this one carb cool and slow. I'll probably end up with gushers, which will do a great job of bringing all the extra sediment back into solution.



A couple of good lessons learned, even going back to the brew.



1. Double check the AA% of the hops I have against the recipe.

2. Chocolate powder makes lots of trub.

3. Transfer everything to bottling bucket before making the priming solution. Next time I'll siphon first, then make the priming solution after verifying the volume, and sanitize bottles while it cools.

4. Add lactose in small increments to have better control over the sweetness. I should have known better on this one.



I'll proably let them sit in the basement til around New Year's and give them at least a week in the fridge. I'll report back.

I experienced the same thing with the trub and the bottling wand. I "dry hopped" with some cocoa nibs and they kept getting stuck in the wand. Actually ended up having to buy a new one haha. And same, I ended up with about 43 bottles. And the taste is not the true chocolate I was expecting, more of a dark Newcastle type of beer. Still good tho. Gonna let it sit as well and hope for the best! Still had some fun making this batch.
I

 

[Sepanik1986]

I bottled Saturday and yea, I lost some to trub, but I ended up with 49 bottles

 

[mdbrewer1]

I bottled Saturday and yea, I lost some to trub, but I ended up with 49 bottles

Did you use nibs or powder? Did you filter going into the fermenter or do a secondary? I couldn't believe how much was at the bottom.

 

[COEBRA]

This one got stuck at 1.022 for me. I tried another week in a secondary with no avail. I'm going to re-pitch another packet of yeast with some amalayse and a little lactose at the end since it will more than likely finish off dry with the second pitch. I was really hoping to try this one soon but it's really being a butt head!

 

[DaveNH]

Brewed this 8 days ago (with US-05) and it seems stuck at 1.030. Was hoping to get this bottled to give it some time before Christmas.

Beersmith gave a predicted OG of 1.053 (compared to op's 1.060) and I measured it at 1.055 before pitching. Predicted FG was 1.014.

 

[COEBRA]

Brewed this 8 days ago (with US-05) and it seems stuck at 1.030. Was hoping to get this bottled to give it some time before Christmas.

Beersmith gave a predicted OG of 1.053 (compared to op's 1.060) and I measured it at 1.055 before pitching. Predicted FG was 1.014.

Same here. I'm going to re-pitch tomorrow and see if it comes down.

 

[guitarman31]

So I just came from my LHBS to get everything I needed to brew this tomorrow. The only problem is that they were out of Irish ale yeast. I bought some US-05 and Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale. Any suggestions on which of these to use? Or maybe even a different one? Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Sepanik1986]

After a week I transferred to a secondary, mainly to get it off the trub from the boil (my pasta strainer fell into the fermenter when pouring into the bucket) at that time I added 1.5 tsp peppermint extract because there was no hint of mint. I used cocao powder in the boil (3.5 oz) and like others the Kent holdings were a little high on alpha so I dialled it back to 1.25 oz. At the end of fermentation I had a gravity of 1.019

 

[mdbrewer1]

How terrible of an idea is it to try to 'burp' the bottles I overcarbed on Sunday? Is it possible to bleed off whatever CO2 that has formed so far and then tighten the caps back down? I'm really concerned about gushers but I don't want to ruin the whole batch.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I've done that with a coffee stout I overcarbed last year. I only cracked the caps and retightened them a few times over the course of a few days.

I can't say it helped much, but you might be better off just popping one after about a week and seeing where you're at.

 

[mdbrewer1]

I've done that with a coffee stout I overcarbed last year. I only cracked the caps and retightened them a few times over the course of a few days.

I can't say it helped much, but you might be better off just popping one after about a week and seeing where you're at.

Thanks. I'll give it a shot. I can't stand idly by since I know they're way overcarbed. I have a couple Grolsch bottles that I'll use as my test subjects!

 

[Sepanik1986]

How terrible of an idea is it to try to 'burp' the bottles I overcarbed on Sunday? Is it possible to bleed off whatever CO2 that has formed so far and then tighten the caps back down? I'm really concerned about gushers but I don't want to ruin the whole batch.

Not sure how that will do. I agree to wait a week and see

 

[guitarman31]

Just finished brewing and pitching the yeast. This beer tastes amazing. Can't wait for it to be finished!

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

How terrible of an idea is it to try to 'burp' the bottles I overcarbed on Sunday? Is it possible to bleed off whatever CO2 that has formed so far and then tighten the caps back down? I'm really concerned about gushers but I don't want to ruin the whole batch.

I've done that with a coffee stout I overcarbed last year. I only cracked the caps and retightened them a few times over the course of a few days.

I can't say it helped much, but you might be better off just popping one after about a week and seeing where you're at.

I shouldn't have responded without getting the facts straight. Did you use 5 oz of priming sugar for 4 gallons? Also, what is the ambient temp where your bottles are?

 

[mdbrewer1]

I shouldn't have responded without getting the facts straight. Did you use 5 oz of priming sugar for 4 gallons? Also, what is the ambient temp where your bottles are?

I used 3.9 oz of table sugar trying for 2.4 vol and estimating 4.8 gallons.

They are sitting in the basement at around 65. The upcoming cold front will probably push that down a couple degrees.