Another Chocolate Stout, must be that time of year

[gomb]

I am planning to order the stuff for the stout soonish and i want to hear some ideas on the recipe i put together:

6lb Briess Pilsen LME
1lb Caramel 80L
1lb Chocolate malt
8oz Black Patent
8oz Carapils
8oz Lactose (15min)
6oz cocoa powder (15min)
1tab Whirlfloc (15min)
1oz Chocolate extract (secondary)
1oz Williamette (60min)
1oz Fuggles (20min)
1oz Kent Goldings (5min)
WL013 London Ale Yeast

I may add some ghirardelli chocolate at the end of the boil as well. What do you guys think?

 

[KyleWolf]

Just remember any sweet chocolate (ghirardelli) will supposedly kill the head. What I just did (and I mean JUST, as in 3 min ago), was use some (150mL) creme de cacao (no cream) which has an intense chocolate smell/taste heated it up and added 1.5oz hershey special dark cocoa powder. The powder went into solution in a hurry. I heated the concoction to 160 and pasteurized it. Cooled and added to secondary. I can't say how it will turn out, as this is my first time trying it, but from what I could smell, I am STOKED.

Also, since it is a stout, there is probably no need for the whirlfloc, and maybe cut the crystal a bit, but that is just an opinion, no absolute reason not to keep it the way you have it.

And as a personal preference, in a chocolate stout, you cant go wrong with adding some oat to thicken the body. Everything else looks good. Happy brewing.

 

[gomb]

Good call on the head killing, definitely dont want that. I might bump it up to 2oz of chocolate extract with the special dark powder to counter the sweet chocolate loss. I added the extra caramel to get a bit more caramel flavor with the chocolate. I have never used oats in a beer, just steep them with the specialty grains? This is all in the planning stages now so the recipe can be modified.

 

[KyleWolf]

ok, for oats, in an extract batch, you may want to use oat malt instead. Flaked oat will not convert on its own and oat malt will.

 

[markg388]

I added 4oz cocoa powder at the end of the boil to mine (I like it subtle) and it worked really well.

 

[gomb]

Ok updated the recipe some:

6lb Briess Pilsen LME
1lb Caramel 80L
1lb Chocolate malt
8oz Black Patent
8oz Carapils
8oz Oat Malt
8oz Lactose (15min)
6oz cocoa powder (flameout)
2oz Chocolate extract (secondary)
1.5oz Hershey special dark powder (secondary)
1oz Williamette (60min)
1oz Fuggles (20min)
1oz Kent Goldings (5min)
WL013 London Ale Yeast

I am thinking of upping the LME because i have 3.5lbs of specialty grains in this one.

 

[KyleWolf]

Gomb, sorry to go off topic, but you are from the quad cities? I am originally from Geneseo. There are a few others from the area on here that I have been in touch with. I will get to get a hold of you for a beer or something next time I am in the area.

I agree that you either need to up the LME or downplay the specialty grains. The beer can probably handle a drop in the crystal, and with the oat malt there, you probably don't need to worry about the carapils, those are only suggestions to bring your ratios closer to alignment. You are adding so much chocolate into the beer that it will be plenty sweet without the extra additions. But as I said, it is merely a suggestion, you make the beer you want to make

 

[gomb]

Yup i live in Bettendorf currently. I dont have any brew ready to drink at the moment save the Belgian, which is not going to be everyones bag. This brew is still atleast a week out so im gonna tweak a bit more with it. update!

7lb Briess Pilsen LME
8oz Caramel 80L
1lb Chocolate malt
8oz Black Patent
8oz Oat Malt
6oz cocoa powder (flameout)
2oz Chocolate extract (secondary)
1.5oz Hershey special dark powder (secondary)
1oz Williamette (60min)
1oz Fuggles (20min)
1oz Kent Goldings (5min)
WL013 London Ale Yeast

Knocked out the carapils and lactose, cut the crystal in half and added a pound of LME. The woman loves youngs DCS, and im hoping to get a good approximation of that.

 

[KyleWolf]

I think that looks much better. No worries about lack of homebrew, I am sure we can find a place with a decent selection, and I will probably bring up a good chunk of beer.

 

[gomb]

I generally hang out at Old Chicago, boozin it up. I dont really drink beer much, but ill brew it.

 

[TheDawg28]

Uhhhh....my wife loves Youngs DCS also. Did i mention that I like it alot myself!!! Sorry to jump in but Im new here and learning. Im a big fan of chocolate and oatmeal stouts, also a good porter....love O'dells Cutthroat.
Looks like this recipe is going to be happening at my house!!!

 

[gomb]

I am probably going to brew this one next weekend, the caramel cream ale i saw on here is happening this weekend.