I've been monitoring this thread because it's only Internet discussion I've found on Boulder Shake. I did my first attempt and it was an okay chocolate porter. Drinkable, not special. My brew had many characteristics that were similar to Boulder Shake, but it needs tweaking. I brew partial mash/extract. Here was my first attempt recipe:
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
12.0 oz Chocolate Wheat Malt (400.0 SRM)
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)
Steeped 25 minutes @ 150
1 lbs Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)
6 lbs 9.6 oz English Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)
2.0 oz Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM)
1.00 oz BSG Nugget [15.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.00 oz Brewcraft US Tettnang [6.40 %] - Boil 30.0 min
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
2.0 pkg American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)
Fermented 10 days. Roasted 8oz of raw cocoa nibs at 300 for 18 minutes. Added nibs in a sterilized hop bag into primary for 10 days. Kegged at 11 PSI. First pint was poured 2 weeks later.
Here were my notes on the differences in a side by side comparison:
- Boulder Shake is sweeter, mine was more Baker's chocolate bitter.
- Flavor of the finishing hops complimented the chocolate flavor better in the Boulder Shake.
- Chocolate flavor is stronger in Boulder Shake
Next batch corrections:
- Going to try 8 ounces of lactose
- Moving the Tettnang hops boil time to either 10 or 15 minutes. Might increase the amount to compensate for the IBU loss. I'm still learning, but I think boiling at 30 minutes was not leaving enough of finishing hops flavor in the wort.
- I thought 8 ounces of chocolate nibs was going to be an overkill. I can't tell if bundling the nibs in the muslin sack reduced the surface area. Maybe the increase in lactose will enhance the chocolate flavor. I'm leaning towards either not putting them in a bag or raising the nibs to 12 ounces.
Open for suggestions. I was hoping to nail this and then post the recipe.
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