Chocolate Espresso Stout

[limprizol]

I am sorry for such a noobish question but i am really interested in making this for my next brew and i am wondering how this beer compares to Guinness as far as bitterness goes.

 

[Jewrican]

I am sorry for such a noobish question but i am really interested in making this for my next brew and i am wondering how this beer compares to Guinness as far as bitterness goes.

thanks for the bump on this thread! This is going to be my next brew!

I use the cheapest molasses and brown sugar I can find at the grocery store. As for bottle conditioning, I have no idea. Kegging rules. I chose cold brew espresso beans myself because it was easier for me, and I had read it has the added benefit of less oil which is better for head retention, as well as less bitterness.

All I can say is that mine is AWESOME, and the head is thick and brown.

I am am not a coffee person and am confused about this expresso addition.

When i see cold brew in previous posts are they referring to just brewing coffee with cold water???

Or are they brewing expresso with cold water? Or am i way off?

I want to use the same recipe as the OP but i dont have an expresso maker... what is a very similar substitute... i want to stay as true as possible based on the great reviews

 

[TUCK]

thanks for the bump on this thread! This is going to be my next brew!



I am am not a coffee person and am confused about this expresso addition.

When i see cold brew in previous posts are they referring to just brewing coffee with cold water???

Or are they brewing expresso with cold water? Or am i way off?

I want to use the same recipe as the OP but i dont have an expresso maker... what is a very similar substitute... i want to stay as true as possible based on the great reviews

Hello, for the record when I created it I used an espresso maker and let it cool and put it in the carboy.

However you can just add near boiling water to Espresso Beans (ginded) and let cool. The time it takes to sit and cool off should steep the beans enough to extract the goods.



As for the "Guinness Bitterness" question, this is more rich, heavy body, subtle roasty sweetness, with subtle bitterness on the finish yet a tad bit "more" bitter than Guinness. This is done to balance the bitter/sweetness.

Rock On Can't wait to make it again this year :rockin:

 

[Jewrican]

Sorry to keep digging this one up, but how much lactose would you recommend to add to this to balance the bitterness for those that found it a little bitter ( i love milk stouts so this sounds great on its own).

Also how do you go about cold brewing espresso? Do you just soak them with cold water??? I like the sound of the less oils for a better head.

I cant wait to drink this! It has only been 3 days and I am dying to try it! My only concern is that i think it looks quite light in color.. hope i didnt mess anything up (it is only my second brew- i bottled my first sunday morning and brewed this at night)

 

[miatawnt2b]

There is plenty of info on cold brewing coffee around. Essentially you soak the grounds overnight in cold water, then filter and dump to secondary. I use 4 cups boiled and chilled water, add 8 heaping tbsp of ground espresso.

For the lactose I am using 4 oz. per 5 gal.
-J

 

[Jewrican]

There is plenty of info on cold brewing coffee around. Essentially you soak the grounds overnight in cold water, then filter and dump to secondary. I use 4 cups boiled and chilled water, add 8 heaping tbsp of ground espresso.

For the lactose I am using 4 oz. per 5 gal.
-J

I really appreciate it. I found info about coffee but nothing about espresso so i was concerned if it would work with espresso also. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Do you add the lactose at bottling or at secondary with the espresso.

*EDIT* i re-read your post about adding it to SECONDARY.

 

[miatawnt2b]

Brewed for the 5th time yesterday. This is a staple fall/winter beer at my place. As I was finishing up the boil yesterday, I kept thinking that I was forgetting something. This morning it hit me. AHHHHHHH THE COCOA! Crap.

I guess I am just going to make a COCOA solution in a bit of water and add to the secondary with the espresso.

-J

 

[Jewrican]

I cannot WAIT to try this beer. I have it in primary and it is done fermenting. I need to get it over to secondary which will happen before the weekend. I am adding 4 OZ of lactose to this as was mentioned above.

 

[brewjunky]

Sorry fo the late response


Last year I used 8 cups of brewed starbucks espresso

However once it aged the coffee really bled through, almost intense

SO...this year I only used 4 cups.
It has been aging for around 2 weeks and seems to be nice, I think it needs more time to mellow but it should be good.

so did you use 4 cups of dry ground coffee or was it 4 cups of coffee that went through the coffee maker

 

[miatawnt2b]

so did you use 4 cups of dry ground coffee or was it 4 cups of coffee that went through the coffee maker

it's 4 cups after brewing, not 4 cups dry coffee. Coldbrew is not as efficient as hot brewed, so I think I used 4 heaping TBSP of finely ground espresso in 4 cups water.

-J

 

[Jewrican]

i just tried this for the first time, which is only about 5 weeks old. I just could not help myself.. i wanted to try it so bad.

So i assume that RIS need to age a for a bit more than most beers.... is that true. I think it is pretty good, but the aftertaste of the bold alcohol taste and espresso is a little tough. It tastes good until that point. Also, i must have had too much oil somewhere... i had almost no head at all

Any ideas how much longer i should age this? It tastes pretty good.. just need to settle the bite down

 

[Jewrican]

After letting this beer sit out (busy while drinking) it was MUCH more mild with some time. I guess it is not a good beer for 40 degree serving temp.

 

[Greenspey]

I really appreciate it. I found info about coffee but nothing about espresso so i was concerned if it would work with espresso also. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Do you add the lactose at bottling or at secondary with the espresso.

*EDIT* i re-read your post about adding it to SECONDARY.

I've actually dry-hopped with espresso beans and it worked very well. The coffee flavor comes through without adding any bitterness or ruining the head.

 

[Jewrican]

I've actually dry-hopped with espresso beans and it worked very well. The coffee flavor comes through without adding any bitterness or ruining the head.

yeah i was hoping the cold brewing would do the same but hey you live and you learn.. too bad this is such an expensive beer to make.. i spent like 70 plus bucks on this one

How much did you dry hop with and when? I'm open for suggenstions

 

[Greenspey]

I used a 1/2 cup, about a handful of beans to the secondary. No grinding and they're easy to keep out of the brew. This was for a 5 gallon batch. You could definitely taste the coffee, but it wasn't overpowering. I thought it blended quite well.

 

[simonbouts]

Is there a way to lower the alcohol content of this beer. If I avoid the 1 pound of light brown sugar will it drop significantly? And is it gonna affect the taste?
thanks

 

[miatawnt2b]

I doubt you'll notice much if you omit the brown sugar.
-J

 

[Jared311]

I picked up the molasses, light brown sugar, and unsweetened cocoa powder today. I am brewing this beast on Monday. My pipeline is pretty stocked up, so I will probably sit on this one for months to let it age big time. I will keep you posted as it progresses.

 

[brokenanchor]

Brewing this right after work...niiice

 

[brokenanchor]

5 gallons of this sitting in a carboy bubbling away. Good thing I used a blow off tube because it is going crazy!. I sparged a little extra, and boiled that separate, so no Cocoa or sugars. I had that one at about 3/4 gallons boiled down to 1/2 gallon. Hop bursted to 180 IBU's. I can get two 750 ml bottles out of it and plan on aging them for 6 months to a year before popping them.

 

[Jared311]

I have aged my batch since January and just tapped it last night...

Holy Fudge McDuck that is a smooth 14%.

 

[WenValley]

Brewed this today. Did a partial mash. Wonderful aromas during steeping and boiling. Dumped the 8 oz. container of Hershy's into a 4 cup measuring cup that was half full of wort, and stirred in the Chocloate into a creamy paste (use a bigger container than 4 cups). Added the brown sugar and molasses in the last ten minutes. The SG was 1.100. I added a little water to the carboy. Pitched two pint jars of washed 1056 yeast. Will provide updates as this kicks. The hydro sample was outstanding. I'm looking forward to watching this batch get happy. Thanks Tuck.

 

[Notnice]

thanks for bumping this, I really wanted to make an hearty stout and this sounds right up my ally.

 

[TUCK]

Glad to see the beer is bringing happiness to all........... BTW if you can let it age.....you will be rewarded.

 

[miatawnt2b]

I brewed this again Sunday (it's the house stout) and boy did it ever make a mess. Blew past the lid on the fermenter and was all over the laundry room. At least it smells good

-J

 

[TUCK]

I brewed this again Sunday (it's the house stout) and boy did it ever make a mess. Blew past the lid on the fermenter and was all over the laundry room. At least it smells good

-J

LOL. Yea same thing happen to me man....It got all over the beige carpet......Wife was mad but I forgot about it after a few

 

[brokenanchor]

Brewed this about 2 1/2 months ago and transferred it to to secondary over the weekend...oh my dear lord this stuff looks like black gold and tastes even better. I haven't even added coffee to it yet, but I can only see it getting better with it. Had to put a blow off tube on the primary when it was fermenting and probably blew off a half gallon it will be missed, but the rest of it is going to be enjoyed (slowly...hopefully) I'm probably going to cold brew coffee this week and add it to the secondary. Anyone use some crazy kind of coffees in it?

 

[Jewrican]

i must have messed mine up. Tuck, i would love to taste a bottle of yours when you make it.

It was only my second beer so i am sure that is what it was. I think it fermented too warm and i think my fg is probably too high. I was stupid and thought i was too good for hydrometers or something.

I will have to redo this. It was an expensive batch but i looooove stouts.. especially chocolate stouts... and i cant even explain chocolate stouts with coffee!

Tuck, i am in kennesaw often, let me know if i can buy a bottle off of ya

 

[TUCK]

i must have messed mine up. Tuck, i would love to taste a bottle of yours when you make it.

It was only my second beer so i am sure that is what it was. I think it fermented too warm and i think my fg is probably too high. I was stupid and thought i was too good for hydrometers or something.

I will have to redo this. It was an expensive batch but i looooove stouts.. especially chocolate stouts... and i cant even explain chocolate stouts with coffee!

Tuck, i am in kennesaw often, let me know if i can buy a bottle off of ya

I will be brewing another batch soon, maybe we can meet up on National Teach a Friend to brew day (Nov 7) or better yet let me get a batch ready for consumption and then you can try mine. Prob be around Dec before it is ready and even then needs more time, I have been too busy brewing October fest beers lately

 

[miatawnt2b]

OK, so I brewed again (this took 1st place at last years BUAC brewfest (www.brewingupacure.org) so I had to have it at this years event.

Anyhow, being a lazy bastard, I took the espresso and added it straight to primary after chilling. The espresso is REALLY powerful, almost so much it drowns out the lb of chocolate. It worked well however and the espresso dropped with the krausen. So I will do the same next time, but cut espresso in half.

-J