Chocolate Rasberry Porter ?

[WarpedBrewer]

So my local Brewery is doing a homebrew competition. They provide the wort and we do the rest. The wort is their Schwarzbier. I don't have the ability to hold lager temperatures so I thought about making it more like a porter. For a 5 gallon batch I want to add 2oz of cocoa nibs and some rasberry extract in the primary. Any thoughts or suggestions for amount of rasberry extract. I've never used raspberries or cocoa nibs.

 

[WarpedBrewer]

Also their Schwarzbier already has a chocolatey taste to it. So should I cut the cocoa nibs in half? I've never done any form of competition before so I'm a lil nervous trying something completely new for it.

 

[danthebugman]

What yeast are you using? Do you have any control over fermentation temps? Some people have done Octoberfest type beers, but with ale yeasts at lower temps (though not lager temps) and achieved good results. That may be an option if you can. For the Porter though I wouldn't add the extract to the primary, same for the nibs. If it were me, I'd probably use some fresh raspberries in secondary (or just add them to the primary after fermentation dies down) with the cocoa nibs. If you felt it still needed it, you could add extract at bottling time (or skip using fresh raspberries and just go with extract).

 

[WarpedBrewer]

Probably just going to use an English ale yeast. Liquid. I usually ferment in a closet that stays around 72°. I will take your advice about using those in the secondary.

 

[WarpedBrewer]

So end result I placed 2nd overall and first in category at my first amateur homebrew comp!! I used the local brewery's wort with a saf04 English ale yeast. Did a primary for one week then racked to a secondary with 12 oz of frozen raspberries, 1 oz of cocoa powder and a half oz of fuggle hops. Turned out pretty tasty. It was an awesome expe rience, first time getting to really get out there in my homebrew community and taste other brews. My favorite was a jalapeño ale, so I know what I'm doing next. Thanks for yalls help.