Chocolate stout question

[pluchar]

Hat is the best way to get a chocolate flavor into a stout. I included 4 oz of nibs and 1 tsp of cocoa powder to the boil. It it fermenting currently. What's is the best way to achieve this?

 

[TomRep]

i brewed a chocolate porter once and used cocoa powder in the boil and nibs in the secondary. WAY too chocolatey for me. just did a stout and used chocolate malt and cocoa powder in the boil and it is pretty fantastic right now. i would have to look, but i think i used 8 ounces of powder in a ten gallon batch.

 

[pluchar]

Is there any harm in adding cocoa powder to the secondary? Should I stir it in?

 

[TomRep]

adding it in the secondary could be tough. you will have to stir it in somehow. what kind of secondary are you using, bucket or carboy?

 

[8dannyB2]

I have heard of people boiling a bit of water mixing the cocoa powder to that, then once it's dissolved and cooled its then added to the secondary. But on the other hand I've heard that adding cocoa nibs gives the best chocolate flavor and aroma. You should pull a sample to taste and see where you are with the chocolate flavor and decide if and how much more you want to add.

 

[TomRep]

to me the cocoa nibs add an artificial chocolate flavor. again, this is just me. could be that i used too much or let them in tje beer tok long. i do know next time i use them i am going to be very careful on how much i add. i did only use them one time, so take my words with a grain of salt.

 

[pluchar]

adding it in the secondary could be tough. you will have to stir it in somehow. what kind of secondary are you using, bucket or carboy?

Carboy I think, but I have a bucket available too

I like the chocolate tea idea. Might have to see. I think additions in the secondary might be hard in a carboy right? Easier to do in a bucket?

 

[pluchar]

to me the cocoa nibs add an artificial chocolate flavor. again, this is just me. could be that i used too much or let them in tje beer tok long. i do know next time i use them i am going to be very careful on how much i add. i did only use them one time, so take my words with a grain of salt.

How much nibs did you add? And when in the process?

 

[8dannyB2]

I think additions in the secondary might be hard in a carboy right? Easier to do in a bucket?

It's not hard in a carboy. Just use a funnel and rack on top of your additions.

 

[pluchar]

It's not hard in a carboy. Just use a funnel and rack on top of your additions.

Any risk of infection? Should I do the boil it in water idea and rack that?

I plan on adding in vanilla beans soaked in makers mark. How would I do that?

 

[8dannyB2]

You shouldn't have to worry about infection. The alcohol in the beer should take care of any nasties. But if you do the cocoa powder and boiling water you wouldn't have to worry because the boil would kill anything off. If you do nibs you could just soak them the same way you're going to do the vanilla beans. As far as the vanilla beans go, slice the beans in half the length of the beans. Then scrape out all "****" inside the bean. The **** is what holds the most flavor. Then just chop up the husks into one inch pieces or so. Put the husks and the scraped **** in a mason jar or whatever you have and put just enough bourbon in there to cover them. Let it soak for 24 hours then add everything into you're secondary. What you've made basically your own vanilla extract!

 

[pluchar]

Solid. Thanks for the advice! I'll let you know how it works out. I currently have a vanilla bean soaking in makers mark, but wasn't sure what to do on the chocolate end. I'll sleep on it and see what I come up with

 

[JayDubWill]

I'm doing a chocolate milk stout right now as well. The recipe i'm using (Northern Brewer) calls for 4oz of cocoa nibs added to secondary for 1 week. I've also read that the nibs should be mildly toasted (unless already toasted) to being out the depth of flavor. My LHBS only carries brewers best brand organic nibs which as far as I've read are raw (untoasted). My point in all this is if toast your nibs you also won't have to worry about nasties. I'm also wondering if toasting them would decrease the artificial chocolate flavor?

 

[LovesIPA]

You shouldn't have to worry about infection. The alcohol in the beer should take care of any nasties.

This is definitely not true. You can easily infect your beer if you're not careful.

For the original question, try using chocolate malt. I have a chocolate porter recipe that uses chocolate malt and no powder or nibs. The last time I brewed it, it was gone in 2 weeks.