Chocolate stout recipe w/ cholaca

[TandemTails]

I've been trying to work on an extremely smooth chocolate stout over the last couple of years and am looking for some help on my current recipe iteration.

The goal is to have a stout with a smooth mouthfeel, not overly bitter or roasty, with good chocolate flavor but not tasting like chocolate milk.

I wanted to add the GNO and Victory to give it more of a bready/biscuity/nutty flavor if possible but not sure if these quantities are enough.

I plan on adding cholaca to taste at kegging. I'm guessing 8-12oz for a 5 gallon batch. I've used cocoa nibs and cocoa powder in the past but the nibs were a pain to deal with and I'm not sure if the cocoa powder actually lent much flavor.

The recipe:

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.05 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.25 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal   
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 34.2 SRM
Estimated IBU: 32.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 74.2 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                   Name                                     Type          #        %/IBU         
8 lbs 8.0 oz          Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)         Grain         1        71.5 %        
14.0 oz               Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM)                   Grain         2        7.4 %         
10.6 oz               Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)               Grain         3        5.6 %         
10.6 oz               Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SR Grain         4        5.6 %         
7.1 oz                Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)    Grain         5        3.7 %         
6.0 oz                Golden Naked Oats (10.0 SRM)             Grain         6        3.2 %         
6.0 oz                Roasted Barley (Crisp) (695.0 SRM)       Grain         7        3.2 %         
2.00 oz               East Kent Goldings (EKG) [5.00 %] - Boil Hop           8        32.8 IBUs     
1.0 pkg               English Ale (White Labs #WLP002) [35.49  Yeast         9        -             
8.00 oz               Cholaca (Secondary 1.0 weeks)            Flavor        10       -          

----------------------------
Name              Description                             Step Temperat Step Time     
Mash In           Add 19.84 qt of water at 171.7 F        154.0 F       75 min        

Sparge: Batch sparge with 4.02 gal water at 168.0 F

I also plan on toasting the oats until browned before mashing them.

I'll ferment around 68'F for 3 weeks at which time I'll keg with the cholaca.

Any thoughts on this recipe?

 

[brew703]

I'm looking to brew a stout that is smooth. I've tried two different brands and I find both were not exactly what I was looking for. The two commercial brands I have tried was Left Hand and Bells. Both were 4+ months old so don't have anything else to compare to. Guess I'll have to try one on draft to see how it compares.

I did play around with a recipe that looks similar to yours. I reduced the amount of roasted barley and increased the chocolate malt and crystal. I haven't brewed it yet.

I'll follow this thread to see what others say.