Cocoa powder not blending

[WileECoyote]

Hello, I have a cocoa/coffee/cream stout that still taste like cocoa powder, I was wondering how long dose it take for the cocoa powder to blend in and start tasting like chocolate, or will it ever taste like chocolate?

Its a 5 gal batch.

This brew was in primary for 2 weeks @ 62 to 65deg, in secondary for 2 weeks @ 64 to 67deg, its been bottle conditioning @ 70 since 5/12/12,

I added 4oz of cocoa powder, mixed into 2 cups cold brewed coffee extract and 2 sliced vanilla beans to the secondary on 4/28/12, bottled on 5/12/12 and it has no more green taste to it, but it still has a strong cocoa powder smell and taste, as of 7/5/12.

Anyone have any insight about how long or if, the flavor will blend/mellow? ? ?

Im thinking about putting this batch in the fridge or under the bath room sink (85 deg) and forgetting about for 2 to 3+ more months, any suggestions welcome

Im thinking that the next chocolate brew I make, I will just throw a few candy bars into the mix and deal with the oily mess after.

Thanks in advance
Cheers

 

[HopJuicer]

I don't have an answer for you since I added cocoa powder to the boil and did not get what you're experiencing. I would not add chocolate bars due to butter fats. I would suggest cocoa nibs though. I mixed cocoa powder and dry nibbed and came out great, with a little age since it was first a bitter chocolate taste but that mellowed out.

 

[jspence1]

cocoa powder can take a long time to drop out of suspension. I kegged mine and it was well over 6 months.

 

[WileECoyote]

cocoa powder can take a long time to drop out of suspension. I kegged mine and it was well over 6 months.

Guess Ill be waiting on this one for a while.

Anyone have any suggestions (recipe's) for a semi fast (extract) dark brew?.

im currently at 2 weeks primary, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks to however long it takes bottle conditioning, 4 days fridge, making it 8 weeks at the minimum to drinking, I know good beer takes time, but it never hurts to ask, right? lol

Its a pain in the ars for me to try and keep my fermenters at temp, and bottle conditioning is just as bad, its 110+ now (85 to 87 in the house) and I don't have a fermenting chamber yet (waiting on tax return) swamp cooler is getting very hard to maintain temps in, so much so that Im down to 1 fermenter at a time, as the pipeline slows to a crawl.

Thanks

 

[bchurch]

Haven't tried it myself yet but sounds like chocolate nibs in the secondary is the way to go. I maybe be wrong though.

 

[NuclearRich]

waiting on a tax return in JULY? AZ must be a strange place...

I made a chocolate stout once. I used only chocolate extract and it seemed to add just that amount of chocolate that I wanted. Try that next time. I agree with avoiding the chocolate candy, as mentioned the fats that are not beneficial to beer. Head killing is the first thign I recall

You could always cold crash it to try to get some of that cocoa to come out of suspension. Not entirely sure if it would work, but I would try that. Leave some bottles in the fridge for a week, then sample it.

 

[WileECoyote]

waiting on a tax return in JULY? AZ must be a strange place...

I made a chocolate stout once. I used only chocolate extract and it seemed to add just that amount of chocolate that I wanted. Try that next time. I agree with avoiding the chocolate candy, as mentioned the fats that are not beneficial to beer. Head killing is the first thign I recall

You could always cold crash it to try to get some of that cocoa to come out of suspension. Not entirely sure if it would work, but I would try that. Leave some bottles in the fridge for a week, then sample it.

LOL its not AZ on the tax return, yes AZ is a strange place, but we had someone try to use my wife's social security # on a return and that has really messed up getting our return.

Been trying 1 bottle each week at 4 days in the fridge.

I have chocolate grain now for the next batch and the chocolate extract idea sounds great, the next chocolate/coffee/cream stout will be getting chocolate grains and chocolate extract.

Can a Black beer be semi quick or do the dark grains need longer to blend than a yellow brew?

Thanks
Cheers

 

[RainyDay]

When I do my Chocolate Coffee Stout, I add the chocolate powder to the boil at about 15 minutes or less. It gave it a really nice flavor, and blended well. I actually took a little bit of the wort from the boil just before and premixed it to ensure good disolving. But hey, whatever works for you is the best way to go

What do you mean about black beer taking longer? During the mash?

 

[NuclearRich]

Well I tend to let everything sit for 3-4 weeks in primary and 3-4 weeks in a bottle, so I dont really do 'quick'. It did seem like the chocoloate stout had a painful pre-pubescence but flowered into a beautiful adult when it finally happened.

 

[WileECoyote]

When I do my Chocolate Coffee Stout, I add the chocolate powder to the boil at about 15 minutes or less. It gave it a really nice flavor, and blended well. I actually took a little bit of the wort from the boil just before and premixed it to ensure good disolving. But hey, whatever works for you is the best way to go

What do you mean about black beer taking longer? During the mash?

Longer from primary to drinking, or am I way off base on this?
it seems that beers like stouts take longer to condition that lighter beers.

I think I should have at least put the cocoa powder in at flame out, I think it needs to get hot to blend properly.

Cheers

 

[WileECoyote]

Well I tried another one today while brewing, and the cocoa seems like its starting to mellow just the slightest bit, to me thats a good sign as I didn't think it would ever meld, Ill try another one next month and see how it go's lol

What I have learned from this is not to put cocoa powder in my secondary ever again.

Cheers

 

[WileECoyote]

Update,

This beer is going on almost a year since brewing it, and its finally starting to blend the cocoa powder taste, to the point to where its almost a good beer.

Who knows, some more time and it just might be great, might not too, but one can always hope for the best right?

Cheers