Coffee/Chocolate brewers: Critique my scaled back breakfast stout

[thejerk]

Inspired by the Founder's Breakfast Stout BYO recipe, but scaled down a bit in an effort to not be blitzed by breakfast time (I do literally love coffee stouts for breakfast). Wondering how this will pan out.
1) I'm mostly worried about the coffee and chocolate additions playing nicely with the reduced gravity. I just want a faint note of chocolate, and don't want the coffee to overpower the beer flavor, but to fall into balance. I've never brewed with coffee or chocolate before.
2) I am considering scaling the Nugget back to .75 oz to get ~37 IBUs.
3) Do I need to worry about sanitizing the chocolate adds at flameout, maybe soak in Vodka?
4) Also wondering where my FG will end up. Is there a better yeast to use than Safale-04?


Batch Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 14.38
Anticipated OG: 1.064
Anticipated SRM: 48.9
Anticipated IBU: 47.3
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Mash 60 minutes @152 F

76.5% 11.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
7.8 1.13 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2
6.1 0.88 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350
3.9 0.56 lbs. Roasted Barley America 1.028 450
3.0 0.44 lbs. Carafa Special III Germany 1.030 600
2.6 0.38 lbs. Crystal 120L 1.034 120

1.00 oz. Nugget Whole 13.00 41.2 60 min.
0.50 oz. Willamette Whole 5.00 4.9 30 min.
0.50 oz. Willamette Whole 5.00 0.0 0 min.

2 oz dark bittersweet bakers chocolate and 1 oz unsweetened chocolate baking nibs, both at flameout.
Cold-extract 3 oz. Sumatran coffee for 24 hours in 16 oz. water, pitch to cooled wort.

2 pkgs rehydrated Safale-04

Cold-extract 3 oz. Kona coffee for 24 hours in 16 oz. water, add to secondary 10 days prior to bottling.

 

[thejerk]

Also: I WANT HEAD. (insert obvious joke here). Do I add cara-pils or wheat, and how much?

 

[StoutattheDevil]

your looking good so far, without looking at the original grain bill and such im guessing u just scaled back the specialty malt and brought down your base by a few lbs since that founders beer is usually a little bigger. where and when are you planning on adding your coffee? this could make a big difference in the overall aroma and taste. as far as the chocolate goes 1lb-1.5lb is what i would use, you dont wanna use too little and not have the taste come though or use too much and have it battling it out with the coffee. give it a shot your way and see how it goes, make some notes and brew it again!!

 

[Poindexter]

I have a breakfast stout in primary right now. I couldn't find any chocolate malt (I live in the Styx) but I did scrounge a pound of "Beligian Special Coffee Roas Malt" I think it was Briess.

Ten days after pitch the coffee note is there, I used six ounces of the above grain.

Since I could find chocolate malt I went with 6 ounces each of Munich 60, Munich 120 and the Crystals 40, 60 and 120. I tossed in about a pound of Munich base and 19 ounces of toasted and converted oats. And a pound of Marris Otter I had laying around.

Yours is probably going to be pretty good, but I would add the chocolate after ferment rather than at flameout. Chocolate dissolves better in alcohol than it does in water.

2. I would scale back the (0) rather than the (60) on the hops. Personally I want just enough bitter to bring the thing into balance with absent or minimal hop aroma and flavor.

3. I won't if I ever try it.

4. Pass. I went with 1098 Brit Ale becasue I could get some. I bet one of the Scots strains would be at home here.

5. We all do. I use a little wheat, but this is a typically a low carbonation style. I used 4 ounces of malted wheat, should be plenty for some (long lasting) little tiny bubbles in a five gallon batch. I'll probably bottle on 4-5 ounces of corn sugar for five gallons. If you are willing to carb higher for more head I still wouldn't go over 8 ounces of malted wheat.

Conventional wisdom says keep your protein rest at 122F and under 30 minutes when using oats, used 20 minutes my last two dances with oats.

I think I would be drinking hydro samples before I commit to the Kona add, I would expect a Sumatran to go a long way.

HTH,
P

 

[thejerk]

New information is also confirming the suggestion to add the cocoa nibs in secondary. I suppose this would require increasing the amount of nibs to get the same effect. Any thoughts?