The following recipe is an extra minty chocolate stout that I’ve tweaked a bit and am now very pleased with the results. The base recipe is from Mosher’s Radical Brewing with a few significant changes. You could use your favorite stout base and come up with good results. Use this recipe as a jumping point to personalize it your tastes.
The crux of the recipe is the use of habaneros to magnify the mint. It’s just enough to tickle your tongue without detecting heat.
Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Stout
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.25gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 6.5 gallons
STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV (standard): 5%ish
IBU 32
COLOR used motor oil
FERMENTABLES:
8.5lb - Pale Ale malt aka Maris Otter
2 lb - Biscuit Malt
0.5 lb - Roasted Barley
0.5 lb - Black patent malt
HOPS and other stuff:
0.5 oz Northern Brewer @ 60 minutes
1.0 oz Northern Brewer @ 20 minutes
1.0 oz Fresh spearmint @ end of boil
2 candy canes @ end of boil (you could use the equivalent of hard candy)
YEAST:
Lalbrew - London dry yeast (ugh- I hear they are no longer producing this yeast. Use your favorite English ale yeast.)
POST YEAST PITCH:
1 Habanero pepper *
6 oz Cocoa Nibs **
PROCEDURE:
Mash at 154f
Follow recipe as written. I add the fresh mint and candy at end of boil into a hop spider and cool to 180f and let it sit for 20 minutes or so while I clean and get the fermenter ready. I continue to cool to pitching temp and pull the hop spider. The candy will melt by then and the fresh mint has given all it’s got.
Pitch yeast like usual(I don’t use a starter with dry yeast).
After 2 or 3 days I’ll add the cocoa nibs and habanero and leave it in fermenter until I transfer to a keg. Total contact time of 6 or 7 days.
*Habanero pepper- I find that one medium pepper brings just the right amount of “heat” to magnify the mint. I’ll cut the green stem off and make several cuts to the pepper. I don’t chop it up, as I don’t want the little pieces to clog my valves. If you are unsure of achieving the right heat level, you could easily make a tincture and adjust at kegging. I’ve used up to 3 peppers before and it was delicious, but it was more of a pepper beer as it overshadowed the mint. I use habaneros because they are always available and I more or less know the heat level. I’m sure you could use just about any other type of chili though.
**Cocoa nibs- I get a small soup pan and bring a cup or two of water to a boil. I take off of heat and add the nibs, in a small hop bag, and let it sit until it cools down. After 20 minutes or so, I’ll add the hop bag and liquid straight into the fermenter. I figure this way, I get better extraction and it also pasteurizes the nibs.
I really like to use nibs for this recipe. I swear it adds a great chocolate flavor but it also softens the dark grain “harshness” while it’s young. This beer tastes great within three weeks of pitching.
WATER: Use your favorite dark beer profile. I’m lazy so I’ve been using the Anvil AIO water recommendation in the instructions.
I don’t use software- don’t flame me for it. This recipe is very flexible so don’t stress over the details.
The crux of the recipe is the use of habaneros to magnify the mint. It’s just enough to tickle your tongue without detecting heat.
Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: Stout
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.25gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 6.5 gallons
STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV (standard): 5%ish
IBU 32
COLOR used motor oil
FERMENTABLES:
8.5lb - Pale Ale malt aka Maris Otter
2 lb - Biscuit Malt
0.5 lb - Roasted Barley
0.5 lb - Black patent malt
HOPS and other stuff:
0.5 oz Northern Brewer @ 60 minutes
1.0 oz Northern Brewer @ 20 minutes
1.0 oz Fresh spearmint @ end of boil
2 candy canes @ end of boil (you could use the equivalent of hard candy)
YEAST:
Lalbrew - London dry yeast (ugh- I hear they are no longer producing this yeast. Use your favorite English ale yeast.)
POST YEAST PITCH:
1 Habanero pepper *
6 oz Cocoa Nibs **
PROCEDURE:
Mash at 154f
Follow recipe as written. I add the fresh mint and candy at end of boil into a hop spider and cool to 180f and let it sit for 20 minutes or so while I clean and get the fermenter ready. I continue to cool to pitching temp and pull the hop spider. The candy will melt by then and the fresh mint has given all it’s got.
Pitch yeast like usual(I don’t use a starter with dry yeast).
After 2 or 3 days I’ll add the cocoa nibs and habanero and leave it in fermenter until I transfer to a keg. Total contact time of 6 or 7 days.
*Habanero pepper- I find that one medium pepper brings just the right amount of “heat” to magnify the mint. I’ll cut the green stem off and make several cuts to the pepper. I don’t chop it up, as I don’t want the little pieces to clog my valves. If you are unsure of achieving the right heat level, you could easily make a tincture and adjust at kegging. I’ve used up to 3 peppers before and it was delicious, but it was more of a pepper beer as it overshadowed the mint. I use habaneros because they are always available and I more or less know the heat level. I’m sure you could use just about any other type of chili though.
**Cocoa nibs- I get a small soup pan and bring a cup or two of water to a boil. I take off of heat and add the nibs, in a small hop bag, and let it sit until it cools down. After 20 minutes or so, I’ll add the hop bag and liquid straight into the fermenter. I figure this way, I get better extraction and it also pasteurizes the nibs.
I really like to use nibs for this recipe. I swear it adds a great chocolate flavor but it also softens the dark grain “harshness” while it’s young. This beer tastes great within three weeks of pitching.
WATER: Use your favorite dark beer profile. I’m lazy so I’ve been using the Anvil AIO water recommendation in the instructions.
I don’t use software- don’t flame me for it. This recipe is very flexible so don’t stress over the details.
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