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Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Founder's Breakfast Stout clone (2011 HBT Competition Category 21 winner)

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Did you ever give this a try, and how did it go for you please?
I'm not Homercidal but I added 1.5-2 oz of medium toast oak chips (don't have my notes handy so I'm not certain of the amount) that were soaked in a half pint of Buffalo Trace bourbon. I soaked the chips for a week and then added the whole mixture to secondary and let it condition for about two months.

It's been a huge hit and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I left out the coffee/chocolate to let the malt/oak shine through but will probably include the coffee next time.
 
Finally bottled this about two weeks ago. Got away from me during the middle of the year and ended up sitting in primary for 291 days (oops). Brewed the final addition of coffee in a french press and used that to briefly boil the priming sugar in.
Didn't add any extra yeast at bottling but they are carbing up just fine so far. Quick chilled and drank a bottle last night and it was very nice. A little sharp tasting; maybe only 90% as smooth as I would hope, but that's likely from the yeast still being mildly active during the carb.

No off flavors from sitting on the primary that long as far as I can tell. Hopefully some cold conditioning after carbing will smooth it out a little further.
 
Wow. Wonder if that's a record :)

Haha, I hope it stays as my personal record for the rest of my brewing. It's the first brew I've come up with my own name for. I figured "late for breakfast stout" was catchy and accurate :)
 
Was in Santa Cruz, CA yesterday and got a chance to visit the Sante Adairius Brewery. They've been getting a ton of great publicity lately, so I was really excited to try their beers. My favorite was "I See a Darkness" Honey Porter with Coffee. It was the best and strongest coffee flavor I've ever had in a beer.

I got a chance to talk to the brewer and he had some pretty strong beliefs about when and how to add the coffee. The day before they are ready to put a 5-gallon keg on for serving, they steep 3 oz of local fresh ground coffee directly in the cold and carbonated keg. The next day, they pull out the bag and tap the keg. The brewer was against adding coffee at the end of the boil because, as he said, "You wouldn't ever drink coffee that had been sitting around for months. You want your coffee fresh." Hence, they add all the coffee fresh right before people drink it. They are so passionate about the freshness of the coffee in this beer that they won't bottle it because they don't think it would retain the fresh coffee flavor. So, it's only available in the tasting room.

Anyway, I thought this was interesting to consider in preparing to make this beer. I am going to try only adding the coffee to my keg before tapping it.
 
Was in Santa Cruz, CA yesterday and got a chance to visit the Sante Adairius Brewery. They've been getting a ton of great publicity lately, so I was really excited to try their beers. My favorite was "I See a Darkness" Honey Porter with Coffee. It was the best and strongest coffee flavor I've ever had in a beer.

I got a chance to talk to the brewer and he had some pretty strong beliefs about when and how to add the coffee. The day before they are ready to put a 5-gallon keg on for serving, they steep 3 oz of local fresh ground coffee directly in the cold and carbonated keg. The next day, they pull out the bag and tap the keg. The brewer was against adding coffee at the end of the boil because, as he said, "You wouldn't ever drink coffee that had been sitting around for months. You want your coffee fresh." Hence, they add all the coffee fresh right before people drink it. They are so passionate about the freshness of the coffee in this beer that they won't bottle it because they don't think it would retain the fresh coffee flavor. So, it's only available in the tasting room.

Anyway, I thought this was interesting to consider in preparing to make this beer. I am going to try only adding the coffee to my keg before tapping it.

I don't think the breakfast stout tastes a ton like coffee, but would be good with a stronger voice taste.

In baking, coffee is added frequently in small amounts (usually undetectable as coffee in the finished product) to chocolate dishes because it makes the chocolate flavor really pop out. I think the coffee in the breakfast stout makes it richer without necessarily making it taste as lot like coffee.

With that said, I don't even like to drink day old coffee.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app
 
So I've read through the whole thread and as far as I can tell nobody has mentioned how using cocoa powder compares to following the recipe in the OP. Thoughts?
 
4oz powder at 5mins left in boil. Then 8oz nibs for 10days. So good. I added lots of cold coffee so it is more coffee flavored than FBS, but otherwise incredible
 
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9 lb 2-row
1 lb DME
22 oz. flaked oats
1.0 lb. crisp chocolate malt (412 °L)
12 oz. Briess roast barley malt (300 °L)
9 oz. debittered, black malt (550 °L)
7 oz. crystal malt (120 °L)

What can I replace DME by?
 
I brewed this yesterday and everything went fine with one exception. I added a 2oz bittersweet chocolate bar and stirred at flameout thinking the heat and stirring would've dissolved it, but to my dismay by the time it was racked to primary there was a coating of speckled chocolate on the walls and (thicker) on the bottom of the kettle. I am now concerned that the coffee will be more present than the chocolate in the finished product and I really want to keep a balance. I was thinking of adding cocoa powder either now (day 1 in primary) or in secondary when I add the Kona. Any thoughts on effect this might have and how much to add? Thanks.
 
You could also add cocoa nibs in secondary too.

Well I did add the nibs from flamout until racking to primary as called for in the recipe. I have been munching on them here and there and nibs are pretty damn bitter, they might add some chocolate aroma, but I have a feeling (could be way off) that it's the semi-sweet baking chocolate bars that add the chocolaty flavor and sweetness. I am thinking cocoa powder might be a good substitute for my half-absorbed bar but am unsure of when to add and how much. :eek:
 
How are people tearing the cocoa nibs when you add them to secondary? Straight in? Roasted? Chocolate vodka?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app
 
How are people tearing the cocoa nibs when you add them to secondary? Straight in? Roasted? Chocolate vodka?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app

Cacao nibs are already roasted. I've got 4oz soaking in some Knob Creek Single Barrel that I'll add right to my primary in another couple days.
 
I have just brewed something based on that recipe - OG 1083. Coccoa nibs and powder were added at flameout (2oz of each) but I guess I will still add coccoa ribs, coffee, vanilla and cinnamon at secondary for a week. Anyway, here's my grain bill (no extract used):

65% - Pale Ale
15% - Flaked Oats
7% - Crystal 120
3% - Oat Malt
3% - Chocolate Malt
3% - Carafa I
2.5% - Aromatic Malt
1.5% - Black Patent Malt​

How far am I from the initial recipe? I didnt want a very roasted finish. I guess 25 days on primary wont do the trick for me. Two weeks at 69F, a week at 77F to help attenuate (if a want a sweeter beer, should I skip this and just left for another week at 69F?), and a week aging (coccoa nibs, cold brewed coffee, vanilla and cinnamon) back at 69F. Is there any need to lower temperature for clearing?
 
So this beer is coming up on my brew schedule and I'm ready to start getting the ingredients together. I plan on following the recipe as written by the OP with the exception of using base malt in place of the DME. I just want to clarify a few things first.... what kind of chocolate chips(brand) did you use? And are the unsweetened chocolate baking nibs just regular cacao nibs or bakers chocolate? If your talking about bakers chocolate what brand did you use? Thanks!
 
Can anyone tell me what the basic equipment I need for brewing this? I've had this beer a couple times and I'm obsessed enough with it I'm gonna attempt to make it for my first brew ever. I've made wine before so I do have a few things just wondering what else I'll need to acquire before I start. I purchased all the ingredients already and they'll be here next week. Thanks for any help
 
So you bought all the all grain ingredients and you've never brewed all grain before? That's a bold move.

If you've never brewed before, I'd read up on the brew in a bag (BIAB) brewing technique. It's all grain, but you only need a big pot and a grain bag. You'll also need some way to boil the wort and some way to cool it down and some container to ferment it is. I've never made wine, but you might have some of the stuff.
 
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