Clone Beer Founder's Breakfast Stout Clone

[Carlscan26]

I would suspect most of it will fall out in primary and sit under the yeast cake once the yeast settles.

This [emoji115]

 

[applescrap]

^^+1

Cold crash and gelatin

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Ok I've read this entire thread. Wow! Great to see how long this has run and the interest people have in brewing this great beer.

Many pages have talked about the addition of coffee and I'm more confused on what to do but in the end I'll get that figured out. What I did notice is that very little was said about a water profile or the mash pH on this big grain bill. With that said, I have entered my water test results from Ward Labs and used the suggested water profile of Black Balanced as suggested in the thread into Bru'n Water. My well water is extremely hard so I use RO water from my own system to get the numbers right. Here is what I have come up with. What do you guys think?

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Well never heard anything on my profile so I brewed this and it's been 2 weeks tomorrow. Transferring to the secondary . Can't wait to taste it.

 

[LoneTreeFarms]

Interested in how it turned out.

 

[chaotic646]

Mine turned out great. Its only been bottled for 12 days and already amazing, cant wait to try it in another couple weeks. I forgot to cold crash but still didn't have any issues with fine coffee grinds making it to the bottles.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Mine turned out great. Its only been bottled for 12 days and already amazing, cant wait to try it in another couple weeks. I forgot to cold crash but still didn't have any issues with fine coffee grinds making it to the bottles.

By what I read in your post I'm thinking you put the 2.5 ounces of grounds in your secondary. I read the entire thread and was totally lost on which way to add the final coffee addition. I'm leaning towards cold press coffee in the bottling bucket. By doing it that way I can control the final taste. How long did you have them in the secondary before bottling? How much coffee taste did you have at that time? By reading all the posts, sounds like it all mellows with time. Still undecided.

 

[chaotic646]

By what I read in your post I'm thinking you put the 2.5 ounces of grounds in your secondary. I read the entire thread and was totally lost on which way to add the final coffee addition. I'm leaning towards cold press coffee in the bottling bucket. By doing it that way I can control the final taste. How long did you have them in the secondary before bottling? How much coffee taste did you have at that time? By reading all the posts, sounds like it all mellows with time. Still undecided.

Not exactly. My original concern was that I used pre-ground coffee during the boil instead of the recommended coarse ground beans. When I was transferring from my boil pot to my fermenter I noticed some of the fine grounds got through my filter and was worried some would end up in my bottles. My plan was to cold crash to prevent this but I forgot to. It didn't end up mattering, all of the fine grounds must have sank into the yeast cake.

I used Sumatra coffee grounds at flameout and added cold-brewed Kona to my bottling bucket. 2 weeks primary, one month secondary for me.

 

[MMJfan]

By what I read in your post I'm thinking you put the 2.5 ounces of grounds in your secondary. I read the entire thread and was totally lost on which way to add the final coffee addition. I'm leaning towards cold press coffee in the bottling bucket. By doing it that way I can control the final taste. How long did you have them in the secondary before bottling? How much coffee taste did you have at that time? By reading all the posts, sounds like it all mellows with time. Still undecided.

I never add coffee to the secondary. I basically steep my coffee at the end of the boil in a hop sock. Once the wort is done cooling, I remove the coffee before transferring it to my fermentor.

I do a cold press for my 2nd coffee addition at bottling and it works GREAT so that's what I would recommend...

 

[Bigarcherynut]

I never add coffee to the secondary. I basically steep my coffee at the end of the boil in a hop sock. Once the wort is done cooling, I remove the coffee before transferring it to my fermentor.

I do a cold press for my 2nd coffee addition at bottling and it works GREAT so that's what I would recommend...

Sounds good. Would you mind sharing how you do it? There were many versions on cold press coffee. How much did you add? Thanks and I'm getting excited to taste the final brew. The only thing I'm working with is my well water is extremely hard so I had to install a RO filter system. I then need to work on a water profile for my beers and that is finally starting to make sense to me. Hope this profile was right.

Thanks again.

 

[MMJfan]

Sure. I use a French press. I add 2 oz of whole bean coffee which I grind coarsely. I usually use any Starbucks dark roast for my coffee of choice. My French press holds about a liter of water so I just apporx. 1 liter of cold water to the ground coffee in the press and then put the lid on and put it in my fridge to steep overnight. When I'm ready to bottle, I press the coffee and then pour it in my bottling bucket with my priming sugar. Hope that helps!

 

[makisupapolice14]

Planning to do this one Soon. Going to dry bean with whole kona and Sumatra beans for 4-5 days before kegging.

Has anyone dropped the chocolate or cocoa powder in the boil in favor of just dry nibbing with 4oz of cocoa nibs? How did it turn out? I was thinking of adding a vanilla bean or two to round out the nib flavor. Wondering if dealing with the mess of whole chocolate is worth it.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Planning to do this one Soon. Going to dry bean with whole kona and Sumatra beans for 4-5 days before kegging.

Has anyone dropped the chocolate or cocoa powder in the boil in favor of just dry nibbing with 4oz of cocoa nibs? How did it turn out? I was thinking of adding a vanilla bean or two to round out the nib flavor. Wondering if dealing with the mess of whole chocolate is worth it.

I added 2.5 oz. of powered dark bittersweet cocoa and 1.5 oz. unsweetened nibs at the last 15 minutes of the boil. The only thing I would do different is to put the nibs in a hop sack. They plugged my circ pump.

I added my course ground Sumatra when my post boil temp dropped to 190. I did put that into a hop sack. The Kona I cold pressed and added at bottling.

Also I split my 5 gallon batch and added 8 oz. of bourbon to 2-1/2 gallons at bottling. It has been 3 months and it's fantastic. Everything has mellowed and nothing is over powering. Great beer and will compare the non bourbon batch to a bottle of the original next month. I will brew this again but may put my bourbon on oak chips to add even more flavor. I feel it needs a bit of oak flavor.

Good brewing!!

 

[makisupapolice14]

I added 2.5 oz. of powered dark bittersweet cocoa and 1.5 oz. unsweetened nibs at the last 15 minutes of the boil. The only thing I would do different is to put the nibs in a hop sack. They plugged my circ pump.

I added my course ground Sumatra when my post boil temp dropped to 190. I did put that into a hop sack. The Kona I cold pressed and added at bottling.

Also I split my 5 gallon batch and added 8 oz. of bourbon to 2-1/2 gallons at bottling. It has been 3 months and it's fantastic. Everything has mellowed and nothing is over powering. Great beer and will compare the non bourbon batch to a bottle of the original next month. I will brew this again but may put my bourbon on oak chips to add even more flavor. I feel it needs a bit of oak flavor.

Good brewing!!

Thanks. Do you recall what brand of dark bittersweet cocoa powder you used? Is Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder the same thing? Thanks again

 

[szap]

From what I have read the unsweetened cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate are not really interchangible. The bittersweet chocolate does have some sugar in it while unsweetened is just that is no sugar. I guess you can find bittersweet chocolate powder but it is more common and what I use is chocolate bars. Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate bars can be found in the baking section in grocery stores.

 

[makisupapolice14]

From what I have read the unsweetened cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate are not really interchangible. The bittersweet chocolate does have some sugar in it while unsweetened is just that is no sugar. I guess you can find bittersweet chocolate powder but it is more common and what I use is chocolate bars. Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate bars can be found in the baking section in grocery stores.

That's what it looks like in doing some reading.
Do you pre melt it and add or throw it in chopped up?

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Thanks. Do you recall what brand of dark bittersweet cocoa powder you used? Is Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder the same thing? Thanks again

I'll get back tomorrow with the brand because we are not home. I did not use bars because of the oils in them and that can cause loss of head.

 

[makisupapolice14]

I'll get back tomorrow with the brand because we are not home. I did not use bars because of the oils in them and that can cause loss of head.

Thanks that was my thought with doubling up on the cocoa nibs but I'm definitely interested in your source for the powder

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Thanks that was my thought with doubling up on the cocoa nibs but I'm definitely interested in your source for the powder

This what I bought but any brand would work and I found some today that cost less. I went with the powder because of what I read about the oils in the bars.

Luminous Organic Cacao Powder 8 0z. bag
Food To Live Organic Cacao Nibs 8 oz. bag

I don't think it needs to be organic but most of the brands are.

Good luck.

 

[szap]

The bittersweet chocolate

That's what it looks like in doing some reading.
Do you pre melt it and add or throw it in chopped up?

That's what it looks like in doing some reading.
Do you pre melt it and add or throw it in chopped up?

I just throw it in at the 15 minute point. It comes large bars that have one ounce sections. I just break off 2.5 ounces and throw it in.

 

[applescrap]

I need to check notes but I have used powdered chocolate and the bakers semisweet or is it bittersweet, 2 or 3x now. That mix has proven awesome. Ill try to find amounts. I like chocolate. Last 5 minutes at most I would think, broken slightly and stirred. Dont want to boil it too long/burn it (idk). Cold brew at kegging.

Edit, went back and checked my notes and also this led into a healthy look into cocoa vs. Cacao. The recipe calls for cocoa nibs, unsweetened. Thus cocoa powder would be a substitute unless thats a typo and or the flavor of cacao is desired. Assuming we are talking about cocoa, unsweetened cocoa powder has worked awesome for me along with the hard bittersweet. I gleaned that 1 oz cocoa powder is 30 grams. The recipe calls for 1.5oz/42 grams. I used 1/2 cup powder. Thus 60 grams and or 2 oz. I think this is the perfect amount for me, however I would be willing to double, tripple, etc...(i like chocolate wine too!).

Long winded way of saying 6 tbs (3/8 cups, 1/4 + 1/8) unsweet cocoa plus the 2.5 oz bar is known by me to be a great way to make this beer with cold brew at kegging. This recipe is so good.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

I need to check notes but I have used powdered chocolate and the bakers semisweet or is it bittersweet, 2 or 3x now. That mix has proven awesome. Ill try to find amounts. I like chocolate. Last 5 minutes at most I would think, broken slightly and stirred. Dont want to boil it too long/burn it (idk). Cold brew at kegging.

Edit, went back and checked my notes and also this led into a healthy look into cocoa vs. Cacao. The recipe calls for cocoa nibs, unsweetened. Thus cocoa powder would be a substitute unless thats a typo and or the flavor of cacao is desired. Assuming we are talking about cocoa, unsweetened cocoa powder has worked awesome for me along with the hard bittersweet. I gleaned that 1 oz cocoa powder is 30 grams. The recipe calls for 1.5oz/42 grams. I used 1/2 cup powder. Thus 60 grams and or 2 oz. I think this is the perfect amount for me, however I would be willing to double, tripple, etc...(i like chocolate wine too!).

Long winded way of saying 6 tbs (3/8 cups, 1/4 + 1/8) unsweet cocoa plus the 2.5 oz bar is known by me to be a great way to make this beer with cold brew at kegging. This recipe is so good.

When I read your post I thought what did I do add the wrong chocolate!!!!!
I read this entire thread before brewing this beer and ended up reading much about the chocolate style and coffee additions.

I went with cacao over cocoa because of the concerns with oils and added sugar in cocoa that I read. Here are the post numbers I noted. 939, 961 & 996. Maybe it was all for nothing but I changed what the recipe called for and mine tastes great. Not saying cocoa would have been fine also.

From what I read on the web about the differences between the two it appears cocoa is more refined and some can have sugar and powdered milk added making it sweeter. Cacao is more the pure version and is a little more bitter and contains more nutrients if I really care about that. Just didn't want a sweeter beer.

Good luck all.

 

[Pyg]

I added 2.5 oz. of powered dark bittersweet cocoa and 1.5 oz. unsweetened nibs at the last 15 minutes of the boil. The only thing I would do different is to put the nibs in a hop sack. They plugged my circ pump.

I added my course ground Sumatra when my post boil temp dropped to 190. I did put that into a hop sack. The Kona I cold pressed and added at bottling.

Also I split my 5 gallon batch and added 8 oz. of bourbon to 2-1/2 gallons at bottling. It has been 3 months and it's fantastic. Everything has mellowed and nothing is over powering. Great beer and will compare the non bourbon batch to a bottle of the original next month. I will brew this again but may put my bourbon on oak chips to add even more flavor. I feel it needs a bit of oak flavor.

Good brewing!!

I was going to make this again with the following tweaks:

Cold steep both Sumatra & Kona coffee*
Add maple syrup (probably 2cups)
Maybe some whiskey soaked oak cubes (maybe)

* I know adding coffee at flame out add some bitterness of the coffee, but finding most of my drinking audience doesn’t like bitter the way I do.

Thoughts?

 

[applescrap]

When I read your post I thought what did I do add the wrong chocolate!!!!!
I read this entire thread before brewing this beer and ended up reading much about the chocolate style and coffee additions.

I went with cacao over cocoa because of the concerns with oils and added sugar in cocoa that I read. Here are the post numbers I noted. 939, 961 & 996. Maybe it was all for nothing but I changed what the recipe called for and mine tastes great. Not saying cocoa would have been fine also.

From what I read on the web about the differences between the two it appears cocoa is more refined and some can have sugar and powdered milk added making it sweeter. Cacao is more the pure version and is a little more bitter and contains more nutrients if I really care about that. Just didn't want a sweeter beer.

Good luck all.

Just now getting back to this. As i have started making my own chocolate i have delved deep into cacao vs cocoa. Apparently chocolate has a lot of health benefits but I'm pretty sure they are only talking about cacao. I haven't eaten a lot of it but it's my understanding it has a little different taste. The flavor of chocolate that we all like is definitely cocoa powder. It can be refined and Dutch processed. It has very little health benefit and tastes really good. There is no powdered sugar or oil added as far as i know to the most basic of the baking powders in the baking isle. Baker's cocoa unsweetened struck me already as really tasty. America's Test Kitchen tasted them all and chose a Dutch processed chocolate. If you want that choclety rich flavor then imo superior quality unsweetened, refined, cocoa powder is what you want. I'm not saying that cacao isnt a good quality replacement or worth considering. Just that the taste we associate with chocolate is roasted and refined cacao. Either will do and they both have their merits. Please update us with the taste.

 

[applescrap]

I was going to make this again with the following tweaks:

Cold steep both Sumatra & Kona coffee*
Add maple syrup (probably 2cups)
Maybe some whiskey soaked oak cubes (maybe)

* I know adding coffee at flame out add some bitterness of the coffee, but finding most of my drinking audience doesn’t like bitter the way I do.

Thoughts?

Cold brew is way to go. Dont know about maple syrup. Can always add the Whiskey at bottling, commercial companies have to soak due to Puritan laws. Or soak to wood to sterilize it, sounds great. Founders released kbs it has amounts for wood and whiskey i think.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

I was going to make this again with the following tweaks:

Cold steep both Sumatra & Kona coffee*
Add maple syrup (probably 2cups)
Maybe some whiskey soaked oak cubes (maybe)

* I know adding coffee at flame out add some bitterness of the coffee, but finding most of my drinking audience doesn’t like bitter the way I do.

Thoughts?

Cold steep would be safe for sure. My first coffee addition I waited till my temp was at 190 deg.
I'm not a fan of maple flavor in beer but why not go for it.
As for the whiskey chips, I may also try chips with my bourbon.

As for both of my batches, the breakfast stout and the 2-1/2 gallons I added bourbon to, they both are great. We love the bourbon one most of all. Its been 6 months since brewing and it has changed throughout the months. Always has been good but really has blended well and the bourbon has mellowed out. Will make it again and may add oak chips to the bourbon.

 

[rideincircles]

I upped my grain on this recipe a tad and managed to get to 1.120 for my starting gravity for 5.25 gallons. I pitched 3 packs of S-04 with oxygen and plan on adding oxygen a couple times during primary. Is the S-04 gonna crap out completely? If so, what would be my best option to take it down further? I think S-04 yeast tolerance is 11%, but was not sure if it could go any further. 11% would put it around 85 gravity points at 1.035, and I did up the bitterness to about 70 IBU's and added some chipotle candi syrup. My goal was closer to KBS, but am not sure what flavor profile I will aim for just yet with other additions. 1.035 still seems pretty high for final gravity.

Would a high gravity ale yeast be my best option to take it down further? My mash was at 154, so it should have lots of fermentable sugar in there.

 

[pwortiz]

I would suggest WLP 007 the dry English ale strain. It has been a solid performer for me in high gravity situations pulling me up to 10.5% with small starter. With everything else you pitched, one pack should cover you. Otherwise, I go to 71b-1122 to dry things totally out.

 

[rideincircles]

Noted. Will see if I have any in my fridge when I get home. Normally I would use BE-256, but it also has a 11% tolerance also. I have not used wine yeast in a beer yet, but listened to Grant Wood do a homebrew club speech on brewing high gravity beers. He runs revolver brewing which makes blood and honey, but also was head brewer at Sam Adams and brewed Utopia. 2 yeasts was part of the plan for that beer. He even suggested bean-o as useful enzyme to break down sugar chains, but that is for crazy high gravity beers. Also, olive oil was mentioned for yeast health, but I did not bother with either of those. Adding oxygen during fermentation was okay during primary fermentation so I will give it a boost tomorrow on that front. Will see how it looks when I get home.

 

[pwortiz]

Have used the 71b in Belgian stouts mostly. Have triple pitched 04, 05, and the 71b to a far higher gravity than I expected once and that beer worked quite well. If you want to stick the the English strains I would do the 007. The 71b would be my fallback but without any reservations whatsoever. That stuff is surprisingly good (imo). Good luck!