Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer German Chocolate Stout

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sirsloop

sirsloop

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
2,587
Reaction score
26
Location
South River, NJ
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Nottinghams
Yeast Starter
No
Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
No
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.080
Final Gravity
1.018
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
Color
BLACK
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10 @ 68°F
Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
10 @ 68°F
3lbs Light Extract DME
6lbs Dark Extract DME
.5 lbs Cracked Roasted Barley
4oz Herseys Cocoa Powder (unsweetened raw Cacao)
1oz Coconut Extract
1oz Pure Vanilla Extract
2oz Chocolate Extract
1oz Saaz Hop
.5oz Chinook Hop

Procedure
• Place bag of roasted barley in 2 gallons of water and bring to 160°F
• Steep for 20 minutes – stirring regularly and vigorously
• Pull out grain bag – sparge with 170° water optional
• Add malt extract and and boil for one hour
• Add Chinook Hops at 60 minutes
• Add Irish Moss at 15 minutes.
• Add Saaz Hops at 15 minutes
• Add Cocoa Powder, 1oz Pure Vanilla Extract, 2oz Chocolate Extract and 1oz Coconut Extract at flame out.

This was an experimental brew that I did about 8 months ago. Its a big beer designed to play off German Chocolate Cake. This beer will need to age at least 2-3 months before its really ready. At that time you'll get a subtle coconut nose on top of a BIG malty chocolate stout. This is a stomach warmer...best had after dinner to finish the night off :)
 
WARNING!

If anybody brews this... make sure you have a blow off tube attached to the primary. This recipe blew my 6.5 gallon primary up, sending **** stains and the airlock clean to the ceiling. I just got another report of this recipe blowing the top off a primary.
 
I came across this recipie yesterday, and was inspired to go buy supplies :D It looks like a nice, fairly simple chocolate stout recipie (as I'm probably going to leave the coconut extract out- I just want a BIG chocolate stout!)

Not surprisingly though, I had to do some substitution for the hops. My LHBS did not have either of the two you used. So for Chinook, I got some Nugget, and for Saaz, Williamette. Both were listed as approximate replacements on AustinHomeBrew, so we'll see how it goes...

One more thing- did you use LME or DME for this? I got DME, so if you used the former, I'm wondering if I may have to up the bittering hops slightly. I don't necessarily like really bitter brews, but I don't want it to be overly sweet either. I may also sub addtionaly cocoa powder, if I can't find the chocolate extract (should be fine I'd think, as most every other chocolate stout recipie uses just cocoa powder. This is the first one I've seen that calls for extract.)
 
Not to be a stickler, but where's the German part?

If you are referring to German Chocolate cake then you're still incorrect, but don't worry MOST Americans get it wrong too.

It's actually "German's" Chocolate cake. German was the name of the English baker who invented said cake recipe. :D
 
Yeah I realize that german chocolate cake isn't "German"... but the vanilla, coconut, and chocolate extract make it like a "german chocolate cake" stout. I think just because people make German style beers they get hung up on the fact that there is nothing German in the stout, except possibly the Saaz. Besides, if you go to the store today you don't buy "german's chocolate cake". Really, its turned into a standard dark chocolate cake with the special coconut frosting on top. The frosting is what makes a german chocolate cake unique.

I usually specify, but I used DME for this recipe. Generally even pounds are used for DME and some 1.1 multiple like 3.3, 6.6 are for LME. Thats not always 100% true but if the recipe doesn't specify you can make that assumption. You may want to reconsider the coconut extract. I went out on a limb with this brew, but after a few months it tasted fantastic! The hop variety is really not all THAT important. Its a huge beer and its WAY on the malty side...which is what I wanted.

Also, looking back... I probably had an incorrect hydrometer reading for the OG. 9# of DME probably only got the brew up to like 1.060-65ish. Thats likely from poor mixing and/or inexperience. I had only made a few batches under my belt when I did this brew back on 7/6/06.
 
sirsloop said:
Also, looking back... I probably had an incorrect hydrometer reading for the OG. 9# of DME probably only got the brew up to like 1.060-65ish. Thats likely from poor mixing and/or inexperience. I had only made a few batches under my belt when I did this brew back on 7/6/06.
Click to expand...

I ran your numbers, I think your original numbers where correct. If you used Dry Malt Extract, 9# at 45 points per pound, plus 1/2# or Roasted Barley at 29 ppp with a 5.5 gallon batch yields a 1.076 plus whatever your cocoa powder, and extracts add.

Now if you used LME and didn't account for the difference in potential grafity, you'd get a finish of about 1.063

:)
 
sirsloop said:
Yeah I realize that german chocolate cake isn't "German"... but the vanilla, coconut, and chocolate extract make it like a "german chocolate cake" stout. I think just because people make German style beers they get hung up on the fact that there is nothing German in the stout, except possibly the Saaz. Besides, if you go to the store today you don't buy "german's chocolate cake". Really, its turned into a standard dark chocolate cake with the special coconut frosting on top. The frosting is what makes a german chocolate cake unique.
Click to expand...
Wrong-O again. The frosting doesn't have a dang thing to do with it. Thing about it for a minute...the Germans never explored places where coconuts were grown...the English on the other hand...;)

You are still missing the point...it's NOT German at all, never was, NEVER will be...it's "German's"...it a persons name..."German" was the name of the baker that came up with the cake recipe...German's Chocolate Cake is English! ;)
 
OK, it's been several weeks...how'd your stout turn out?

I am really interested because I was in Hawaii last week and had Maui Breweries Chocolate Coconut Porter that was most excellent.

I've been doing some googling and decided I want to try it.

My Choco Stout tastes pretty good, but I only used grains. How'd yours turn out with the chocolate?
 
Well... i'll throw it on gas tonight and try it out. I just kicked a keg so i've got a free slot. Just for you... i'll probably yank it and put it in storage until the fall. Its apfelwein season.
 
Heh heh... tossed it on the gas a bit ago. Its still kinda flat and a little warm but its still tastes pretty good. Just like I remember the first batch, except a little less hot. Its on the sweet side, but thats how I wanted it given the goal. The first back fermented on the hot side temp wise which is probably why this batch tastes a little less "belly wamer". I'm gonna try a few glasses over the weekend, yank it and pull it out this fall. I think the flavors will work themselves together much better by then.
 
I did this recipe back in August of 07 and have carefully guarded their use since. I still have about 15 12ozers and it is clearly the most highly commented upon brew I have ever done. Some love it, some don't but no-one says it isn't one of the most interesting brews ever tasted.
I think it is just a hair light on the coconut and vanilla or just a hair heavy on the cocoa, but as it ages the blending is so terrific that it is really a who cares kind of thing.
Started out at about 1.086 and finished at 1.021. Nice and malty at just below 8% ABV.

This beer has been shown to be quite an active fermenter. Care should be taken to use a blow off tube.
 
I've had this in my keggerator for the past few weeks while I was out on vacation. I had some before flat, and some after carbed up. Man.. so so good. I yanked it and tossed it back in my closet before I drank it all!! HAHA!!
 
I am working on my own big, belly-warming stout right now, and was a little concerned about the ABV, and so I thought I would compare it to this one... Using Tasty Brews Recipe Calculator (http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/recipe.html), though, this recipe came in at 7.7 ABV. Mine was clocking in around 8.3. I have had some absolutely delicious Imperial Stouts that have a high ABV but you do not get any alcohol flavor, and that is what I had wanted. How does the alcohol read through in this guy?

This is the Stout I am working on, and I am going to buy ingredients tomorrow... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=72649
 
This last batch I cooked up was a keeper. Real real good...and the alcohol hides its self real well (until the end of the 2nd glass! HA!). I personally am not a big fan of raspberry stouts. The raspberries tend to make a strange nose and the flavor just never did it for me. I'm afraid that if you go for imperial chocolate, coffee, raspberry... its like flavor overload. Granted its imperial, but there's a hell of a lot going on in there. I'm thinkin with this brew you may want to do half and half. Maybe batch make one chocolate and raspberry, and one chocolate and coffee. After its brewed, mix a glass half/half and if you like the taste, siphon them together. Umm... the roasted stuff... that seems like an ok amount to shoot for. It'll be black as tar, but that what you want for a 8% imperial. Heck, you may want to go higher with the alcohol...10# DME? f-it... go for the gold!!!
 
Not to hijack this thread, since I already have a thread on it, but my inspiration for combining the three ingredients is that there are a few companies out there who make imperial stouts with all three, and i liked the idea of adding the tartness of the raspberries to the other elements already present. the goal, of course, will be to do this without making a muddy mess. if i had more money i would make two simultaneous batches, one chocolate coffee and one chocolate raspberry. when it is time to go into the secondary we will see if I have enough equipment laying around to split it into two batches and i can flavor them separately... if i brew this weekend i have a while to figure that out...

When you were referencing the roasted stuff, is that in reference to the original recipe i posted, or to the newest version? The newest version is:

Midnight Oil Imperial Stout A Work in Progress
9.0 lbs. Dark DME
1.5 lbs. Roasted barley steeped 30 mins at 160, sparged at 170
0.5 lbs. Chocolate Malt steeped 30 mins at 160, sparged at 170
0.5 oz. Chinook Pellet Hops 60 minutes
1.0 oz. Saaz Pellet Hops 15 minutes
3.0 oz. baking cocoa at flameout
4.0 oz. baking cocoa in Secondary
Unknown Quantityfresh/frozen/pureed raspberries, crushed in Secondary
28 oz. cold brewed espresso in Secondary
1.0 oz pure vanilla extract in Secondary
White Labs WLP004 Irish Stout Yeast

Thanks for your advice and encouragement. 10lbs DME might be a bit much even for me... The extra pound brings the above recipe from 8.1 ABV to 9... However, I will have about 1/2lb or so of light DME laying around that I might throw in, because it will go to waste otherwise...
 
By the way, sirsloop, I should say thank you for an awesome recipe... If you look at my original recipe it was significantly different than yours. But as I have been modifying it based on a number of peoples' advice, it is coming to resemble yours more and more... Getting rid of the Crystal and the Black Patent as unnecessary muddying of flavors has left me with a recipe quite similar to yours. And it is funny that I ended up going with the same hops as you, too... though I chose the Saaz as flavoring hoping their earthiness would compliment the raspberry well, and now that the whole raspberry aspect is in question I may switch... well, in any case, thanks, and I didn't mean to pilfer your recipe! It was, along with your exclamations about the resulting brew, inspiring, to say the least!
 
I will. As it is Friday I have spent a good part of my work day researching Imperial stour recipes, and almost every single one uses the black patent and the crystal 120 that i had originally included and subsequently removed from my brew. So now I am veklempt, and trying to figure out what to buy when I get to the LHBS. I will update that thread tomorrow after I brew it with what I ended up going with...
 
Yeah, I wasnt worried about the color... 9# dark DME on top of the roasted barley will take care of that... but if I am thinking about the flavors that Crystals bring, and what my brew will be like with/without them...
 
I know that most of you use kegs, but what amount of sugar would you recommend for priming this for bottling???

and if it needs to age 2-3 months can it do that in the bottle or should that be in the carboy?

sorry, Im still a noob :mug:
 
good to hear... im entering this beer at the upcoming AHA Splitrock competition... about to kick the keg so I guess its time to go get more coconut extract...
 
Took Bronze at Splitrock at the specialty table. I find out on Dec 3rd if it'll be served at a local brewpub or not ;)
 
Took 2nd place at the local homebrew comp. One of the guys in our club won with a Braggot. Sooo... this isnt going to be on tap locally, but I get to help brew 300 gallons of braggot!! WOOT!
 
This might be a newbie question but I'm still learning the whole process, but. Did you age/condition cold or warm?
 
Im going to try this recipe. Why does it say All-grain? I dont have to do a full boil do I? How much Irish moss do i use? Thanks.
 
It says all grain cause I forgot to change it, and you cannot edit that part. You don't have to do a full boil either. I do age the beer warm in the keg... probably around 6 months or so. I'll typically brew one in late spring and get it on tap the following winter.
 
I'm doing this one again tonight, I might try and convert it to all-grain for my next time around, but if I do this one now it will be incredible by next winter, I know it will (plus I have the supplies sitting around)

Substituting Nugget for the chinook cause thats what I have in the freezer... love this beer!! only 13 bottles left!! (I gave away a bunch of 22ozers for xmas)
 
Brewed this yesterday and boy was I surprised.This is my 4th brew and I noted two things:

1. This thing was hard to get to hot break. It took almost 40 minutes for mine to get there. No other brew took that long.

2. This brew is one explosive fermenter. Sounds like a sick person on the toilet. :) Luckily, I have a 9 mth old at home that woke me up at 4:30 this morning or I would have had a mess in the laundry room. I didn't take the warning and the airlock I used looked like a rocket ready for take off. Listen to the advice about a blowoff tube! Having to improvise at 4AM is not fun.

Other thank that,
I used 1 tsp of irish moss (no amt in the recipe.)


I didn't have chocolate extract so I just didn't put it in? Any suggestions/comments?


Can't wait to taste this one!
 
Just ordered the supplies to do a 5 gallon AG version of this (my own conversion) and a 2.5 gal extract batch to compare it to.
 
sirsloop said:
3lbs Light Extract DME
6lbs Dark Extract DME
.5 lbs Cracked Roasted Barley
4oz Herseys Cocoa Powder (unsweetened raw Cacao)
1oz Coconut Extract
1oz Pure Vanilla Extract
2oz Chocolate Extract
1oz Saaz Hop
.5oz Chinook Hop

Procedure
• Place bag of roasted barley in 2 gallons of water and bring to 160°F
• Steep for 20 minutes – stirring regularly and vigorously
• Pull out grain bag – sparge with 170° water optional
• Add malt extract and and boil for one hour
• Add Chinook Hops at 60 minutes
• Add Irish Moss at 15 minutes.
• Add Saaz Hops at 15 minutes
• Add Cocoa Powder, 1oz Pure Vanilla Extract, 2oz Chocolate Extract and 1oz Coconut Extract at flame out.

This was an experimental brew that I did about 8 months ago. Its a big beer designed to play off German Chocolate Cake. This beer will need to age at least 2-3 months before its really ready. At that time you'll get a subtle coconut nose on top of a BIG malty chocolate stout. This is a stomach warmer...best had after dinner to finish the night off :)
Click to expand...

So I just bought the goods for this brew but I can't find the Chocolate Extract, any ideas? Also, I was thinking of going light on the vanilla exract or possible striking it all together and adding oak chips to the 2nd fermentation, any thoughts? I also converted it to an AG plus scaled it up to 10 gal. if interested in that let me know. :mug:
 
Hi,
I have another question concerning the original recepie.
If I would like to scale it down to 2.5 gallon could I just divide the ingredients by 2?
 
Sloop, have you had any issues with the fats in the cocoa powder killing head on the beer? I've had this issue with the andes mint stout recipe. It's still fecking delicious and is adequately carbonated, just has zip for head due to the fats in the powder. Also, the powder never seems to settle out completely, even after a four month primary.... hehehe.
 
I did this with the Med. French oak chips and it turned out. I recommend tasting it every day to be sure you have the desired oak flavor or it will take over the taste buds.
 
Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but was curious what anyone thought about adding toasted pecans to this one. The topping/frosting/icing on my mom's version of this cake also has pecans in it. I've also been looking at a maple pecan porter, but thought this would be an interesting brew to try pecans in as well. Thanks!
 

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