How to offset Bitter?

[s1080]

About a month ago I brewed a Chocolate Stout using 9 oz of nonfat cocoa powder. Everything turned out fine but last night I did a gravity reading/ taste test and found that it was extremely bitter.

I had it in primary for two and a half weeks followed by one week in secondary with a vanilla bean (in hopes of toning down the bitter) however now there's LOTs of vanilla with LOTS of bitter.

I'm wondering what I can do to fix this problem. Ive heard using lactose can help but is it too late for me to add it now? Maybe a little more chocolate too? What about boiled water with lactose and chocolate addition?

 

[Ksosh]

I'm curious, what was the OG/expected FG, and what IBUs were you shooting for?
I've made a cocoa-powder chocolate stout before (with a similar amount of cocoa powder), and part of the bitter problem is probably because of the cocoa powder. So I wouldn't add more of that (if that's what you meant by 'chocolate').

My vote is for the lactose. I'd boil up some water and lactose (you don't want to just dump the lactose in dry), let it cool to room temp, and carefully add it to the secondary without too much splashing. Just give it another week or two to get through the fermentables in the lactose before bottling.

 

[s1080]

Good Point about the not adding more chocolate. Ill probably do the lactose with water route. The cocoa definitely added a lot of bitter to it.

My OG was 1.072 and FG at 1.020.

One more quick question... I thought lactose was unfermentable. Not so?

 

[david_42]

Lactose itself is non-fermentable, but sometimes there will be some dextrose added as a pouring agent. I wouldn't worry about that if you get your lactose from a LHBS.

 

[brewmonk]

maltodextrine adds to the feel and sweetness of the beer, with few fermentables, I believe.
boil, cool, add. 2oz maybe?

 

[JLem]

I'd be inclined to wait a bit before adding anything. The beer is still young. Flavors, including bitterness, are still changing. Especially with such a high OG, this beer will take some time to fully mature.

What was your hop schedule and/or anticiapted IBUs?

 

[s1080]

Well according to brew builder (which is what I normally use to craft a recipe) I was anticipating an IBU of 20.7 however I purposely made it that low knowing the chocolate would jack it up.

The hop schedule goes as such:
Cluster 0.8 oz 60min
Kent Goldings 1.0 oz (sig figs ) 10min
Williamette 0.5 oz 2min


oh and I also noticed a typo...the actual OG was 1.062 (not 1.072 sorry i was typing fast...at work)

 

[JimE]

maltodextrine adds to the feel and sweetness of the beer, with few fermentables, I believe.
boil, cool, add. 2oz maybe?

+1 on the maltodextrin

 

[JLem]

Well according to brew builder (which is what I normally use to craft a recipe) I was anticipating an IBU of 20.7 however I purposely made it that low knowing the chocolate would jack it up.

The hop schedule goes as such:
Cluster 0.8 oz 60min
Kent Goldings 1.0 oz (sig figs ) 10min
Williamette 0.5 oz 2min


oh and I also noticed a typo...the actual OG was 1.062 (not 1.072 sorry i was typing fast...at work)

That's not a lot of hop bitterness, so I expect you're tasting the chocolate. I still think I would leave it alone and let the flavors mellow/meld. I've messed up some beers by not being patient and trying to fix a perceived problem. That said, adding some lactose or dextrin will certainly add some sweetness and body. I'd just be concerned that adding it at this point could result in an overly sweet beer if/when the bitterness dies down - 20 IBUs is way low for a stout, especially one at this OG.

 

[s1080]

Thanks for all of the advice! I think I'm going to go ahead and let it sit in secondary for another week and try it out again just to see where it's at and in the mean time try to get my hands on some dextrose. Ill report back here with any new findings. Thanks again for the info!



Steve

 

[JLem]

Thanks for all of the advice! I think I'm going to go ahead and let it sit in secondary for another week and try it out again just to see where it's at and in the mean time try to get my hands on some dextrose. Ill report back here with any new findings. Thanks again for the info!



Steve

You don't want dextrose - this is just another name for a form of glucose and will NOT add any sweetness/body to the beer as it will ferment out completely (in fact, it will probably end up thinning and drying out the beer further). You want maltodextrin (or dextrine or dextrin or however it is supposed to be spelled) or lactose. These are both unfermentable and will add a little sweetness and body. Good luck!

 

[brewmonk]

uhhhh......

 

[s1080]

LOL!!!....yeah thats what I meant. I'm kinda forgetful that way. Like if i'm talking about star wars i'll say star trek. Which are kinda the same..but not really Thanks for the correction!


Steve

 

[JLem]

LOL!!!....yeah thats what I meant. I'm kinda forgetful that way. Like if i'm talking about star wars i'll say star trek. Which are kinda the same..but not really Thanks for the correction!


Steve

That's what I figured, but wanted to make sure you didn't accidentally get the wrong ingredient and end up with the opposite effect you were looking for.

 

[bwomp313]

star wars and star trek are not the same. blasphemy.

 

[s1080]

So here's an update. I just pulled the first pint and it turned out really well I think. I ended up letting it sit for a couple more weeks and took another taste. It was still pretty bitter however, it had definitely mellowed some, but not enough for me, so I thought I would go the lactose route.

Added a pound of lactose and let it sit for a couple days. I then kegged it last week and just pulled a pint. Amazing! The bitterness is totally present but not nearly as overpowering. Some changes I'll make next time I brew this is to ditch the vanilla and go with age and lactose maybe even get some real unsweetened chocolate instead of powder.

Thanks for the great advice everyone! You really helped me pull this one out

steve