Malt Extract for a chocolate stout..

[Bogforce]

I want to brew a chocolate stout, I don't have the supplies I need to do all grain yet so I want to do all extract...

Does anyone have a base recipe or what I need to use to get the chocolate taste, specifically what malt extract to use

 

[shauntraxler]

It depends if you have the supplies or ability to steep specialty grains and also depends on what type of stout you want to brew. Judging by your want to make a chocolate stout, I'm going to assume you want it sweet. Therefore, I would pass on black patent malts, roasted malts etc. You want to keep your bittering agents to a minimum.

What I would recommend if you CAN steep, is to get some Crystal 60-120 malt (also called caramel malt), some chocolate malt (Not necessarily cocoa flavored), maybe some biscuit or toasted malt and steep from room temp to about 160 degrees. If you can, let it steep for 30-45 mins around 160 deg then pull and trash. Then begin your normal boil from there. As far as the proper extract, I would use a light or maybe amber extract if you steep.

If you CANT steep: I would use the dark extract. That's really all you can do in this instance.

Keep your hops low. I would recommend 20-25 IBU MAX. Also, if you want sweet chocolate flavor, and not bitter cocoa flavor, opt for chocolate extract and NOT cocoa powder. Chocolate extract is BEST used in secondary or at bottling. Furthermore, to achieve more sweetness, I would add lactose. 1lb per 5gallons. It adds a thickness to the mouthfeel and adds lasting sweetness as the sugars are largely unfermentable.

Hope I helped.

 

[bknifefight]

Use light or extra light DME. Using amber or dark makes no sense if you are steeping grains.

I would just find a recipe for a chocolate stout that sounds good to you, replace the 2 row with enough light DME to get your gravity and steep the rest of the grains the recipe calls for.

 

[leotrace]

Use light or extra light DME. Using amber or dark makes no sense if you are steeping grains.

I would just find a recipe for a chocolate stout that sounds good to you, replace the 2 row with enough light DME to get your gravity and steep the rest of the grains the recipe calls for.

This is the way to go. You'll be steeping dark enough grains that adding dark extract won't serve any purpose. It could potentially make your beer taste too dark, overpowering your chocolate flavor.

 

[shauntraxler]

This is the way to go. You'll be steeping dark enough grains that adding dark extract won't serve any purpose. It could potentially make your beer taste too dark, overpowering your chocolate flavor.

The OP never even said he or she was steeping. That's why I mentioned Dark ME.

 

[Bogforce]

Like both the responses, I am assuming I'll get a better flavor by steeping some grains.. I actually do want this to have a good amount of hops in it too because I like my stouts with a decent hop profile. What are some good hops to use in stouts?

 

[bknifefight]

I usually use a hop like Fuggles in my stouts.

 

[shauntraxler]

I would opt for hops with a more earthy, spicy aroma and flavor. I don't think floral and citrus would be a great choice. lol.

Use beer software, google hop profiles etc. Education is a big part of homebrewing.

Cheers!

 

[leotrace]

I agree completely with the post above. Fuggles are a good choice, and Bullion and Brewers Gold are good go-to bittering hops for stouts too. It's all about what kind of flavor you want so try to match the hop profile with it!