Mocha Hazelnut Porter help/critique

[slightlyoffbeat]

TYPE: Partial Mash

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 4.08 gal
Estimated OG: 1.070 SG
Estimated Color: 59.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 44.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
5.00 lb Amber Dry Extract (12.5 SRM) Dry Extract 47.62 %
1.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 11.90 %
1.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 11.90 %
1.00 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 9.52 %
1.00 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 9.52 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 9.52 %
1.25 oz Amarillo Gold [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 25.6 IBU
1.00 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (45 min) Hops 12.1 IBU
1.25 oz Horizon [12.00 %] (5 min) Hops 7.2 IBU
0.50 oz Hazelnut Extract (Bottling 5.0 min) Misc
8.00 oz Coffee (Secondary 5.0 min) Misc
10.00 oz Chocolate Nibs (Secondary 5.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) Yeast-Ale


OK, this recipe could be a disaster. I've been brewing kits for a long time and I was talking with a few friends about what type of beer we would really like to brew together. We've been in to porters lately and we liked the idea of a mocha porter with just a touch of hazelnut. I have never created a recipe before, but I struggled and put this together.

If it is crap, let me know. It won't hurt my feelings. If you have changes or advice, I would very much like some tips on how to get a good porter with a good balance of coffee, chocolate, and hazelnut.

As you can see, I am planning on adding some chocolate and coffee in secondary and some home made hazelnut extract just before bottling.

Cheers.

Dan

 

[Oldsock]

I think you are along the right track. First off, I'd guess that 75% efficiency for your mini-mash is a bit high, so I'd probably add another pound of DME. Speaking of which, I don't always brew with extract. But when I do I use pale DME (gives you more control and fermentability than the amber/dark stuff). I would also drop the last hop addition, with so much going on in the aroma I wouldn’t want the hops there as well.

I would back down on the black patent to ~.5 lbs and C120 to ~.75 lbs, C120 has a slightly burnt caramel thing and black patent can have a sharp acrid flavor when used in excess. 8 oz of coffee is probably also on the high side with everything else going on. I like adding about 6 oz coarsely cracked (in a hop bag) for ~24 hours right before bottling. 10 oz of cocoa nibs is about right, but they’ll take more like 2 weeks in secondary for good extraction. Taste the hazelnut extract in a sample of the beer before adding it to the whole batch, dial the amount in then scale up.

Not sure if you were planning on making a starter, but with a beer this strong it would be highly suggested.

Hope that helps, welcome to the site.

 

[RedGuitar]

It seems to me that you're using a lot of ingredients here. I'm not sure you're going to need that much grain to get the flavor you are after, or that much hops. I made a vanilla porter this past December, and aside from the malt extract I used, there was only about a pound and a half total of other grains and only about an ounce and a half of hops. But then, everybody has their own preferences.

I would suggest switching to a London Ale yeast. Porters are a British beer. I don't have my recipe notebook with me and so don't remember exactly which yeast I used, but it was definitely a London Ale. I was VERY happy with the results.

Let me know how this beer turns out. I've been on a porter kick lately, and am planning on re-brewing my vanilla porter soon, I loved it so much.