Oatmeal Chocolate Stout All Grain

[chewyheel]

This is an oatmeal stout I've made a couple of times, this time I decided to make it into a chocolate stout instead.

Batch Size: 5.5 gallons
OG: 10.055
FG:10.015
Boil Time: 70 minutes
IBU's: 29

Grain Bill
9lb Crisp Best Ale 2 row
1.5lb Flaked Oats
1lb CaraBohemian 80L
4oz Roasted Barley 375L
4oz Black Malt 500L

Hops
1.5oz East Kent Golding 50 minutes, 5.9%
.5oz East Kent Golding 5 minutes

Other
5oz Cocoa Powder, 4oz in the mash, 1oz at 5 minutes

Yeast
Wyeast 1968, 1 liter starter
Fermenting at 64 to 66 degrees for a couple of weeks

Mashed grains in 6 gallons of water with 4oz cocoa powder at 152 for 60 minutes. Batch sparged with 3 gallons of water at 170 for 15 minutes. Starting boil volume approximately 7 gallons. I originally planned on only doing a 60 minute boil but extended it to get more boil off since I collected too much wort. Was aiming for an OG of 10.059 originally.

The wort had a definite chocolate aroma and flavor. This is my first time using chocolate so I'm excited to taste the results. Just brewed this on Saturday so it's still in the fermenter now.

Any feedback/questions are welcome!

Chewy

 

[TorMag]

Looks great. Can't wait to hear how this turns out.

 

[TandemTails]

Sounds really good. You'll have to let us know how the chocolate comes through after fermentation. I'm curious if those amounts of powder you used are good or if they don't come through enough or come through too much.

 

[55x11]

Sounds really good. You'll have to let us know how the chocolate comes through after fermentation. I'm curious if those amounts of powder you used are good or if they don't come through enough or come through too much.

I agree looks great. Have you used coco nibs vs. coco powder? I wonder if there's much difference. I used nibs.

 

[SteveHeff]

I agree looks great. Have you used coco nibs vs. coco powder? I wonder if there's much difference. I used nibs.

There shouldn't be a big difference on the flavor profile. However when you utilize the powder over the nibs, you avoid most (if not all) of the fatty lipids on the nibs. This helps increase head retention on those chocolatey stouts.

 

[chewyheel]

I agree looks great. Have you used coco nibs vs. coco powder? I wonder if there's much difference. I used nibs.

The main reason I used the powder versus nibs was that from what I have read about the subject, you get a deeper chocolate flavor with the powder in the mash versus nibs in the secondary. I read an article on BYO that said to use 2 to 3 ounces of powder in the mash and work up from there. However, I love the bitter taste of chocolate so I figured I'd add just a touch more. I've never used nibs before though so I won't be able to compare to any previous batch.

 

[55x11]

There shouldn't be a big difference on the flavor profile. However when you utilize the powder over the nibs, you avoid most (if not all) of the fatty lipids on the nibs. This helps increase head retention on those chocolatey stouts.

thanks! I guess I need to try the powder then.
Can I add to secondary/keg? or is there any benefit from boiling it?
I like to do these additions to the keg/secondary since I can do small additions and taste it, wait a few days, then add more, to dial the profile just the way I want. Same with cold brew coffee, wine, hops etc.

 

[SteveHeff]

If you toss the powder into the secondary, you'll end up with grist in the bottom of each bottle. Been there, done that, dirty pours. Try this:

Soak your cocoa nibs in vodka, 4 Tbs should do the trick. Allow it to sit for 4-5 days. Shake it up every few hours. After day 5, remove the nibs from the liquid, shaking off as much of the liquid as you can. You now have a liquid concentrate of cocoa. Place you concentrate in the fridge and wait overnight. There should be a layer of solid fat that you can scrape off of the top. Throw it out or use you're new found cocoa butter. But the rest of the concentrate is ready to be tossed into secondary.

 

[Redlantern]

If you toss the powder into the secondary, you'll end up with grist in the bottom of each bottle. Been there, done that, dirty pours. Try this:

Soak your cocoa nibs in vodka, 4 Tbs should do the trick. Allow it to sit for 4-5 days. Shake it up every few hours. After day 5, remove the nibs from the liquid, shaking off as much of the liquid as you can. You now have a liquid concentrate of cocoa. Place you concentrate in the fridge and wait overnight. There should be a layer of solid fat that you can scrape off of the top. Throw it out or use you're new found cocoa butter. But the rest of the concentrate is ready to be tossed into secondary.

Ever use a stir plate for this? Seems a good idea anyway.....

 

[chewyheel]

Just bottled this yesterday, came out very smooth with a mild chocolate flavor. Will post a pic and more info after they are carbed in a couple of weeks.