Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer Triple Chocolate Milk Stout - Chocolate Lovers Only!

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ratinator

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
229
Reaction score
58
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Safale US-05
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.050
Final Gravity
1.008
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
36.2
Color
29.4
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21
Tasting Notes
A ton of chocolate flavors with a nice creamy head
I brewed this a few times now, and have been very happy with the recipe. It is definitely better than any store bought chocolate stouts I have had. I find with store bough recipes the chocolate taste is very minimal and you just end up with stout. I've taken a couple recipes and came out with this one. The part I like is the recipe is quite simple, the chocolate flavor is high and the abv% isn't crazy high:

MASH - 60mins @ 152F

7lbs - 2-Row Pale Malt
1lb - Chocolate Malt
.5lb - Caramel/Crystal Malt 120L

BOIL

1.00oz Cluster (60mins)
0.50oz Cluster (30mins)
1lb Lactose (10mins)
.5lb Cocoa Powder unsweetened (10mins)

4oz Cocoa Nibs (primary 14 days)

Mash and boil as per usual, putting the cocoa powder and the lactose towards the end of the boil to sterilize it and get it mixed well into the beer. When you transfer it to your primary it will be quite thick and look like chocolate milk (this is fine). Over the next few days the beer will ferment and it will look like there is a ton of chocolate sludge in there. The trick is to keep the beer on this sludge as long as possible to absorb all the chocolate flavor out of the cocoa powder. Once the beer has fermented (about a week) I add the cocoa nibs to the primary very carefully as to not create oxidation. Let it all sit for a minimum of two weeks longer and then move to the keg/bottle.
 
Sipping on one now. The chocolate flavor is a nice cocoa flavor like solid chocolate, and it's not overly sweet. I didn't want my stout to be pure black so I added pale chocolate malt on this batch lightening the color

View attachment 1454121850499.jpg
 
This is an interesting brew... I wonder about the 1# of lactose, that seems like a lot. I had 4 oz in my stout and thought it came out very sweet, next time will be 2oz of lactose. This is a sweet stout? I'd consider cutting back the lactose, have you brewed this a few times?
 
Nope, I didn't find the beer sweet at all. 1# of lactose isn't that much. I've used .75 in some fruit beers. I've brewed this beer a fee times and this will probably be the end of the changes. The first time I didn't add cocoa powder to the boil and as stated above this time I used pale chocolate malt. What was the original gravity on your stouts? There's not a ton of grains in the recipe so maybe it gives less sweetness that way. I found it Ike biting into a solid chocolate bunny around easter time rather than a sweet chocolate bar
 
Well then on my list it goes! I think the one I was referencing was mid 50s OG. Thanks for the recipe!
 
That's due to me using pale chocolate malt. If you use chocolate malt the beer is more of a black than brown. You could add some roasted barley to completely darken it up
 
This seems pretty similar to my chocolate malt stout. But I subbed Carnation Malted Milk for the lactose. Did you do anything with the nibs before adding? Could you just rack the wort directly onto them instead of adding after ferm? Or would it make sense to rack to a secondary?
 
I didn't do anything with the nibs, I bought my nibs from my local store that were vacuum sealed. You could always put them in a little container and cover them with some vodka and leave it for a few days and then add the mixture. I would prefer adding them once fermentation has completed because the alcohol could help with not causing any infection and I don't know if the nibs would interact with the hungry yeast. Don't use a secondary because u don't want to lose that chocolate sludge from the primary that gives it a lot of chocolate flavor. Just be very careful when adding the nibs to the primary and you'll be fine. The idea is to hit the beer with all the chocolate for as long as possible to absorb all the flavors
 
I myself soaked the nibs in vodka for 2 weeks before adding them. Brew day was a month and a half ago, sipping on the first one after carbing the last week.

I'd say the flavor is very nice for a stout, however it didn't quite establish the chocolate flavor I was looking for. A subtle dark chocolate flavor is present, but not quite what I was looking for
 
Did you add the cocoa powder as well? I found mine to have a ton of chocolate flavor. It wasn't sweetness but pure cocoa flavor
 
Giving this a try today. What's your efficiency? I'm having to use a lot more grain to get to 1.050 with 75% efficiency. Plus I added some roasted barley, cause otherwise it's a porter, not a stout. I am also thinking of adding a little flaked oats for mouthfeel. How is your mouthfeel? One final question - does the cocoa powder add to the gravity? I don't see it listed in Brewer's Friend.
 
Giving this a try today. What's your efficiency? I'm having to use a lot more grain to get to 1.050 with 75% efficiency. Plus I added some roasted barley, cause otherwise it's a porter, not a stout. I am also thinking of adding a little flaked oats for mouthfeel. How is your mouthfeel? One final question - does the cocoa powder add to the gravity? I don't see it listed in Brewer's Friend.

Nevermind the efficiency question. I didn't have the lactose in yet. duh! BUT - now that it is in, my final gravity went up to 1.013. How did you get yours down lower with all that lactose?
 
I would say the cocoa power doesn't add for much because it's unsweetened. The mouthful is pretty creamy from the lactose. Lactose adds a couple points but not a ton
 
I would say the cocoa power doesn't add for much because it's unsweetened. The mouthful is pretty creamy from the lactose. Lactose adds a couple points but not a ton

Yeah, I don't see any way it could finish at 1.008. I was only going to use half a pound of lactose, but I checked with a couple of friends, and they agreed I should go with your original recommended amount of one pound. Now Brewer's Friend says I will finish at 1.016.
 
Let us know how it goes. The roasted barley will darken it up to almost a black srm. The first batch I made with chocolate malt was prettt black but I used pale chocolate malt this time for something different. Either way I would still classify it as a sweet stout more than a porter.
 
Let us know how it goes. The roasted barley will darken it up to almost a black srm. The first batch I made with chocolate malt was prettt black but I used pale chocolate malt this time for something different. Either way I would still classify it as a sweet stout more than a porter.

Thanks. Well, I hit mad efficiency (85%) and my OG is 1.064. BF is telling me that FG will be 1.017 for 6.1% ABV. I can live with that, or if it drops a few more points, that's OK too. Thanks for the recipe! I'll let you know how it turns out.
 
Let us know how it goes. The roasted barley will darken it up to almost a black srm. The first batch I made with chocolate malt was prettt black but I used pale chocolate malt this time for something different. Either way I would still classify it as a sweet stout more than a porter.

8 days in and I just took a gravity sample. In spite of the roasted barley, it's just a touch darker than yours. Dark brown, but definitely not black. So I'm ready to put in the nibs. But tasting the sample, it already seems pretty chocolatey. Do the nibs add a LOT, or just a little more chocolate? It's smooth and chocolate milk like now. Wondering if maybe I only need half of the 4 oz. Oh, and gravity is 1.020, so almost down to my expected FG of 1.017.
 
Stick them all in, flavors fade over time. Like I said above its not a sweet chocolate so you won't run into something that is too sweet to drink
 
Stick them all in, flavors fade over time. Like I said above its not a sweet chocolate so you won't run into something that is too sweet to drink

Thanks. I went ahead and put them all in on Friday night. The one thing I didn't care for in tasting the sample was that it left a chaulky chocolately film on my tongue. Hoping that goes away once it's finished and carbonated.
 
Thanks. I went ahead and put them all in on Friday night. The one thing I didn't care for in tasting the sample was that it left a chaulky chocolately film on my tongue. Hoping that goes away once it's finished and carbonated.

The carboy should be very mucky due to the yeast and cocoa powder this is normal. The beer will clear itself right up
 
OK, time to bottle this bad boy tomorrow morning. What level are you carbing this to? I carb my IPAs and wheat beers pretty high, from 2.6 volumes to nearly 3.5 volumes for my Hefe's. I've only done one stout before, a Russian Imperial, and I carbed that to only 2.0 volumes, as per style. Honestly, it was almost undercarbed, so I don't think I would ever carb anything that low again. I'm thinking around 2.4 for this beer. What do you think?
 
I keg mine. I just strapped the keg on @ 10psi for about a week before i poured my first draft. Due to the lactose and creamy style head i wouldnt carb it too much else your going to have alot of foam. 2.4 sounds good
 
I keg mine. I just strapped the keg on @ 10psi for about a week before i poured my first draft. Due to the lactose and creamy style head i wouldnt carb it too much else your going to have alot of foam. 2.4 sounds good

Thanks! One more question. Just noticed that there is still a bubbly foam or krausen on top, even after more than three weeks. Is this normal? maybe caused by the chocolate, or the lactose? I've never brewed with either before.

milk stout bubbles_tiny.jpg
 
I didnt have any krausen on mine. Towards the end the beer looks pretty dormant and all the cocao powder has settled to the bottom and stuck to the sides. I would give it another week or if you got the space i would stick the carboy in the fridge and cold crash it to shut down the yeast. My guess is it would be the cocao nibs and if there is any sugar in them, im sure ours would be quite different.

Did you soak or do anything with the nibs?
 
I didnt have any krausen on mine. Towards the end the beer looks pretty dormant and all the cocao powder has settled to the bottom and stuck to the sides. I would give it another week or if you got the space i would stick the carboy in the fridge and cold crash it to shut down the yeast. My guess is it would be the cocao nibs and if there is any sugar in them, im sure ours would be quite different.

Did you soak or do anything with the nibs?

No, I didn't soak the nibs. Just opened the package and dumped them in. :eek: Hoping it's not an infection. I don't want to wait another week. Going to take a gravity reading and bottle. I'm betting it will be fine. Thanks for all your help and quick replies to my questions. I'll keep you updated. Can't wait to start drinking it!
 
This sounds like a really good recipe for rotation. Have you tried putting this on oak to mix/balance the sweetness?

I havnt, but i use oak in my pumpkin ale and have had good results. I cant remember which is which but if you were wanting to add oak add the one that gives vanilla
 
Cheers Ratinator! Cracked open my first bottle of this chocolaty elixer. Very, very nice! And after just 9 days of conditioning and 2 days in the fridge, I'm betting it is only going to get better. So, as you know, I changed up your recipe just a bit. Dedicated it to my good buddy Randy who was visiting from Illinois and helped me out on brew day. Here is what I brewed:

HOME BREW RECIPE:
Title: Randy's Chocolate Milk Stout
Author: TxBigHops

Brew Method: All Grain
Style Name: American Stout
Boil Time: 60 min
Batch Size: 5.5 gallons (fermentor volume)
Boil Size: 7.5 gallons
Boil Gravity: 1.042
Efficiency: 85% (brew house)


STATS:
Original Gravity: 1.064
Final Gravity: 1.017
ABV (standard): 6.15%
IBU (tinseth): 41.55
SRM (morey): 32.97

FERMENTABLES:
8 lb - American - Pale 2-Row (71.1%)
1 lb - American - Chocolate (8.9%)
16 oz - Lactose (Milk Sugar) - (late addition) (8.9%)
8 oz - American - Caramel / Crystal 120L (4.4%)
8 oz - Flaked Oats (4.4%)
4 oz - American - Roasted Barley (2.2%)

HOPS:
0.5 oz - Magnum, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.6, Use: Boil for 60 min, IBU: 23.5
0.5 oz - Magnum, Type: Pellet, AA: 12.6, Use: Boil for 30 min, IBU: 18.06

MASH GUIDELINES:
1) Infusion, Temp: 151 F
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.3 qt/lb

OTHER INGREDIENTS:
8 oz - Cocoa Powder, Time: 10 min, Type: Flavor, Use: Boil
4 oz - Cocoa Nibs, Time: 14 days, Type: Flavor, Use: Primary

YEAST:
Fermentis / Safale - American Ale Yeast US-05
Starter: No
Form: Dry
Attenuation (avg): 81%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Temp: 54 - 77 F


This recipe has been published online at:
http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/342363/randy-s-chocolate-milk-stout

Generated by Brewer's Friend - http://www.brewersfriend.com/
Date: 2016-05-05 04:32 UTC
Recipe Last Updated: 2016-04-07 06:20 UTC

3 Choc Mik Stout.jpg
 
Looks delicious, and the color looks great. Thanks for posting back and glad everything turned out well!
 
This sounds like a really good recipe for rotation. Have you tried putting this on oak to mix/balance the sweetness?

I'd like to to add that I normally drink IPAs and do not generally care for sweet beers. Even with a pound of lactose, this beer is not sweet. Chocolaty, yes, but not sweet. Now mine is a little different from OP as I added some roasted barley but with 40 IBUs, it's not too sweet. But if you do oak it, please let us know how it turns out.
 
Looks delicious, and the color looks great. Thanks for posting back and glad everything turned out well!

Thanks! I am happy with the color. A little darker than yours, but still definitely dark brown, not black. I'll have one during the day this weekend so I can see how it looks in the sunlight.
 
Hi, just made this with a little tweak here and there, not too fond of the color right now, but we'll see when I bottle.

Recipe:
BIAB, 20L into fermentor, 60min mash @ 67 C, 70min Boil:

3200 pale 72,32%
350 chocolate 7,91%
250 cara 120 5,65%
100 roasted 2,26%
300 lactose 6,78%
225 cocoa 5,08%
4425 100,00%

45 gr Fuggles @ 70
30 gr Fuggles @ 30

US-05 as well.

Very excited about this, I'll post a pic in a few weeks!

Cheers!
 
Hi, just made this with a little tweak here and there, not too fond of the color right now, but we'll see when I bottle.

Recipe:
BIAB, 20L into fermentor, 60min mash @ 67 C, 70min Boil:

3200pale72,32%
350chocolate7,91%
250cara 1205,65%
100roasted2,26%
300lactose6,78%
225cocoa5,08%
4425100,00%

45 gr Fuggles @ 70
30 gr Fuggles @ 30

US-05 as well.

Very excited about this, I'll post a pic in a few weeks!

Cheers!

Howd you make out?
 
It was amazing! Though sadly I couldn't find cocoa nibs so it wasn't as chocolatey as I'd've liked, and the next time I'm going to use 1lb of lacose as you said.

I loved it and so did my friends, will definitely brew this again!

Photo:
jXac9D8.jpg

1M65uBC.jpg
 
Hey guys new here. I'm going to do this as my first not kit brew. I scaled it down to a 1 gallon batch. Any advice?
 
1 gal is so small, are you doing extract or an all grain? The recipe should scale down fine, i know the ribs typcially come in 4oz packages tho.
 
Hey guys new here. I'm going to do this as my first not kit brew. I scaled it down to a 1 gallon batch. Any advice?

I recently made a 2.25G batch using the recipe in post #31 in this thread. It tastes amazing and is one of my favorites so far. The only thing is the chocolaty flavor wasn't as strong as I hoped so I think next time I would increase either the cocoa powder or nibs. I also may brew the originally posted version to compare.
 
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