Using Cocoa in a Cherry Brown

[t-bag]

Im planning on doing a 1 gallon test batch tomorrow of a cherry brown using fresh local grown cherries and possibly some cocoa. I was wondering if anybody has ever tried using cocoa and what brands to buy. i have a little bit of ghiradelli cocoa. is that ok to use. Take a look at the recipe for a 5gal batch:

6lbs Amber LME
1lb light Brown Sugar
.5lb Light DME
1lb Chocolate malt
.5lb Crystal malt 20L
1oz Cascade(60min)
.5oz Cascade(5min)
1lb cocoa (ko)
and 4lbs of frozen cherries in the secondary.

 

[dwarven_stout]

A full pound of cocoa is probably fine if you're going for a strong chocolate taste. It will probably end up tasting like a good cup of hot chocolate. Otherwise, I'd knock it down a lot. Here's what BYO has to say about chocolate beers.

Going by style, the color and OG are good, but I'd worry a bit about a full pound of Chocolate Malt. I'd bet that will come out a bit roasty for a brown. I would personally knock the chocolate down to .25lb or so and use Caramel to make up the difference. That will also give you residual sugar to balance the tartness of the cherries and the strong chocolate flavor.

In the end, though... it's your beer, and your tastes to please, not mine. Have fun!