Want to run a recipe by you guys... (Imperial Milk Stout)

[gravityspiral]

So this recipe may come across as blasphemy or just plain weird to some of you, but I've been extract brewing for some time now and I want to try my hand at making my own extract recipe instead of just using kits. I get that there are probably some odd things going on here (choice of yeast, hops, etc.) but I'm ok with odd... I'm just hoping there's nothing just plain wrong or dumb that you guys can correct me on, but please do!

Imperial Belgian Chocolate Stout
**EDITED based on input in responses so far**
Steeping Grains:
1lb Simpsons Chocolate Malt
1/2lb Dingemans Special B

Wort:
12lbs Maris Otter LME
1lb D-180 Extra Dark Candi Syrup
1lb Lactose
1oz Nugget @ 60m
.5oz East Keng Goldings @ 20m
.5oz East Kent Goldings @ flameout

4oz cacao nibs

For the yeast, I'm going to be brewing a low-medium gravity blonde this weekend that I'll be using the WLP500 in. I plan on racking the blonde into the bottling bucket after fermentation is done then racking the wort from this recipe right onto the yeast cake (or at least a sizable portion of the yeast cake) from the blonde.

After primary fermentation has died down a bit, I'll add the 4oz cacao nibs, then let it sit for a week or two before moving to secondary where it will mature until the dead of winter when I need a good warm-me-up stout.

 

[Spelaeus]

A couple things (I'm assuming this is a 5-5.5gal batch):

For sweetening in a milk stout, DEFINITELY use lactose, not maltodextrine.

Is there a reason you're wanting to use dark malt extract rather than a light extract and steeping specialty/roasted grains? Stouts lend themselves well to this, and it would give you a lot more control and (imo) a superior final product. I'm not a big fan of dark malt extracts.

How bitter do you want this? Your hop additions (depending on the alpha acids in your batch of Nugget) are looking to be contributing pretty damn high ibus. And remember that cocoa nibs will also contribute some bitterness.

How chocolatey do you want this beer to be? If you do insist on using dark LME and skip steeping chocolate malts, 4oz of nibs likely won't come out all that chocolatey. I've used as much as 12oz of nibs in a chocolatey imperial stout WITH chocolate malt and it could have stood more (this was meant to be a chocolate forward beer and had a lot else going on, mind you). Also, unless the nibs come pre-roasted, make sure to roast those nibs. Single layer on a cookie sheet in the oven at ~250F for roughly 10-15 minutes. You know they're done when it smells like baking brownies.

 

[gravityspiral]

Thanks for the input!

I definitely don't want it too bitter. Or even bitter. I don't have a lot of experience hopping things but I assumed with the high gravity it would require a decent amount to balance it out. Maybe cut the the nuggets back to 1oz or 1/2oz? I very much like EKG but I also considered substituting UK Fuggles for those instead.

As for steeping grains, I don't know why I didn't think of that. Maybe .5lb - 1lb roasted chocolate malt and some dark crystal to go along with it?

I enjoy the Dark liquid, but 12lbs did seem a bit much. I didn't think mixing 6lbs dark with 6lbs gold or marris otter seemed like a good idea though, I assumed it was better to just stick with one kind.

 

[brewingupward]

I would probably lower your nugget hops down to about 1.5 ounces. You are right that you will need a good amount to balance it but I think 2 would be overboard. Don't worry about switching the EKG to Fuggles as far as contributing bitterness. Those additions aren't adding a lot so by all means stick with the EKG if that is what you like.

I think a pound of chocolate and then maybe half a pound of crystal 180 or possible Special B would be an excellent substitute for using the dark LME. If you want more roasty characteristics you can add a 1/4 lb of roasted barley as well as the darker malts. Excellent to see you're creating your own recipes though! It's a lot of fun to make your own creations that are different from a kit that thousands of others are brewing.

 

[Spelaeus]

Yeah, I'd say between 1-1.5oz on the nugget hops. Unfortunately it's kind of tough to be super precise, the alpha acid content on nugget has a bit of a range. Big yes to a pound of chocolate and some crystal 120. Brewingupward's Special B suggestion is also a good one, it might help give a little bit of a "Belgian" dark profile if that's something you'd want to bring out though crystal 120 would help in that direction too. I also find the dark fruit flavors of dark crystal malts support chocolate well, dark chocolate often tastes slightly raisin-y.

As to the aroma/flavor hops, I think either EKG or fuggles would do you just fine. Go with whatever you'd prefer.