White Chocolate Ale

[KeyWestBrewing]

thanks keywest, i'm going with 2.5, the higher volumes are for true german wheats which is not at all what i made. i'll be bottling this weekend and i will post results in a few weeks! thanks for all the input. one thing i would say about this beer so far is the color is quite darker than i'd hoped. something about a cloudy amber beer doesn;t say white chocolate! i could've done a late addition of most of my lme or cut back on the steeping grains in hindsight, but for now this isnt as important to me as capturing the right flavor. something about an amber beer doesn;t say white chocolate! i'm now tempted to take a gallon of this and add a chestnut extract or liquer for all my sweeties who dont like beer.

Keep us posted

 

[jessup]

back in the summer of 2010 i had an epiphany. WHITE BEER! i wanted to make a white chocolate beer glow white like a stout is solid black. consensus was that it was impossible. it was light in color like you're going for, it had the white chocolate flavor, but ended up way overcarbonated with too much alcohol bite. I never did try again... Here's the link from my attempt:
a white, white chocolate beer

i used a whole can (~3 lbs) Ghirardelli Sweet Ground White Chocolate and vanilla beans in primary, then used vanilla sugar and creme de cacao for flavor during bottling. OG 1.082 FG 1.003!

 

[relaxnrelapsen]

i used a whole can (~3 lbs) Ghirardelli Sweet Ground White Chocolate and vanilla beans in primary, then used vanilla sugar and creme de cacao for flavor during bottling. OG 1.082 FG 1.003!

heres whats in that white chocolate powder:
INGREDIENTS: sugar, nonfat milk powder, partially hydrogenated coconut oil, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), cellulose gum, xanthan gum, maltodextrin, carrageenan, dipotassium phosphate, propylene glycol esters of fatty acids, mono- and diglycerides, sodium silicoaluminate, salt, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), calcium, carrageenan, natural and artificial flavors, artificial color

 

[xfevv]

Cracked one open tonight. Pretty good. Real subtle white chocolate aroma/taste. Not overpowering at all. Only issue, which I figured would happen, is I have zero head retention, but who cares it tastes good

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Cracked one open tonight. Pretty good. Real subtle white chocolate aroma/taste. Not overpowering at all. Only issue, which I figured would happen, is I have zero head retention, but who cares it tastes good

If you didn't know the beer had white chocolate in it would you be able to spot it out? Or do you think you notice because you know it's there and are looking for it?

 

[xfevv]

If you didn't know the beer had white chocolate in it would you be able to spot it out? Or do you think you notice because you know it's there and are looking for it?

You would pick it up for sure.

 

[relaxnrelapsen]

I finally cracked a few of these after bottle conditioning for 20 days at 72F and letting them sit in the fridge for 3 days. During bottling i did several different things as follows:
some got bottled as is with no additions
some got 2 drops of "natures flavors" white chocolate extract
some got 2 drops of that with a drop of lactose disolved in boiled water
some got a few drops of chestnut extract from natures flavors

prior to bottling i cold crashed the beer with gelatin.

the plain wheat has a lovely foamy head, good retention but is a bit sweet on its own. the vanilla undertones are present but not that obvious. i would brew this again with more bittering hops or leave out the crystal or both. this beer would be perhaps a nice backbone for a ginger wheat, given that the ginger would bitter and be a bit spicy.

as for the white chocolate extract: this is an extract in ethanol solution and it is seriously potent. thats why i did 2 tiny drops per 12oz bottle. i wouldn't use this extract again in this brew, it is more floral than white chocolate too me. it has an astringent bite that seems to come from the alcohol base. but it is pleasant, aromatic and bubbly. 2.5units of CO2 was perfect. head retention is great and it is drinkable, just not the white chocolaty taste i would have liked. i am going to let this condition longer and drink them in the summer on a hot afternoon.

the bottles with lactose are subtly sweeter and it doesn't help the artificial quality of the extract, and i prefer lactose in stouts.

the brews with the chestnut are tasty but lacking the right malt backbone. the chestnut brew i plan to make in the future wil be a blond ale with real chestnuts pureed in the mash and roasted chestnuts in the secondary. the extract i used is also from natures flavors but it is a flavor concentrate and best used sparingly too.

conclusion: i will again try the wheat recipe in time for summer but increase the bittering hops, and either do a smaller batch with lemongrass in the boil and ginger in the secondary. an alternative would be drop the crystal and dryhop with elderflower. as for white chocolate, i may have to make my own extract or buy a white chocolate liquer to add at bottling some day.

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

Sorry it didn't turn out as hopes for. But thanks for the detailed summary of it all.

 

[relaxnrelapsen]

thanks, key west. i will report back in summer about how the beer conditioned. right now its tucked away and this recipe is probably going to not evolve, as i've switched to all grain...

 

[aussietrev]

Thought I should chip in here since i make chocolate for a living.
White chocolate does not work the same way dark chocolate dose in beer.
Since there are is cocoa mass ( the dark part ) there is minimal flavour. not the mention that most commercial cocoa butter is deodorized.
deodorized cocoa butter has 0 cocoa flavour. most of the flavour of white chocolate comes the milk and and sugar, I what I would recommend is to get hold of some non deodorized cocoa butter, use lactose to give sweetness and body then a dash of vanilla.

I think that will give more of the flavour you are looking for.
M biggest concern is how much flavour can you get from the cocoa butter? since it is a fat the only thing you get in your beer is some traces of cocoa and alot of residue.

 

[relaxnrelapsen]

Thought I should chip in here since i make chocolate for a living.
White chocolate does not work the same way dark chocolate dose in beer.
Since there are is cocoa mass ( the dark part ) there is minimal flavour. not the mention that most commercial cocoa butter is deodorized.
deodorized cocoa butter has 0 cocoa flavour. most of the flavour of white chocolate comes the milk and and sugar, I what I would recommend is to get hold of some non deodorized cocoa butter, use lactose to give sweetness and body then a dash of vanilla.

I think that will give more of the flavour you are looking for.
M biggest concern is how much flavour can you get from the cocoa butter? since it is a fat the only thing you get in your beer is some traces of cocoa and alot of residue.

right on aussietrev, i too make chocolate as a side job, and know what white chocolate isnt made of! i did a partial batch with lactose and vanilla and it pretty much just tasted sweet. my wheat recipe wasnt the right backbone for this combo as well. i do have cocoa butter, that i've used to make a white chocolate rose truffle that was delicious and unrepeatable because i didnt note my temperature in the recipe. how would you go about adding the cocoa butter? do you think an alcohol extract is an option?

 

[KeyWestBrewing]

I'm no pro but I feel like the fat would still solidify and rise once you put em in the fridge. Unless you made the tincture then put it in the freezer to take it all out. Then see if any flavor carried over into the vodka.