Add chocolate to a M.Y.O stout kit?

[Kingtj64]

Hi,
I have a M.Y.O stout kit (from the Range)
I would like to make this a chocolate stout. I found an old post after a goggle search where the guy used 85% chocolate & 250grams of lactose. Which he boiled in a few litres of the wort (to sterilise it) and added that to give a chocolate stout.

Any thoughts?

 

[Kingtj64]

So I guess NO one has an opinion on this?

Right I was incorrect the guy used 200g of lactose.

This is the thread.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/how-do-i-chocolate-a-stout-kit.19523/

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I have made a chocolate stout with a Range kit. I added 200g of cocoa nibs to the 2FV and left for 14 days. I added 200g lactose to the primary with the kit.

 

[Slid]

I think that getting the chocolate to melt properly is your main issue. There is a David Heath Video on (I think) a Belgian Quadrupel recipe in which he takes wort from the boil and uses it to gradually melt the chocolate and dissolve it into the wort. So, you could make up the kit as per usual, except that you use the hot water addition to dissolve the chocolate in to make sure it is properly dispersed through the wort, before adding in the cold water and the yeast. The lactose will just dissolve OK.

 

[Clint]

The fat in the chocolate can cause head retention issues. I done a choccy stout with nibs and lactose and there wasn't much head on it. I would also add...do you like 40 pints of chocolate stout? A few pints might be ok but I was sick of it after a while.

 

[GhostShip]

I did a chocolate coffee stout using the St Peter’s kit. I used cocoa nibs from Tesco. The chocolate is there, but it’s very subtle, though that may just be because the coffee is quite strong. It’s a beautiful drink and I still have around 12 bottles left for the winter.

 

[G-Town Brewer]

You could also steep some chocolate malt. I did this with a coopers stout kit and it turned out very nice indeed.
I put a video up on YouTube if you're interested:

https://youtu.be/tddclso9WcM