Double Chocolate Espresso Stout" recipe finally done!

[cwiseman77]

Took me a lot of time and research got there in the end. Ingredients ordered, brew day planned for Friday!

Intended Style:Coffee/Chocolate Irish Stout
Batch: 23l
Target OG: 1054
Target FG: 1014
IBU: 49
SRM: 31


3kg light DME
200g Dark Crystal malt (steep @60c for 30 min)
200g Chocolate malt (steep @60c for 30 min)
300g Roasted barley (steep @60c for 30 min)

70g Fuggles (5.7%) 60 mins
30g Fuggles (5.7%) 60 mins

130g chocolate powder 10 mins

300g Brazillian coffee beans (after flameout I'll wait till temp has fallen to optimum extraction temp then add coffee for 4 minutes. Will buy whole beans and freshly grind beforehand)

Yeast: TBC (suggestions welcome)

 

[EskiBrew]

Looks good but your IBUs are a tad on the high side for a stout though :hmm:
I've recently done a porter with chocolate (cocoa) powder - it's got a lovely chocolate smell.
Will be interesting to hear how the coffee addition works out.

Yeast? - I'd use S04 :thumb:

 

[cwiseman77]

Looks good but your IBUs are a tad on the high side for a stout though :hmm:
I've recently done a porter with chocolate (cocoa) powder - it's got a lovely chocolate smell.
Will be interesting to hear how the coffee addition works out.

Yeast? - I'd use S04 :thumb:

That's kind of what I thought but the recipe is loosely based from a Wheeler recipe with IBU of 48. I also do a concentrated boil so always worried I lose a few points, not sure how much, BrewMate doesn't have a function for that.

Any advice for adding the chocolate? I was just thinking 150g of chocolate powder for last 10min of boil. What kind did you use, dark, unsweetened, anything fancy? I'm hesitant to use too much but also want enough so it's not overpowered by the coffee :hmm:

S-04 I have, will go with that :

 

[EskiBrew]

Any advice for adding the chocolate? I was just thinking 150g of chocolate powder for last 10min of boil. What kind did you use, dark, unsweetened, anything fancy? I'm hesitant to use too much but also want enough so it's not overpowered by the coffee :hmm:

I used Bournville cocoa powder (it's 100% cocoa with no sweetners or additives). About the last 5 to 10 mins although probably no real reason to boil it. I used 100g in a 20 litre batch. It does not seem to dissolve readily therefore I reckon most of it was left behind with the trub after the ferment. Here's my brew day post.

 

[cwiseman77]

I used Bournville cocoa powder (it's 100% cocoa with no sweetners or additives). About the last 5 to 10 mins although probably no real reason to boil it. I used 100g in a 20 litre batch. It does not seem to dissolve readily therefore I reckon most of it was left behind with the trub after the ferment. Here's my brew day post.

I might dissolve the chocolate in hot water, making sure to get out all lumps and clumps before adding it. :hmm:

 

[EskiBrew]

I used Bournville cocoa powder (it's 100% cocoa with no sweetners or additives). About the last 5 to 10 mins although probably no real reason to boil it. I used 100g in a 20 litre batch. It does not seem to dissolve readily therefore I reckon most of it was left behind with the trub after the ferment. Here's my brew day post.

I might dissolve the chocolate in hot water, making sure to get out all lumps and clumps before adding it. :hmm:

When I said dissolve, I should probably have said it does not seem to stay in solution readily. It certainly dissolved into the boil quite happily but I found a lot retained in the hop bed and then a lot in the trub after fermentation.

 

[RobWalker]

chocolate powder needs to go through filtering otherwise it will spoil your brew - take it from experience!

if I were you i'd add it in a hop bag, make sure it passes through a proper fine filter at some point. even small lumps mean your beer will be inpalatable...

 

[carl_saint]

I used Bournville cocoa powder (it's 100% cocoa with no sweetners or additives). About the last 5 to 10 mins although probably no real reason to boil it. I used 100g in a 20 litre batch. It does not seem to dissolve readily therefore I reckon most of it was left behind with the trub after the ferment. Here's my brew day post.

I might dissolve the chocolate in hot water, making sure to get out all lumps and clumps before adding it. :hmm:

When I said dissolve, I should probably have said it does not seem to stay in solution readily. It certainly dissolved into the boil quite happily but I found a lot retained in the hop bed and then a lot in the trub after fermentation.

Similar to when I did a chocolate vanilla stout, most seemed to get left behind. Although you can taste the Choc in the end product. Only very slightly though!

Keep us updated with this one. I've got a similar recipe that I will be doing for the autumn!

 

[EskiBrew]

chocolate powder needs to go through filtering otherwise it will spoil your brew - take it from experience!
if I were you i'd add it in a hop bag, make sure it passes through a proper fine filter at some point. even small lumps mean your beer will be inpalatable...

I've definitely not filtered my bourn again stout so can't agree with you there Rob :hmm: The only filtering involved has been the hop bed in the boiler and the beer has come out fine - at least in the cornie, it will be interesting to see how the bottles turn out in TST comp :pray:

When you way chocolate powder, did you use 100% cocoa powder?

 

[cwiseman77]

Hmm...a bit worried now. Maybe I'll chuck it in a grain bag just to be on the safe side

 

[RobWalker]

chocolate powder needs to go through filtering otherwise it will spoil your brew - take it from experience!
if I were you i'd add it in a hop bag, make sure it passes through a proper fine filter at some point. even small lumps mean your beer will be inpalatable...

I've definitely not filtered my bourn again stout so can't agree with you there Rob :hmm: The only filtering involved has been the hop bed in the boiler and the beer has come out fine - at least in the cornie, it will be interesting to see how the bottles turn out in TST comp :pray:

When you way chocolate powder, did you use 100% cocoa powder?

i did, would that be why?

don't get me wrong, i'm just passing on what i can to avoid another disaster!

 

[EskiBrew]

i did, would that be why?
don't get me wrong, i'm just passing on what i can to avoid another disaster!

No, that would be best I'd have thought - I was wondering whether if you'd used something like hot chocolate powder it might cave caused a problem but that obviously wasn't the case... I didn't have any problems with using cocoa and as far as I recall, Vossy had no problems either and we both used cocoa on the same day (the only difference was that Vossy used 150% more than me). :hmm:

 

[alanywiseman.]

I don't think cocoa powder dissolves in water (or milk for that matter). I used it in a imperial stout which is just starting to get good now. I used a whole tub of bournville (OTT I know) in a 23l brew. The cocoa powder did not settle easily and as a result have a lot in the bottles. I have not noticed any off tastes or smells in it and it is now 15 months since it was bottled.

Rob can you describe the off tastes?

 

[cwiseman77]

Been reading up a lot in chocolate adjuncts to beer, apparently chocolate, in some form can be added during mashing, the boil, even "dry hopping" with cocoa nibs. Think I'm going to go down the cocoa powder route. Bought a 250g of bourneville, 100% cocoa powder to day. Going to add about half of that for last 10 minutes of boil. Not got the coffee yet, Morrison's only had 2 whole bean options so will have a wee look in a fancy deli or something and get something nice in the the week.