# Adding Chocolate To A Porter



## Brend0 (11/4/11)

This is my first attempt at brewing a porter so I am using a modified recipe that I found in Beer Smith.

I want to add some chocolate to the recipe how much should I add and when? and what type of chocolate?


Thanks in advance,
Brendan.


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## razz (11/4/11)

Hi brend0, the only one I've tried is Young's Double Choc Stout, not a porter obviously. Their web site says they use real chocolate and chocolate essence, the bottle I tried said choc essence, so that's what I would start with added after primary fermentation or at bottling/kegging. Try to get some from the supermarket or brew shop. If you do a search some AHB members have added chocolate late in the boil. Good luck!


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## HeavyNova (11/4/11)

I wanted to try a chocolate porter for my next brew too and have read that the Chocolate Essence is the best stuff to use as it doesn't give a nasty cocoa bitterness and it doesn't have the head killing butters that chocolate has. The thing is, I'm stuggling to see a godd place to buy it, has anyone managed to find pure chocolate essence either locally or online?

It can be bought through Amazon, but I wouldn't mind getting it from somewhere closer.


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## manticle (11/4/11)

Brend0 said:


> This is my first attempt at brewing a porter so I am using a modified recipe that I found in Beer Smith.
> 
> I want to add some chocolate to the recipe how much should I add and when? and what type of chocolate?
> 
> ...



I know Ross uses high quality dark chocolate in the mash.

Also look at getting and dry roasting some cacao nibs.


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## Hogan (11/4/11)

I add 20gms of cocoa powder to my 25lts of choc porter, either at the end of the boil or at the end of primary. The only thing that concerns me with this recipe (and only this recipe) is that I get poor head formation and retention. It could be because of the cocoa or maybe the hazelnut essence that I add to the keg. My next porter I will delete both. The choc grain that does into it still gives it an excellent choc flavour.


Cheers, Hoges.


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## Pennywise (11/4/11)

I think with adding choc we'd need to be careful of the milk portion, as the fat in it would surely kill any head. I keep buying 85% lindt stuff to use, but I keep eating it


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## Charst (11/4/11)

check the below link. Pro Brewer who apparently won awards for his choc stout. I followed his mothed of dry hopping onto the chocolate (3 packs 70% lindt) and got a definite deep dark chocolate aroma and bit of flavour but it lacks the sweetness of youngs. next time i'll be bumping up the choc malt in my recipe and the caramal malt too 


http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page...wing-radio-2010

Peter Hoey of Odonata Beer Company in Sacramento joins us to talk about launching a new brewery and gives tips for brewing Saisons, Chocolate Stouts and hoppy beers.


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## Charst (11/4/11)

Charst said:


> check the below link. Pro Brewer who apparently won awards for his choc stout. I followed his mothed of dry hopping onto the chocolate (3 packs 70% lindt) and got a definite deep dark chocolate aroma and bit of flavour but it lacks the sweetness of youngs. next time i'll be bumping up the choc malt in my recipe and the caramal malt too
> 
> 
> http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page...wing-radio-2010
> ...



No issues with head retention.


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## Fourstar (11/4/11)

do a search for my choc hazelnut brown ale.. has all the info you need about using raw cacao nibs and how to roast them.


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## zephon (11/4/11)

Fourstar said:


> do a search for my choc hazelnut brown ale.. has all the info you need about using raw cacao nibs and how to roast them.



I tried searching for this but couldn't find anything on the process you used to roast the raw cacao nibs. A Google search found this:



> The easiest way to roast a small quantity of nibs is in the microwave. For your first trial, place one or two dessert spoons' worth of nibs in a single layer on a plate. Microwave on medium for a few minutes, stopping for a taste-test every 30 seconds or so. The "roast" is finished whenever you're pleased with the result - but you know you're on the right track if your kitchen starts to smell like chocolate cake!
> If you prefer to use a conventional oven, try roasting the nibs for about 15 minutes. Roast for 5 minutes at 150C, then reduce the temperature to 120C for a further 10 minutes or so.



What method did you use?


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## haysie (11/4/11)

Jamieson Brewery did a dairy chocolate beer, had a taste a while ago at a Melbourne Brewers meet, it was very good! Hopefully someone can fill us in with some detail.


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## brett mccluskey (11/4/11)

haysie said:


> Jamieson Brewery did a dairy chocolate beer, had a taste a while ago at a Melbourne Brewers meet, it was very good! Hopefully someone can fill us in with some detail.


Do you mean the chocolate Bock,from 2 years ago ? :icon_drool2:


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## Fourstar (11/4/11)

simma said:


> I tried searching for this but couldn't find anything on the process you used to roast the raw cacao nibs.
> <snip>
> What method did you use?




a aussiehomebrewer search found this... in a nut cacao shell

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...amp;recipe=1188


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## zephon (11/4/11)

Fourstar said:


> a aussiehomebrewer search found this... in a nut cacao shell
> 
> http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...amp;recipe=1188



Thanks! I think I must have tried every other search combination.


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## brett mccluskey (12/4/11)

Drelarnox3 said:


> thx for post/// :angry:


Scammer!! Reported it now


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## Silo Ted (12/4/11)

manticle said:


> Also look at getting and dry roasting some cacao nibs.



What exactly are they, the little seeds inside the big theobroma pod ? 

I like the idea of that over using chocolate, with its added milk solids, fats etc.


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## Fourstar (12/4/11)

Silo Ted said:


> What exactly are they, the little seeds inside the big theobroma pod ?
> 
> I like the idea of that over using chocolate, with its added milk solids, fats etc.




it is cocoa in its purest form, like getting the olives to press your own olive oil. Read my link above, with the raw nibs you MUST roast them as they are a fermented product. Unless you plan on adding funk to your beer. also the flavor transforms from a mild chocolate bitter character to almost like little explosive jewels of dusty cocoa/biscuits. Grind them up, soak em in a white spirit for a couple of days and add everything to your fermenter.

Ive also done a cacao nib 'coffee' shot through my espresso machine. was pretty cool to say the least.


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## manticle (12/4/11)

When I've used them, I've dry toasted in a fry pan. They smell incredible.


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## HeavyNova (12/4/11)

Fourstar said:


> it is cocoa in its purest form...


Thanks Fourstar! I'm going to give these a go for my Choc Porter. I noticed your Choc-Hazelnut Brown Ale recipe used 50g - would you say that that amount (50g) would be suitable for a Choc Porter?


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## Silo Ted (12/4/11)

Fourstar said:


> it is cocoa in its purest form, like getting the olives to press your own olive oil.



I suppose my interest is where in the gourd do these come from - or is it bits of the dried flesh itself ? 

Planning to buy some when next spring hits, they seem reasonably priced if you find a good supplier.


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## manticle (12/4/11)

If wikipedia is to be believed:

"_To make 1 kg (2.2 pounds) of chocolate, about 300 to 600 beans are processed, depending on the desired cocoa content. In a factory, the beans are roasted. Next they are cracked and then de-shelled by a "winnower". The resulting pieces of beans are called nibs. Cocoa nibs are the dry-roasted pieces of the cocoa bean._

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa_bean

That's as much as I know ST.


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## felten (12/4/11)

It's the bean after it has been fermented, dried, cracked and winnowed.


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## wambesi (12/4/11)

I use a pure cocoa powder in my choc coffee porter which came out quite nice.
Being a Coffeesnob (http://www.coffeesnobs.com.au) I buy my green coffee beans from there as well as their very nice cocoas.

Being pure cocoa, there are no extra sweetners, vegetable fats etc added. It also makes a great hot choc or mocha when mixed with some sweetner of your choice.
There are a couple of varieties available on the site, I tend to like the Double Dutch one best.

Pretty sure they had the nibs there too, but they must be out.
Coffeesnobs Beanbay Store


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## Silo Ted (12/4/11)

I used 250g straight cocoa in a poor clone attempt at a Young's double choc stout last year, but honestly can't say it brought a lot to the party. The chocolate malt dominated without question. 

Fourstar, how many grams of nibs did you use for a batch (and what's your batch size)?


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## bum (12/4/11)

Am I missing something or is the link to that recipe already in this thread?


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## HeavyNova (13/4/11)

Silo Ted said:


> I used 250g straight cocoa in a poor clone attempt at a Young's double choc stout last year, but honestly can't say it brought a lot to the party. The chocolate malt dominated without question.
> 
> Fourstar, how many grams of nibs did you use for a batch (and what's your batch size)?


Fourstar's recipe uses 50g of nibs.


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## Fourstar (15/4/11)

Silo Ted said:


> I suppose my interest is where in the gourd do these come from - or is it bits of the dried flesh itself ?



The Nib is simply the seed from a cocoa plant pod like a coffee bean is the seed inside the berry.


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