Brewing With Cocoa

[wambesi]

Righto - I can't find "unsweetened" or "low fat" cocoa or anything....all i've been able to procure is "bakers cocoa". Ingredients: cocoa.

I have only used pure unsweetened cocoa myself with very good results, I threw it in the kettle 5mins prior to flameout if I recall correctly.

Head over to coffeesnobs.com.au and check out the beanbay section for some pure cocoas, I am rather fond of the double dutch - make a very nice hot chocolate / mocha base as well when you adjust it with caster sugar to your own liking.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Hate to put a downer on all the chocolate talk but something of relevance to the OP has been missed I think....

Take this bit snipped from the original post - with references to chocolate removed

Its a moderate 1056OG 23.5L batch with Safale S-04 rehydrated yeast (I rarely use this yeast so have not much experience with it). In tasting the wort, the ***** flavour is just amazing, but it appears stuck on 1022.

hmmm - a moderate strength ale brewed with S-04 that seems to be stuck on 1.022. Let me think, have I heard of this happening before?

Bump the temps by a degree per day till you hit the high end of the recommended range, swirl the fermenter a couple of times a day while you are at it and maybe if things get dire, pitch a bit of new yeast from an actively fermenting starter. Me thinks that your issue has little or nothing to do with the chocolate, and a lot to do with the fact that S-04 is notorious for getting stuck at about 1.020-1.022.

Of course wit the lactose in there its going to finish pretty high anyway... so it could just be done too.

TB

 

[Lecterfan]

Hate to put a downer on all the chocolate talk but something of relevance to the OP has been missed I think....

Yes, sorry to wander OT but I just resurrected this old thread to ask a cocoa question lest I start a new thread and be condemned for not having adequate searching skills. Obvously I still have a ways to go in learning the etiquette.

Cheers.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

gah - my bad... missed that it was a dredged up thread. Sorry

 

[Dribs]

Right-e-oh, I just got 375g of of Homebrand cocoa. It is 21.6% fat (of which 13.5% is saturated fat). There was no low fat option available.

I'm thinking of a 23L stout/dark toucan with 500g of DDME and 500g of rich brown sugar. In regards to head retention, would the 375g be ok with that recipe? Would adding another 500g of malt help give it head? OR, would using say 180g of this seemly high fat cocoa powder be the best option?