Chicos

[Brewlord]

Guys,

I'm making a chocolate stout using:

1.7kg TCB Wals Stout
600g Dark Malt
400g Maltodextrin
200g malted chocolate grain
24g Fuggles in secondary
24 litres

SG - 1040
Predicted FG - 1014
Predicted IBU - 18.2
Predicted EBC - 44.1

I've got this in IanH's kit & extract spreadsheet V2.2 and it comes out as a English Southern Brown.

I am after a good chocolate taste and was considering adding chicos into my bottles.

What is the best method here? Having searched the forums there are two schools of thought: Either use them as an individual priming drop which adds flavour with limited carbonation OR use them as a priming drop with an addition of priming sugar but reduced in quantity to not over carbonate the bottles?

Either way what quantities would I be looking at? Two chicos OR One chico with about 4g/L of priming sugar perhaps?

I usually bulk prime so either method would suit me. Any thoughts.

Thanks

 

[Mayor of Mildura]

Hello Mate

I have bottle primed with chico's before. I was very surprised that the beer turned out great. The flavour came through and tasted awesome.

However I was less then happy with the left over, sucked out, anemic chico carcasses at the bottom of the bottles. They have a habit of dropping into your glass and they taste like crap if you chomp into one.

So if I was to make another one I wouldn't use them to prime. Instead I'd add them to the primary after the initial ferment. Bit like a chico dry hop I suppose. Then leave for a few days to munch through the sugar and then prime and bottle as per normal.

Cheers

MOM

 

[DUANNE]

ive had pretty much the same experiance as above, primed with them but ended up with some pretty gross tasting chico dead bodies in the bottom of the bottle. i personally wont be doing it again. if what your after a choc flavour then some cocoa powder put in the primary works really well.

 

[Bribie G]

chicos are basically made on gelatine, (edit: used to be an Allens rep and toured the factory during induction) or maybe on agar nowadays to appease the pale scrawny vegan chix who would die if you feed them half a peanut. If you dissolve them first you should get a fining action as well.

 

[Brewlord]

:super: :chug: Well thats sorted that. I guess from those responses I wouldn't be too wise to bottle prime with them. The sight of a dead chico carcass in some of my finest beer-o would be a trifle devastating not to mention bad tasting.

I am liking the suggestion to dissolve a few and add after initial fermentation. As stated previously I had intended to add some hops when I rack after about 7 days so I might add the extra choc flavour when I add the fuggles.

Cheers and thanks for the advice.

 

[O'Henry]

Use chocolate essence. It will give you a very similar flavour. My brew buddy did it, and as soon as I smelt it I said 'chicos!'. It was essence only.

 

[drsmurto]

Allens Chicos Ingredients: Glucose Syrup (Wheat or Corn), Sugar, Thickener (1401 or 1420)(Wheat), Gelatine, Full Cream Milk Powder (Soya Lecithin), Cocoa, Salt, Flavours.

Thickener 1401 = acid treated starch. Mmmmmmm, acid treated starch beer :icon_drool2: :icon_drool2:

 

[Effect]

Thickener 1401 = acid treated starch

If you can get that at coles in the flour/sugar/polenta isle, then I am sure that BribeG has used it, maybe to substitute acid malt B)

 

[Bribie G]

I'll try it after my experiments with tapioca, froot loops and Kipfler potatoes B)

 

[drtomc]

@BG, and here I was messing round with black glutinous rice - I should have taken your route and skipped straight to the packet of Froot Loops, though sorting them by colour would have been a pain as the sorter (4yo daughter) would have eaten half of them.

T.

 

[Swinging Beef]

So many haters.
Boil the little buggers up for 20 minutes or so in a double boiler.
I reckon they would make an awesome addition to a stout.
Dont be too frightened about miscelaneous sweetners and additives... most of them are in such small quantities that you can even use them and still comply to the Reinheitsgebot in its current form.

 

[Brewlord]

So many haters.
Boil the little buggers up for 20 minutes or so in a double boiler.
I reckon they would make an awesome addition to a stout.
Dont be too frightened about miscelaneous sweetners and additives... most of them are in such small quantities that you can even use them and still comply to the Reinheitsgebot in its current form.

Thanks Swinging Beef.

Good plan for using chicos. Got a pack in woolies this morning so will have a go when I rack next monday. I was going to just add them to about 300ml of boiled water and stir until they melt but the double boiler might be worth trying as i wont be adding any more water which may affect my FG.

 

[Brewlord]

Just an update. Racked my stout this morning and added the chicos. Contrary to my previous thought I decided just melt about 80g in a small amount of water. I managed to get a 'chico slurry' (sounds yuk dont it!!!) which was quite sweet and very deep in flavour. There were a few left over 'body parts' but I put it through a small tea strainer. Just an experiment for this batch so I will let you know how I get on. I'll bung it on the recipe DB when I get five minutes to spare. A very simple K&K which hopefully will turn out OK.

:icon_chickcheers:

 

[dcx3]

Prime with them and call it Snowtown stout

 

[Brewlord]

I'm seeing an analogy forming here! LOL

 

[j1gsaw]

I usually drop a handful of chicos in a bottle of vodka... leave for a week, and eat the buggers...with the vok of course.. :icon_drunk: x5