Chocolate Stout

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brownegaz

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I am about to make a chocolate stout using Coopers extract kits plus some additional choc malt etc how do people add the chocolate, the recpie I am trying calls for chocolate essence during fermentation however some recipes call for cocoa or chocolate topping to be added during the boil, suggestions welcome.
 
Chocolate nibs also impart a good chocolate flavour. I put them in secondary as you would dry hops. They can work well with coffee beans and vanilla beans.
 
I can speak from experience when I say give the chocolate topping a miss.
 
Toasted cacao nibs give plenty of choc flavour. A blend of good quality cocoa, choc malt and lactose also works if you want a bit of seetness and body but my vote is the nibs. toasted, 3 days in secondary = powerful choc but no extra sweetness etc.
 
Im about to go for a chocolate porter. Using lindt chocolate 85% cocoa would you recommend heating it up adding a bit of vodka to sterlise it so to speak then add to secondary fermenter or simply put in the boil? Id like to achieve a well rounded chocolate flavour to the brew. Any extra info that people have id appreciate.

Regards

Toasted cacao nibs give plenty of choc flavour. A blend of good quality cocoa, choc malt and lactose also works if you want a bit of seetness and body but my vote is the nibs. toasted, 3 days in secondary = powerful choc but no extra sweetness etc.
 
Im about to go for a chocolate porter. Using lindt chocolate 85% cocoa would you recommend heating it up adding a bit of vodka to sterlise it so to speak then add to secondary fermenter or simply put in the boil? Id like to achieve a well rounded chocolate flavour to the brew. Any extra info that people have id appreciate.

Regards


Go with Manticles suggestion. Much better option.
real chocolate does not equate to a well rounded chocolate flavour.
 
Im about to go for a chocolate porter. Using lindt chocolate 85% cocoa would you recommend heating it up adding a bit of vodka to sterlise it so to speak then add to secondary fermenter or simply put in the boil? Id like to achieve a well rounded chocolate flavour to the brew. Any extra info that people have id appreciate.

Regards

I've only ever used high cocoa content choc in a mash, not in a boil. My suggestions above will give a good choc flavour hit.
 
Where do you get cocoa nibs from, I will call into Woolwrths on the way home from work for a look.
 
Toasted cacao nibs give plenty of choc flavour.


I've never thought of toasting them, i just grind to a powder & dry nib or add to the boil - Have you tried both ways? what is the difference?

cheers Ross
 
I've only ever toasted them but just the aroma from toasting is fantastic. A bit like the difference between ground cumin seeds and toasted ground cummin seeds if you know what I mean. House fills up with chocolate aroma. I did a coconut choc porter that used dessicated coconut and cacao nibs - toasted them together and the aroma was divine.

Real easy to burn though.

Anyway my currently conditioning sour choc porter has a magnificent choc flavour after a few days of toasted dry nibbing.

I might try raw versus toasted in just a glass of each and see (ex chef in me would object to raw nibbing a whole batch until I've done a tester).
 
I've only ever toasted them but just the aroma from toasting is fantastic. A bit like the difference between ground cumin seeds and toasted ground cummin seeds if you know what I mean. House fills up with chocolate aroma. I did a coconut choc porter that used dessicated coconut and cacao nibs - toasted them together and the aroma was divine.

Real easy to burn though.

Anyway my currently conditioning sour choc porter has a magnificent choc flavour after a few days of toasted dry nibbing.

I might try raw versus toasted in just a glass of each and see (ex chef in me would object to raw nibbing a whole batch until I've done a tester).
I chucked a whole bag from Ross in 20L of Porter a while back. Dry nib'ed for 4 day's. The result was just a hint of choc in the aftertaste and very smooth. I'll try toast them next time.
 
Im about to go for a chocolate porter. Using lindt chocolate 85% cocoa would you recommend heating it up adding a bit of vodka to sterlise it so to speak then add to secondary fermenter or simply put in the boil? Id like to achieve a well rounded chocolate flavour to the brew. Any extra info that people have id appreciate.

I did a double batch of Oatmeal Stout about 6 weeks back - used one bar of 85% Lindt - no/little choc taste at all really. Not knocking the Stout, it tastes bloody great and very smooth. After tasting it I immediately looked into nibs after seeing them on the CB site previously, might try a Lindt 85% in the brew and dry nib as well next time.

Edit - broke it up in smallish pieces and added them while stirring with the paddle once a really good boil was going - no issues....
 
OK Thanks for all the replies, I will use 100g of cocoa nibs I bought from my local health food shop, ground to a powder and mixed into 500ml of hot water to liquify, allow it to cool a little then pour into the fermenter once the krausen starts to drop back into the fermenter, next time I might use cocoa nibs in the mash instead of in the fermenter.?
 
Cocoa nibs contain a lot of fat, apparently, from memory 95%. My understanding on how to use them (albiet limited) is to dry hop only with nibs.
 
I think you might need to check that figure. As far as I'm aware, the fat content is lower than most nuts, certainly lower than 95%.

Another benefit of toasting is that oils are released so you have the choice of not adding to the brew.
 
Sorry to bring up an old topic, but I'm interested in trying cacao nibs in a robust porter.

Manticle; I note from your post here that you recommend toasting the nibs and adding them to the secondary. My question is :- How much to add for a 23 litre batch and do they need to be ground?

Cheers,

Wally
 
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