Noob's Chocolate Stout

[BrewerDave]

http://www.abc.net.au/tasmania/stories/s1371205.htm

SIMPLY CHOCOLATE:

* 1 can stout mix
* 1kg can dark dried malt
* 250ml chocolate topping
* 200g dried malt additive (optional)

To make life easier with the dried malt additive, put it in a jug and pour boiling hot water over it and stir to dissolve. If you use water that isn't boiling it will clump into a great big ball that will be next to impossible to dissolve.

Next, add all the ingredients to the fermenter and ferment in the normal way. Unlike most stout, this one is ready to drink at about 3 weeks and has a beautiful creamy head.

Approx F.G. 1020 6% alcohol

Sounds like a pretty easy recipe, and as a fan of chocolate stout, I'm keen to try out this simple recipe. However, I am skeptical, is chocolate topping an ingredient that'd really work well in a beer or am I better off trying to do something with some chocolate malt instead?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tyred]

I made this some time ago. A faint chocolate aroma was evident. Quite a nice stout all up.

 

[vb4me]

Never been a fan of stout myself but that recipe looks interesting. Might be worth experimenting with. I did try a home brewed milky stout a long time ago, wish I could remember what the recipe was as it was a very nice tasting beer.

 

[peas_and_corn]

I made a chocolate porter and I used dark cooking chocolate and chocolate extract. I would recommend you use that instead of chocolate topping, as since you're using it in a stout, it's better to use something with a bit more cocoa in it.

 

[brilinjo]

I was up for a little experimentation, so today I put down:
1.7kg Coopers Stout
1kg Coopers BE2
4 heaped dessertspoons Cadburys Drinking Chocolate powder

It can't possibly go wrong (can it?)

 

[frogman]

I have just put down a Choc Mint Porter

ESB Old Kit
Mikes #20 Brew additive.
500g Belgium mint chip choc.
Simmered for 15 mins.

Smelt fantastic.

We will see what becomes of it in 3 weeks.

FROGMAN.....

 

[Fatgodzilla]

I was up for a little experimentation, so today I put down:
1.7kg Coopers Stout
1kg Coopers BE2
4 heaped dessertspoons Cadburys Drinking Chocolate powder

It can't possibly go wrong (can it?)

Not wrong, just possibly unexpected. Also experimented a bit with the Cadburys DC - its main problem it is more sugar than cocoa. I found it fermented away (in an english ale) leaving almost no chocolate flavour. With the stout it would be interesting to know if you get any residual chocolate taste at all.

I also used it in place of sugar to bottle condition a porter only to find - bottle bombs ! Put abpiy three teaspoons per bottle - gushers !

However - I ended up putting these gushing beers into a keg and after it settled down, they were actually quite good and with a nice chocolately taste. So I'm now planning a porter with cocoa / drinking chocolate into the keg and going that way to get the chocolate flavour I like.

Tell me how you went.

 

[drsmurto]

Was drinking Youngs Double Chocolate Stout last night - wow, thats very chocolate-y!

Recipe i have is AG but the important parts in relation to getting the chocolate flavour in are 100-200g of dark choc (85% cocoa solids) added the last 10 mins of the boil and chocolate essence (from supermarket) adding to secondary.

Back in my kit brewing days i tried chocolate topping, cocoa powder and even a tin of milo! All tasted bad, real bad. And lets not even start with the strawberry topping experiment or crushed jaffas.....

Cheers
DrSMurto

 

[Interloper]

Back in my kit brewing days i tried chocolate topping, cocoa powder and even a tin of milo! All tasted bad, real bad. And lets not even start with the strawberry topping experiment or crushed jaffas.....

Can you recall how much cocoa powder tasted "bad"? I've got a tin of Cascade Chocolate Mahogany Porter that I'd like to choc up a bit and rather than buying some Lindt 85%+ chocolate I'd like to use the cocoa in the cupboard - tight a#se that I am


PS: Dude, Milo? Seriously...Milo?

 

[drsmurto]

My thinking on Milo is that its largely malt extract with chocolate flavouring. I even got in contact with Nestle to get some more details about the potential fermentability of their product.

As for the cocoa, i dont recall exactly but it was probably way too much as it was quite bitter. Probably most of a packet of it....

100g of lindt 85% dark choc isnt expensive, not even for those of us with scottish heritage

 

[Interloper]

My thinking on Milo is that its largely malt extract with chocolate flavouring. I even got in contact with Nestle to get some more details about the potential fermentability of their product.

As for the cocoa, i dont recall exactly but it was probably way too much as it was quite bitter. Probably most of a packet of it....

100g of lindt 85% dark choc isnt expensive, not even for those of us with scottish heritage

Yeah I eat it all the time, $3.45 at coles - so I should just suck it up and buy the 200g block. I am sure that would be superior to my stale cocoa powder

Actually when you put it like that Milo seems logical. Now the strawberry topping on the other hand.....

 

[drsmurto]

Straw topping was horrible!

Chilli beer using birds eyes was painful in both directions.

Milo was bearable but lacked choc flavouring.

Dark choc seems like the obvious way in to me. Just boil it for 5-10 mins and chuck it in.

 

[Interloper]

Chilli beer using birds eyes was painful in both directions.

bahahahahaha!

 

[BrewerDave]

Recipe i have is AG but the important parts in relation to getting the chocolate flavour in are 100-200g of dark choc (85% cocoa solids) added the last 10 mins of the boil and chocolate essence (from supermarket) adding to secondary.

When would be a good time to put the chocolate in a kit brew?

I'm going to GUESS you'd grate the chocolate up and add it with everything else before the hot water goes in to melt it up and mix through.

I'll probably be putting this down tomorrow so I'll see how I go

The recipe will probably be
- Coopers Stout kit
- Coopers Brew Enhancer 2
- kit yeast (yes I know I'm naughty )
- 100-200g? Lindt 85% cocoa chocolate

 

[boingk]

I'd be tempted to do the following:

Cascade Choc-Mohogany Porter tin [or favourite],
1kg liquid chocolate malt,
500g LDME,
200g Lindt 85% Cocoa dark chocolate.

Note to self...

 

[Adric Hunter]

Chilli beer using birds eyes was painful in both directions.

LOL!! Peri-peri beer, a mate in South Africa tried that with similar results ( out on the front lawn with a hose on his arse)!!

 

[chemacky]

I used this recipe, however all the supermarket had at the time was chocolate honeycombe topping... so I thought why the hell not? I also used about 400mls instead of 200mls. I think it came out really well. It was nice and tasty with a good head form a young age, and now it's been bottled for almost a year and it just keeps getting better. I had one last night. What's more, it's good both room temp and cold!

Definitley a good recipe for taste vs effort/money spent.

 

[boingk]

On the topic of chilli beers...I made one last year using extract, 20g PoR @ 60min, 20g Tettnanger @ 15min + 10g @ flameout, and 100g of chopped jalapenos in the boil @ 30min. Jalapenos were strained out while pouring into fermenter. After a month it was quite nice, not spicy but had a good, asiatic feel to it - it went beautifully with mexican or stirfry dishes! I used around 35-3700g LDME in the boil.

Try it sometime, its a good beer but doesn't keep long so maybe only do a half batch.

Cheers - boingk

 

[BrewerDave]

I'd be tempted to do the following:

Cascade Choc-Mohogany Porter tin [or favourite],
1kg liquid chocolate malt,
500g LDME,
200g Lindt 85% Cocoa dark chocolate.

Note to self...

Alright. I'll have a crack at that one . Thanks boingk, I've been wanting to do a porter for a while now.

 

[boingk]

Easy as - I'd replace the yeast with a sachet of S-04 though...the Cascade yeast is pretty cruddy IMHO. I've used US-05 in a porter before however, and it came out quite well with a very clean crisp taste, not as mellow as the same recipe I used S-04 for. If you've got stock Coopers yeast lying around from a previous can of goop I'd use that over the Cascade if you don't want to buy the other. Its up to you!

Cheers - boingk