Chocolate in Brown Porter

[Banjo-guy]

I would like to add chocolate to my brown porter. It's a 2.5 gallon batch. My LHBS suggested 2 oz. of bakers chocolate added after fermentation. He said to add it to the secondary. I haven't been racking to secondary.

How should I add the chocolate? Do I need to rack to a secondary?
Do you agree with the advice from my LHBS? Should I boil it to sanitize?

I wonder if a brown porter can work with chocolate added.

[Beer-lord]

I've never done one but many recipes I've seen that add chocolate do so the last minute or two of the boil. I've seen 10-12 oz in 5 gallon batches so you could likely go more than 2 oz if you wanted to depending on how much chocolate you like. But, I'd suggest starting low, you can always tweak the next one.

[haerbob3]

the main issue with using chocolate is the fat it will add to the beer. This will effect your foaming and head retention. Chocolate malt works well

[BradyFumbled]

I've had great success with cacao nibs, I found a bag of them at the local natural food store, I've seen them at the LHBS as well. They taste disgusting on their own but give a great chocolate taste to a beer without adding all the fats and oils. I added to a secondary, but you could also toss it into the primary after fermentation is close to complete.

[Banjo-guy]

I've had great success with cacao nibs, I found a bag of them at the local natural food store, I've seen them at the LHBS as well. They taste disgusting on their own but give a great chocolate taste to a beer without adding all the fats and oils. I added to a secondary, but you could also toss it into the primary after fermentation is close to complete.

Thanks for tip about cacao nibs I'll see if I can find them in a health food store. More Beer has them and they had a lot of great feed back for getting chocolate flavor into stouts and porters. It seems you can treat them as you would hops. They can be "dried nibbed "

Do you have an idea how much to use and for how long in the fermenter to get a subtle chocolate taste in 2.5 gallons of Porter?

[BradyFumbled]

I've had great success with cacao nibs, I found a bag of them at the local natural food store, I've seen them at the LHBS as well. They taste disgusting on their own but give a great chocolate taste to a beer without adding all the fats and oils. I added to a secondary, but you could also toss it into the primary after fermentation is close to complete.

Thanks for tip about cacao nibs I'll see if I can find them in a health food store. More Beer has them and they had a lot of great feed back for getting chocolate flavor into stouts and porters. It seems you can treat them as you would hops. They can be "dried nibbed "

Do you have an idea how much to use and for how long in the fermenter to get a subtle chocolate taste in 2.5 gallons of Porter?

For my 2.5 gallon batch of coconut porter I added 3oz. of nubs and found it to be perfect . I've brewed it a few times, the chocolate shines through without being "too much". I'd say anywhere from 2 to 4 ounces, depending on just how "chocolatey" you want it.

Just like dry hopping, nibs go straight from the bag into a hop sack and into the fermenter for a week or two. The longer you leave them in, the stronger the cocoa flavor.... So taste your hydrometer samples. 7-14 days to primary, then add nibs for 7-14 days, depending on the gravity readings and the taste.

You might also consider vanilla beans in the secondary or vanilla extract in the bottling bucket/keg. I've read that it can help emphasize the chocolate flavor. I've yet to try it....