BeerBorg

To quote ( or paraphrase ? ) Spinal Tap
" Its a thin line between clever and stupid"


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An update on some of my reading from the HBT thread. The recipe posted there shows a FG of 1.013, and there has been a number of comments that people have tried the recipe (or a variation of it)and their gravities have stalled at a higher number as compared to the OP's.

I'm almost done with my recipe, but I've messed with some of the settings in BeerSmith and I still come up with a FG of 1.012 or 1.013 also. When I do brew this, I'm going to expect it to finish a little higher though. Which is really no big deal.

By the way...for those of you that are interested, here's the thread on HBT:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f68/dark-ch ... ut-136707/

OK...One more question and I think I'm done.

Mashani and Screwey...both of you suggested the same amount of pure vanilla extract...1 TBSP at bottling. I want this to be a rather chocolatey chocolate stout and am using powdered cocoa in the boil and 3.5 tsp. chocolate extract at bottling to get there. Do you guys think 1 TBSP will give this too much vanilla flavor?

For me dry cocoa powders will add unwanted bitterness to the beer. The chocolate malt is enough to provide the chocolate in the beer, the vanilla will enhance the flavor.

Of course your tastebuds will be the judge at the end of the day, practice makes perfect.

"Chocolate Stout Questions??"

Ok, here's one: Why would anybody drink one of these?

I'm here all night boys, drink up!

I agree with Screwy that Cocoa adds some bitterness. (so do many roasted malts). If I was brewing a dry stout, I would not use it without adjusting my hopping levels a bit. You can get a good amount of chocolate flavor from the chocolate malt + vanilla combo without it.

But in a sweet stout, I personally like the cocoa addition, or even using toasted cocoa nibs - just don't go crazy with it as with anything else.

Kealia wrote:Ok, here's one: Why would anybody drink one of these?

Some of us aren't afraid of the dark

Kealia wrote:"Chocolate Stout Questions??"

Ok, here's one: Why would anybody drink one of these?

I'm here all night boys, drink up!

Well...My wife and I had dinner out and I had a chocolate stout for dessert. And it was awesome.

Plus, I'm getting together with some friends in February and one of the guys LOVES chocolate stouts. So I thought that was two good reasons for making a batch.

BlackDuck wrote:

Kealia wrote:"Chocolate Stout Questions??"

Ok, here's one: Why would anybody drink one of these?

I'm here all night boys, drink up!

Well...My wife and I had dinner out and I had a chocolate stout for dessert. And it was awesome.

Plus, I'm getting together with some friends in February and one of the guys LOVES chocolate stouts. So I thought that was two good reasons for making a batch.

For me it was a curiosity to see how the addition of chocolate malt to my dry stout recipe would change it.

BlackDuck wrote:OK...One more question and I think I'm done.

Mashani and Screwey...both of you suggested the same amount of pure vanilla extract...1 TBSP at bottling. I want this to be a rather chocolatey chocolate stout and am using powdered cocoa in the boil and 3.5 tsp. chocolate extract at bottling to get there. Do you guys think 1 TBSP will give this too much vanilla flavor?

I just noticed this.... 1 TBSP of pure vanilla should not be too much, unless the chocolate extract has vanilla already in it.

When you try the Rum Barrel Vanilla Stout (RBS) I sent, it has 1oz of vanilla bean chopped and soaked in 1 pint of good rum, all that was added to the 10 gallons in the rum barrel. Then when I kegged it, I added 2 TBSP of vanilla extract in the 5 gallon keg.

Mashani...thanks for the re-assurance on the vanilla.

Inky...I know what I'll be drinking tonight. By the way, I had the other one (marked RIS) last night. Pretty darn good stout. Black as night, perfect carbonation, and good roasty flavor. Well done sir!!

BlackDuck wrote:Black as night, perfect carbonation, and good roasty flavor. Well done sir!!

Thanks!

I can only imagine how much Ron will enjoy it.

Hey! I'm not scared. Like I said, one day I may develop a taste for them so I may as well keep tasting good ones to get me there, right?