BeerBorg

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.

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.

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

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.

BradyFumbled wrote: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?

Banjo-guy wrote:

BradyFumbled wrote: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....