Chocolate Stout

[bilgerat]

Winter is on the way, so I am stepping up Stout production, I have just put a Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout clone into the fermenter, 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.

[Bum]

I'd stay away from the topping personally. I've heard of brewers getting good results with cocoa added directly to primary - choc essence would probably be added similarly?

Recently read about a beer that requires a block of chocolate to be added to the mash - doesn't help you much but I'm thinking of giving it a crack myself soon. I wouldn't add any real chocolate to primary as even most dark chocolate in this country has milk solid which supposedly wreak havoc with head retention.

[bilgerat]

The coopers recipe I may well use suggests adding 50ml of chocolate essence after the krausen falls back into the fermenter.

[Bum]

If there's no fermentables to it then I'd agree that's a good time to add it. Actually, it is a small amount anyway so even if there were fermentables it'll be fine. Sounds good to me.

[barrelboy]

Hi, personally I wouldn't go adding chocolate, brew a milk stout, 1 can coopers stout, 250 gm lactose, 1kg dark dry malt, 500 gms soft dark brown sugar, 250 gm roasted barley simmered for 1 hr, 250 gm flaked barley (oat) simmer 30 mins. Strain both into brew. This brew will provide a rich chocolate, semi coffee taste. 4 - 6mths before first taste
Cheers BB

[bilgerat]

The recipe I used was

1.7kg Tin Coopers Stout
1.7kg Tin Thomas Coopers Amber extract
300g chocolate malt steeped for 30mins in 2 litres water at 70C, then sparged.
25g Fuggles hops (I made a seperate hop infusion and then boiled it together with choc malt water for 30mins)
Nottingham Danstar Ale Yeast plus the Coopers yeast, into fermenter @ 22C
Perhaps there is enough chocolate in it with the choc malt.
I will see what it tastes like after a week or so in the fermenter, then may add some choc essence, OG was 1052.