Homebrew Recipe: Chocolate Stout

I just tapped into my first attempt at a Chocolate Stout. Many of my favorite beers are stouts, yet my track record from brewing stouts is not very good. My stouts have not had as full of a body as they should and tend to have more of a roasted or coffee-like character than what I was shooting for. I brewed this beer at the end of August. The result is one of my better attempts, but my goals still seem elusive.

This beer has excellent head retention, is nearly black in color with tan foam. The highlight is nice chocolate and malt aroma with a background of hops. The flavor profile may need more aging to balance out better and it finishes too bitter for me.

I over-carbonated this beer which makes it seem thin. As I allowed the beer to sit, warm, and release carbonation it began to take on a nice velvety texture in the mouth. I've released mush of the pressure in the keg to reduce the level of carbonation. I am hopeful that this beer will balance out its bitterness a little better by spring. If not, I may use it for a blending experiment with a lightly hopped full bodied dark brown ale.

On a positive note, I had a piece of sweet chocolate while sampling the beer and the combination of flavors was very nice. This would pair very nicely with a sweet dessert as-is!  It just has too much of a lingering bitterness to enjoy on its own for my tastes.

Here's the recipe (all-grain 154° mash):

12lb two-row malted barley
2lb Dingemans Chocolate Malt
1lb Dingemans "Special B"
1lb Flaked Barley (for body and head retention)
1/2lb Malto-Dextrin (for body)
Hops: East Kent Gouldings 1oz 75min, .5oz 60min, .5oz 30min; 1oz. whole Chinook (homegrown) 20min; .1oz Whole Willamette (homegrown) for 15min approx 51 IBUs overall (and I wonder why its bitter)
8oz Cocoa powder

Yeast: SafAle English Ale (dry)

So far here are my ratings:

• Appearance: B • Aroma: B • Taste: C- •

Overall: C-

I'll be sure to keep you up to date on its progress,

-D

Comments

[Dano]

Here's my recipe for chocolate stout. It has won many 1st place. Try it and tinker if you wish. Good luck.
Dano
President of C.A.R.P. BREWERS
Santa Barbara Co., Ca.

SXUL CHOCOLATE

12 lbs. AMERICAN 2-ROW
1 Lb. CRYSTAL 120L
1.5 Lbs CHOCOLATE MALT
1.5 Lbs. CHOCOLATE WHEAT MALT
0.5 Lb. ROASTED BARLEY
0.25 Lb. BLACK PATENT
0.5 Lb. SPECIAL B MALT
0.5 Lb. HONEY MALT
0.5 Lb. FLAKED BARLEY
0.5 Lb. FLAKED ROLLED OATS

MASH AT 152*-154* FOR 90 MIN.

BRING TO BOIL AND ADD:
1 Lb DARK BROWN SUGAR

8 AA - 10 AA BITTERING HOPS 60 MIN.(ANY HOP WILL BE FINE)
NO FINISHING HOPS!
COOL AND PITCH IRISH ALE YEAST.
FERMEENT 7-10 DAYS. RACK TO SECONDARY FOR 1 WEEK.
KEG OR BOTTLE WITH 3/4 CUP CORN SUGAR OR 1.25 CUPS DME
CHEERES
DANO