Chocolate Stout (J)

Cocoa nibs were from Jen

Brewed 5.0 gallons on 2013-07-07

Original gravity: 1.090

Final gravity: 1.028

ABV: 8.1%

Apparent Attenuation: 68.9%

Process notes

2013-07-07

Lost ~gallon when going to fermenter because nibs got stuck in spigot. Next time, put nibs in bag.

2013-07-07

Not sure if OG of 1.090 is accurate as this was remainder of runnings when racking to fermenter.

2013-07-24

Bottled 22, 22oz bottles. Used 3oz corn sugar for priming since only 4 gallons. Aroma is dark roasted chocolate, coffee. Flavor is better dark chocolate, bitter finish.

Boil for 60 minutes

At 60 minutes

1 ounce of 16% Alpha Acid Warrior pellets

At 25 minutes

1.25 ounces of 5% Alpha Acid Willamette pellets

At 15 minutes

1 pound of Lactose

At 5 minutes

1.75 ounces of 5% Alpha Acid Willamette pellets

At 0 minutes

8 ounces of Valrhona Grue De Cacao Cocoa Nibs (dumped straight into kettle)

Mash

[68.42%] 13 pounds of Maris Otter (BairdsMalt)

[7.89%] 1 pound 8 ounces of Flaked Oats (Briess)

[7.89%] 1 pound 8 ounces of Flaked Wheat

[5.26%] 1 pound of Chocolate Malt (Briess)

[3.95%] 12 ounces of Black Roasted Barley (Briess)

[2.63%] 8 ounces of Caramel 120L (Briess)

[2.63%] 8 ounces of Carafa Special II (Weyermann)

[1.32%] 4 ounces of Special B (DingemansMalting)

Single infusion mash. Mashed with 6 gallons (1.50 quarts per pound) of tap water for 60 minutes. 16lb of grain was used in the mash.

Strike water temp: (0.2/1.50) * (154 - 72) + 154 = 164.9

Sparge

Sparged for 60 minutes with 4 gallons of 170° tap water. (Adding specialty grains after mashing didn't seem to be a problem.)

Yeast

2013-07-07

Pitch 2 packs of 1056 American Ale (Wyeast) at 65°. (Warmed up to room temp and pitched directly into wort.)

Tasting notes (7.00/10; 2 ratings)

2013-07-31

[8/10] First bottle. Some carbonation, dark brown head, slight lacing. Aroma is subtle dark roasted chocolate, taste is bitter chocolate. Subtle hops, bitter chocolate finish. No hot alcohol flavor or aroma. Dry finish, thick mouthfeel, seems decently balanced.

2014-02-14

Chocolate flavor and aroma has dropped off. Not bad, roasted, dark caramel flavors, but chocolate was more pronounced earlier on (months ago).

2014-03-09

Slight chocolate aroma, smells a bit like molasses as well. Bitter, roasted flavor, bitter finish.

2014-04-21

Dark bitter chocolate. Coffee notes. The beer is still good.

2024-08-03

[6/10] I had one last, 22oz bottle of this that I brought to Harry's 40th Anniversary of Homebrewing. Surprisingly, this held up pretty well at eleven years old. The chocolate had faded and there was definitely some oxidation, but nothing more than could be expected. Medium body, slight cardboard, some dark fruit, and some roast comes through.