Chocolate flavor in Porter

General Homebrew Discussion
1

I just recently joined the AHA after 8 years of brewing. Man, what a great resource for homebrewers, thanks.

I just brewed a Blonde Ale for my daughter, now my son wants a chocolate Porter. Anyone have any good ideas? I have tried cocoa powder  in the boil with mixed results.

This is my first post here, I’m looking forward to hanging out with forum members.  cheers, Mike.

2

Cocoa nibs from a health food store will add great Chocolate flavor.

3

A local micro brewery near me does a chocolate blonde and I swear it tastes like like coco puffs milk, but my wife loves it and swears to drink nothing else (total lie on her part but whatever). They use cocoa nibs as suggested and I think they do it in the boil at the end…

4

Cocoa nibs came up recently in a thread, with a recommendation to create an extract using spirits:

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=9604.0

(I’ve done that with spices with good results.)

5

You want to be sure the cocoa nibs are roasted, otherwise they introduce more of a nutty flavor.  You probably would be best served by using pale chocolate malt or a modest dose of chocolate malt, then add the  nibs if you think it needs it.  I would also brew the porter to have some residual sweetness, through the use of a little light crystal or honey malt.  That would enhance the chocolate flavor.

Maybe find a sweet stout recipe and sub chocolate for roast barley.

6

You could try adding the cocoa powder post boil.  You might even boil some water and add the cocoa powder to that like you were making hot chocolate then add that to the fermenter.  If it were me and I were trying to make a chocolate flavored beer, I think I would want some residual sweetness so I might add some lactose (someone else said use a milk stout recipe, I think that’s a good idea).  Also, I would try to get a creamy mouthfeel, perhaps adding some oats could help accomplish that.

One problem with cocoa is the oil content, not good for head retention.

7

on the oil content. You can find 100% cocoa powder which has 0% fat. Also toasting the nibs, if you use nibs, and then letting them rest on an absorbant material like paper towel or even a brown paper bag will remove a lot of the fat.

8

I use cacao nibs quite commonly in the secondary.  I generally toast them for 15 minutes at 350F, stirring frequently. 4oz/5gallons generally added in the secondary in a mesh bag.  Taste daily and then remove them when I get the flavor profile I desire.  Minimal fuss and mess.  Adding them to the boil kettle may add astringency just like adding coffee to a boil.  I would avoid the powder in the boil as it forms sludge on the bottom of your kettle and adding it to the secondary creates a big mess as it forms nucleation points for the CO2 to leave solution…FOAM OVER!  Nibs produce a cleaner, natural chocolate flavor, IMHO.  You can use lactose to create more of a chocolate milk type porter.  Chocolate or pale chocolate malt will add a nice complementary flavor to the nibs.

For what its worth, I don’t buy into the myth that cacao nibs and coconut affect head retention.  I make a Hawaiian porter frequently with 4oz. of cacao nibs and 1.5lbs of toasted flaked coconut and have a nice thick dense head on my porter reminiscent of an IPA or belgian beer.  My theory is the oil floats on top of the beer and the beer is drawn out from the bottom of the keg.

9

I have use double chocolate vodoka and coco powder with good results. Roasting the coco nibs will help reduce the oil,I roast pecans I use in my porter to reduce both the oil & tannins. If you are worried about head retention use  a little wheat in your grain bill or heading powder at packaging.
Good Luck

10

Chocolate extract

11

Thanks for all the replies.I bought some Madagascar vanilla beans and will be soaking them in vodka. So I was thinking about using some quality cacao nibs, toasting them as suggested, and adding them to the mix.Then adding at bottling/kegging time.The chocolate extract that Denny suggested sounds like a very good idea, but like I said I have the vanilla beans and I like to tinker with things.Also I think the vanilla will enhance the chocolate flavor along with using some chocolate malt. Thanks again, Mike.

12

All those creative ideas above and Denny goes simple  :wink:

Cheers
Casey

13

Not simple, pragmatic

14

Hey, Rogue has won MANY awards for their chocolate beer and they use extract.  Seems like a pretty good endorsement.

15

I prefer cocoa nibs to powder. It adds a nice roasted character and seems “cleaner” in the mouthfeel. Never used extract, but seems like an obvious and simple way to go.