A Chocolate Lager
Having attempted and failed at brewing a Peanut Butter Cup Porter, I seemed to have a lot of CocoaNibs left over. In fact, the porter only used 0.4 oz of a 14 oz package. And given my lack of brewing success so far here in Germany, I used the inventory that I had and built a recipe for a normal chocolate-flavored lager. Having a good amount of experience in making good lagers, I was hoping to get out of the beer rut I was in.
Most of my beer background in San Francisco was brewing lagers (and mainly wheat beer at that), as I had a cheese cave with just enough space for a carboy. Here in Erfurt, I have a musty basement. The goal in any case is a cool, consistent temperature.
My grain bill consisted of a mix of base grains (Munich, Pale Ale, and Vienna), some grain for color (Carafa II), and a modified grain for body and head (CaraBelge). Furthermore, I have been trying to use the CaraBelge quickly as I had mistakenly purchased it pre-milled, which reduces its shelf-life. Luckily, I have the ability to take the rest of my grains to a local microbrewery and mill them there, and possibly enjoying a beer for my trouble.
An interesting note, one discussed at the local brewery, is that this brew (as well as my IPA) would not be considered “beer” here in Germany. The reason is that the brew includes an ingredient outside of water, grains, hops, and yeast. Because of this, I would theoretically not be able to market or label this brew as “beer” – Reinheitsgebot.
I kept the hop schedule simple, but have landed on a 70 minute boil. Also during this boil, I will be dropping in 0.4 oz of CocoaNibs to impart some chocolate flavor. After fermentation has ended, I will be adding another 0.4 oz to ensure the chocolate flavor is noticeable. Note that chocolate can often impart bitter notes; because of this, I have reduced the amount of hops from a typical 0.4 oz per gallon, to only 0.25 oz in this recipe. I am not looking for a bitter/hoppy lager.
| Grain | Amount |
|---|---|
| Munich | 1.00 lbs |
| Pale Ale | 0.50 lbs |
| Vienna | 0.25 lbs |
| Carafa II | 0.05 lbs |
| CaraBelge | 0.20 lbs |
| Hop | Amount | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Perle | 0.2 oz | 70 min |
| Perle | 0.05 oz | 15 min |
There were really no surprises in this brew day. The only oddity was my start time. I had just got back home from my bakery internship and had too much energy to immediately go to bed, so I started brewing. It worked out perfectly as my nap post-boil was just enough time for the wort to cool before racking into the carboy. I did simplify the morning by using a single-temperature mash schedule; I held the mash at 158°F for one hour, as opposed to having a beta and alpha rest. My brew log consisted of the following:
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 05:30 | Dough in water at 70°F ~ 3 L with grains |
| 06:09 | Added 1 L boiling water – heat until 124°F is reached |
| 06:30 | Turned on burner |
| 06:41 | 158°F |
| 07:14 | 158°F – again |
| 07:42 | Turned on burner – heating to mash out |
| 07:50 | 170°F – Mash out |
| 08:00 | Start Sparge |
| 08:20 | Sparge End – Go to Boil |
| 08:22 | Boil Begins – Add first hops |
| 09:17 | Add add’l hops |
| 09:32 | Boil Ends – Add 0.4 oz CocoaNibs – whirlpool |
| 09:40 | Stopped whirlpool – put in freezer ~ 3 L |
| 13:46 | Racked to carboy – pitched yeast – stored in basement |
| 12:00 (+10 Days) | Add 0.4 oz CocoaNibs |
| 17:00 (+25 Days) | Bottled with 0.7 oz sugar |
As adding the CocoaNibs into the carboy post-fermentation, one does need to be careful when bottling – the chocolate bits kept trying to block my tubing. The fermentation timing worked as expected; this brew performed as expected. I was honestly relieved; I can now point to the top-fermenting yeasts as being my area of opportunity.
I will be attempting this exact same recipe in the coming days, but this time with an ale yeast. I am curious to sample the differences in yeast impacts.
The beer had a nice head and well well-carbonated. The chocolate flavor was noticeable, but not powerful. And the brew was not at all bitter. This is a quaffable beer (although not necessarily a new favorite).
Verdict: successful
