Choc Raspberry Bourbon Stout....for Christmas

If it works, want my address?

 

I made a chocolate raspberry stout a while back, but I did it a slightly different way. I too used cocoa powder in secondary, but added oak chips that had been soaked in Chambord, plus a little of the Chambord. It came out great. I wish that I had done this in a larger batch than a half gallon. Of all my mini-stout-secondary experiments, that was my favorite.

 

Not skeptical at all. It sounds like it would be an amazing after dinner beer. Good luck in brewing it.

 

Chambord is a raspberry liquor.

 

Sounds sweet!

 

I would switch your chocolate additions.

I'd do the cocoa powder in the boil, and the nibs in the primary, or secondary, or however you plan to do it.

The powder in the boil will be easier to incorporate than in the primary, and the nibs will lend a better chocolate note in the fermenter than they will in the boil. Boiling them will make them taste even more bitter.

 

Yup, exactly. It's also a bit cleaner to rack as well. The cocoa powder will settle out in your primary with the trub and yeast. Then you can move it if you wish, toss in your fruit and bourbon and all that jazz.

 

How stout like are you aiming for? Multiplying by 5 for a 5 gallon batch (easier for me to think about), you will have 5 oz of black malt and 15 oz of chocolate malt. This does not scream STOUT to me at all relative to the ~15.5# of 2 row. Have you considered a little bit of roasted barley? Or upping the black malt? Why the melanoidin?

I would worry about a too sweet beer given the C40 and the raspberries and the chocolate, it might not actually be sweet since any sugar will ferment out, but I think it may come across that way. Maybe think about a little more hops unless you have unusually high alpha goldings.