Winter Warmer Recipe - Double Chocolate Stout

Now that it's getting colder outside, I tend to crave darker beers.  I consider this beer a winter warmer, designed to warm you up after shoveling the driveway or just getting home from a long day at work.  The flavor is rich and chocolaty, with a bit of spice to kick up the warming effect a little.  The cayenne pepper addition will kick up the heat a bit, but if you don't like spicy things, leave it out.  The original version of this recipe called for a tablespoon, but I have learned a valuable lesson.  In this version, I have cut it back to more tolerable levels.  Remember, the pepper is completely optional, so if you're concerned at all about the spice, this recipe will still make a top-notch double chocolate stout.

After the jump, you'll see both the extract and all-grain options.

Mayan Chocolate Stout – All-grain version

Category: Stout

Subcategory: Sweet Stout

Recipe Type: Extract with grains

Batch Size: 5 gallons

Volume boiled: 6 gallons

Est. OG: 1.061

Est. FG: 1.020

Est. Color: 34.77 SRM

Est. Bitterness: 33 IBU

Est. ABV: 5.4%

Ingredients:

8 lbs Maris Otter Malt

1 lb Chocolate Malt

1 lb Roasted Barley

.5 lb Crystal Malt (80L)

.56 lb Flaked Barley

.28 lb Malto-Dextrin

.14 lbs Brown Sugar

8 oz Cocoa Powder*

1 oz Unsweetened Baking Chocolate*

1.11 oz Fuggle Hops (@4.75%AA) or 5.27 AAU (boiled 60 minutes)

1.11 oz East Kent Goldings (boiled 15 minutes)

1 tsp Irish Moss

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (added to secondary)

1/2 tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper (added to secondary)

Wyeast 1028 London Ale Yeast

Procedure:

Mash the grains at 150 F for 1 hour.  Sparge to a total volume of 6 gallons.  Heat the wort to boiling, and add the Fuggles hops.  Start your timer, and after 45 minutes, add the East Kent Goldings and the Irish Moss.  Continue boiling for 5 minutes, then add the malto-dextrin, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and baking chocolate.  Continue boiling for 10 more minutes, then turn the flame off and cool the wort as quickly as possible.  Place in your fermenter and pitch Wyeast 1028 London Ale Yeast or another good British Ale yeast.  After fermentation slows, rack the beer to a secondary fermenter and add the vanilla and cayenne pepper (optional).  Let rest in secondary for 1-2 weeks, then bottle with ¾ cup of corn sugar.

Mayan Chocolate Stout – Extract version

Ingredients:

Substitute 6 lbs of Light Dry Malt Extract for the Maris Otter Malt and .56 lbs of light crystal malt for the flaked barley. 

Procedure:

Steep the specialty grains while heating your water to 170 F.  Once you hit 170, pull the grains and add the Dry Malt Extract.  Bring to a boil and add the Fuggles hops.  Start your timer, and after 45 minutes, add the East Kent Goldings and the Irish Moss.  Continue boiling for 5 minutes, then add the malto-dextrin, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and baking chocolate.  Continue boiling for 10 more minutes, then turn the flame off and cool the wort as quickly as possible without contaminating it.  Rack to your fermenter and pitch Wyeast 1028 London Ale Yeast or another good British Ale yeast.  After fermentation slows, rack the beer to a secondary fermenter and add the vanilla and cayenne pepper (optional).  Let rest in secondary for 1-2 weeks, then bottle with ¾ cup of corn sugar.