cocoa powder

I want to add some chocolate to the next brew and read that cocoa powder would be best as it has most of the fat reduced (other than fatty nibs). Then I found that most people use low fat cocoa for this but I can't seem to find any fat reduced cocoa powder in any of the big supermarkets?

The only ones I find have 21gr of fat per 100gr serving. Is that too much?

I think you want defatted cocoa powder 1%

https://mydiet-shop.co.uk/cocoa-hot-chocolate/109-defatted-cocoa-powder-100-g-1-fat.html

Hi!
You could make a chocolate essence by steeping cocoa nibs in vodka for a few weeks, and using only the liquid in your brew.

Okay thank you guys. So gutted you can't get it down the shops. I can't do the essence if I want to brew today.


What about chocolate extracts from the shop?

Waitrose does one with Water, Ethanol, Cocoa Extract in it. don't know if it's got any residue fat

found info on the website
http://www.nielsenmassey.co.uk/culinary/products-pure-chocolate-extract.php

0 fat!

I use a good cocoa powder and add it to my mash. On sparging the grain bed will filter out most of the fatty stuff. The boil then separates the rest which just floats to the top. You can just scoop it off. You can also dry hop with cocoa nibs. This will give you an additional chocolate hunt and some roastiness.

So on brewday I used chocolate extract in the boil, but, just like I feared, it didn't add any chocolate flavour (I tried that stuff pure and couldn't taste it!). So I just went ahead to order some defatted powder.

The brew has been fermenting, it is day 9 in the FV today. I had a little try and sg reading two days ago and it didn't taste of chocolate at all (nor was it sweet despite 8% lactose, but I can change that). So... the question is:
What's the best way to use cocoa powder and when?

Could I take some beer (100ml or something), add the cocoa to that, boil it up and then add it to the bottles on bottling day or maybe the last one or two days in the FV (then the cocoa can settle out on the bottom)? How would i get the best flavour into it now?

I used chocolate extract in the boil

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Adding an extract/ tincture to the boil will not work. Boiling and fermentation will cause all the flavour to disappear.
In general, the later you add the flavours to your beer the better they stand out.

nor was it sweet despite 8% lactose

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Lactose isn't sweet really. Brings up the FG and the beer might appear sweeter.
By adding Lactose you find that head on your beer is tighter, more compact. Nearly stout/nitro like.

What's the best way to use cocoa powder and when?

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I think the best way to add chocolate to your brew is in layers.
1) Use chocolate malt in your grist
2) Add Cocoa powder to your mash
3) Dry hop with cocoa nibs
4) Add chocolate tincture at bottling (I have never done this)

Step 1-3 will give your beer fairly decent chocolate flavour. But never the same as in Young's Double Chocolate Stout. I'm sure they add some sort of flavourings to it (?).

How would i get the best flavour into it now?

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I don't think you want to add cocoa powder to the bottle and hope it'll settle out. Sounds messy.

If you really want to add chocolate to your beer in the state it is now, in the FV.
You might want to dry hop with Chocolate nibs and add a chocolate tincture at bottling.
You can make the chocolate tincture yourself. Add to taste don't use the full recipe below :lol:

Chocolate Extract
* 250 ml vodka
* 100 gr cocoa powder (use high quality dark chocolate for the best result)
* Add a vanilla pod to enhance the chocolate flavour (Optional)
1. Place cocoa powder and vodka in a clean glass jar or bottle. Mix well.
2. Leave them in a cool dark cabinet for 6 to 8 weeks or longer.
3. Strain mixture to remove any cocoa powder.

Or get a good tincture online.
I thought I read somewhere that 35ml is about the amount of chocolate tincture to add at bottling.


Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tipps! Well, I've used a lot (not too much) chocolate malts, so covered all my grounds there. I didn't realise boiling the tincture would kill it, so to speak - I thought I read that in a recipe once but could be wrong.

Okay, so I guess I've got a few options: Add chocolate extract (it's the Massey stuff btw, looks expensive but to me doesn't have much taste?) at bottling, and/or adding dissolved cocoa to the FV now.

I think I will have to play around with it and take a sample, add cocoa to that and taste it etc...

Regarding the lactose, well it "is" sweet, not as sweet as sugar of course, but I have also read that when people added more than 10%, the beer became unpleasantly sweet and it seems that a value between 8 and 10% was best. It's always a matter of taste, too, but this beer, so far, doesn't taste at all sweet.

I will update my recipe (chocolate oatmeal stout) in due course when I've played around some more.

Great, let us know how you get on.:

So I added some cocoa when it arrived, which was after primary. Then before bottling I tried it and I didn't think it was very chocolatey at all so I added some more, also some more lactose.

Last night I opened the first bottle and it didn't seem very chocolatey, altough my partner could taste it (maybe I missed the taste after a few sips, you know when you get used to a strong taste you don't taste it anymore). I will try again tonight, lol. It is a very lovely stout, I will post the recipe later.

Has anyone of you noticed chocolate flavour fading?

I've found extended conditioning (6 months) gives a nice chocolatey flavour to my porters even though I didn't use chocloate only chocolate malt. Extended conditioning on my dry stout gave it quite a coffee flavour. Mrs MQ commented she thought I'd brewed some coffee one day when I was drinking a 6 month old dry stout

The only trouble with using cocoa powder is that it is too weak to taste in beer.
If you want a good chocolate flavour/taste use the best quality chocolate that you can find...70%+
You now have to seperate the cocoa from the cocoa butter. This is not hard, but requires a little effort.
Place the 70% choc in a bowl, put the bowl into a saucepan of boiling water and simmer until melted. Turn off the heat and leave alone. The cocoa and the cocoa butter will seperate. Skim off the fat/cocoa butter and disgard. What is left is 100% cocoa. This is totally dissolvable in any liquid. I estimate that you need about 300g per 23li brew, so about 400g of 70% choc is required.
Any Q`s just ask.

johnnyboy1965 said:

The only trouble with using cocoa powder is that it is too weak to taste in beer.
If you want a good chocolate flavour/taste use the best quality chocolate that you can find...70%+
You now have to seperate the cocoa from the cocoa butter. This is not hard, but requires a little effort.
Place the 70% choc in a bowl, put the bowl into a saucepan of boiling water and simmer until melted. Turn off the heat and leave alone. The cocoa and the cocoa butter will seperate. Skim off the fat/cocoa butter and disgard. What is left is 100% cocoa. This is totally dissolvable in any liquid. I estimate that you need about 300g per 23li brew, so about 400g of 70% choc is required.
Any Q`s just ask.

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That is a great idea! I will try that next time. Thanks! Any idea or hint as to how much you would want to add to the wort and at what stage?

edit: just read how much in your post

What about cacao nibs? I've seen a couple of recipes that use them? Do they give off a stronger flavour?