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Notes

I designed this recipe. All grains purchased at Defalco’s. The basis for the malt bill percentages, and other recommendations, were found on the following website: https://www.maltosefalcons.com/tech/formulatingandbrewingwinningchocolateporter. Since my brewing system is currently not big enough and I wanted to produce 10 gallons total, I did two consecutive batches. They will be referred to as "Batch 1" and "Batch 2". Ozarka spring water (10 gal per batch) used. For water chemistry, I used the Brewer's Friend website (http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash-chemistry-and-brewing-water-calculator/?id=T8TX2X0) to come up with the following additions, which were added to the mash: 2 g Gypsum 10 g CaCO3 4 g CaCl2 2 g Epsom Salt 5 g Baking Soda Yeast starter (~1 L x 2) prepared about 3 days before brew day. Refer to 'Yeast Starter Log' spreadsheet. The day before brew day, placed the starters in the refrigerator. The next morning, the liquid was siphoned off except for a layer just above the yeast cake. The starters for each batch were then placed in a fermentation temperature environment until pitching onto the wort later in the day. Batch 1: Heated water to about 172°F to obtain an initial mash temperature of 156°F. Water treatment salts and 5.2 PH Stabilizer was added. No stirring whatsoever during the mash period. The final mash (60 minute) temp was not measured. The sparge water was heated to 190°F+. It took approximately 35 minutes to complete the sparge. Batch 2: Big issues occurred during the mash process for this one. Heated water to 172°F using heat stick only. However, upon transferring to mash cooler and adding the grains (water treatment salts and 5.2 PH Stabilizer was added), the mash temperature was only around 138°F. Lesson learned that the temperature probe can pick up a false reading when in the vicinity of the heat stick; the water temperature in the mash cooler should have been measured before adding the grains. After some time (maybe 30 minutes or so?), one gallon of boiling water was added to bring the mash in order to bring the temperature up. This did not quite get it up to where it needed to be, so the heat stick was inserted into the mash for a short time (a minute or two?). Unfortunately, this may have led to some of the grains being “scorched”. Finally, a mash temperature of 153°F was obtained and held for one hour. The final mash temp was not measured. The sparge water was heated to 200°F+. Like Batch 1, it took approximately 35 minutes to complete the sparge. One observation is that the top of the spent grain bed for Batch 2 was more “sandy” compared to the one for Batch 1. Batch 1: The pre-boil volume and gravity reading was 7.8 (approx.) and 1.040 (???), respectively. The actual boil was for 70 minutes (not 75). Hop bags used except for the Helga hops addition. The brown sugar was added with 30 minutes remaining in the boil. Batch 2: The pre-boil volume and gravity reading was 7.85 (approx.) and 1.046, respectively. The actual boil was for 70 minutes (not 75). Hop bags used except for the Helga hops addition. The brown sugar was added with 30 minutes remaining in the boil. Almost experienced a boil over during the second batch, but caught it before it occurred. Batch 1 & 2: Cooled down using the prechiller setup only to below 80°F in over 30 minutes. About three bags of ice used. Batch 1: OG=1.062 Batch 2: OG=1.065 For each batch, inserted oxygen at 1/8 L per min for about 1.5 minutes after adding the yeast and stored at 65°F. Each one was over the desired fill level in the primary carboy (right at the top of the tape above 5 gal mark). Fermentation for each batch was noticeable by the next morning. A blowoff tube configuration was utilized for the first few days, where it was replaced by the standard air lock. Batch 2 had a much darker krausen layer and had the appearance of a better fermentation. For example, the middle piece of the airlock sat higher in the airlock for Batch 2 (same fill level as Batch 1). Several days before brew day, two 8-oz organic cacao nib packages were purchased from Whole Foods. One was Navitas Mayan Superfood brand (plastic pouch) and the other was TCHO Roasted brand (can). These were split into two jars (one for each batch) and cheap vodka was added just to the top of the bed of nibs. The jars were sealed, stored at 65°F, and shaken every once in a while. After some time, the vodka no longer covered the bed of nibs. Despite this, no more vodka was added to either jar. On 11/28/2016, transferred each batch to secondary and stored at 60°F. Batch 2 seemed to be more smooth with less of the “harsh” finish that was noticed initially for Batch 1. Also, Batch 2 had a bit of roast character to it. The cacao nibs mentioned in the previous paragraph were added to each batch, respectively. The fill level for each one was about as high as it could be (i.e. very minimal head space). Batch 1: OG=1.013 (6.4%) Batch 2: OG=1.010 (7.2%) On 12/13/2016, transferred each batch to a keg (SG = 1.018-1.019) and stored at 34°F with 15-16 psig. Batch 1: OG=1.012 (6.6%) Batch 2: OG=1.010 (7.2%) Bottled on 12/21/2016. Each tasted nice. Batch 1 had more chocolate aroma, but wasn't nearly as smooth in flavor as Batch 2. Batch 1 seemed to have a more body. I got exactly 43 12oz bottles and 3 22oz bombers out of each batch.