Brownie Beer!

[Valicious]

It's that time again, I'm crafting another crazy recipe. This one is a lower-gravity beer and will taste like oh so much chocolatey goodness!

UPDATED:
For a 5gal batch:
8lbs. Brewer's 6-row
1lb. Munich Malt
1lbs. Caramel 60L
0.25lbs. Caramel 40L
1lb. Victory Malt
0.5lbs. Carapils
3oz Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder
1 vanilla bean (added during secondary)

1oz Perle Hops (60min)

White Labs Cream Ale Yeast Blend WLP080

Suggestions?

[BDawg]

Val-

2 lbs of Crystal 60 might be a bit cloying and overwhelmingly one dimensional in this (ie, too strong of a caramel flavor). I'd cut that in half. Also, Biscuit and Victory malt are pretty close to each other. I'd go with just the Victory and sub in Munich instead of the Biscuit to add maltiness. (I've had great results with Munich and Victory side by side in beers.)

Now, think of any basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Usually, there is some brown sugar and a touch of vanilla in the cookie dough part that contrasts with the chocolate chips. I'd consider throwing in a few vanilla beans (maybe 2 or 3 soaked in vodka to extract the goodness and sanitize i) and a touch of Molasses to appoximate these flavors.

Hops -- I'd consider going with Northern Brewer instead of Cascade. NB has a sort of minty-ish flavor that I think will support the chocolate better than the grapefruity Cascade. Keep the IBUs down in the low-mid 20's.

my .02-
HTH-

[Valicious]

Val-

2 lbs of Crystal 60 might be a bit cloying and overwhelmingly one dimensional in this (ie, too strong of a caramel flavor). I'd cut that in half. Also, Biscuit and Victory malt are pretty close to each other. I'd go with just the Victory and sub in Munich instead of the Biscuit to add maltiness. (I've had great results with Munich and Victory side by side in beers.)

Now, think of any basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Usually, there is some brown sugar and a touch of vanilla in the cookie dough part that contrasts with the chocolate chips. I'd consider throwing in a few vanilla beans (maybe 2 or 3 soaked in vodka to extract the goodness and sanitize i) and a touch of Molasses to appoximate these flavors.

Hops -- I'd consider going with Northern Brewer instead of Cascade. NB has a sort of minty-ish flavor that I think will support the chocolate better than the grapefruity Cascade. Keep the IBUs down in the low-mid 20's.

my .02-
HTH-

Good point on the caramel. I think I'm going to try something wacky, 0.75lb caramel60L and 0.5lb caramel 40L
I like the idea of the vanilla. I'll toss one vanilla bean in the secondary. I know from experience (my caramel vanilla cream ale) that 2 beans results in too strong a vanilla flavor than I want in here.
I have a buttload of hops, but not NB. Any other suggestions? I'll look at hop profiles some more. What do you think about the yeast? I'm leaning towards the WLP080

[BDawg]

What hops do you have? Something more neutral is preferable to citrusy IMHO. Warrior? Magnum? Even Tett or Spalt would be ok, I think.

I've never used 080, but i'm sure it's pretty clean and neutral if it lives up to its Cream Ale name. Should be ok, or use Denny's favorite or 001/1056/US-05 if you have them. Those are all neutral, which is probably what you want for a beer like this.

[Valicious]

What hops do you have? Something more neutral is preferable to citrusy IMHO. Warrior? Magnum? Even Tett or Spalt would be ok, I think.

I've never used 080, but i'm sure it's pretty clean and neutral if it lives up to its Cream Ale name. Should be ok, or use Denny's favorite or 001/1056/US-05 if you have them. Those are all neutral, which is probably what you want for a beer like this.

I was thinking Perle because it's listed as a substitute for NB
Oh god...I have 13 different types...cascade, perle, summit, mt. hood, tettnanger, crystal, czech saaz, us goldings, chinook, fuggles, nugget, columbus, amarillo...nearly 2 pounds of each

I think I misnamed the beer. I want the chocolate to be at the forefront, to be the star...II think Brownie Beer is better

Hmm...Brewmasters Warehouse BrewBuilder (I've lost my faith in Beer Smith, half the ingredients it doesn't have. not even cream ale yeast) says it'll be ~7.34%. I'd like to try for a little lower than that. Should I maybe just cut the 6-row down by two pounds or so?

[LocalBrewer]

What hops do you have? Something more neutral is preferable to citrusy IMHO. Warrior? Magnum? Even Tett or Spalt would be ok, I think.

I've never used 080, but i'm sure it's pretty clean and neutral if it lives up to its Cream Ale name. Should be ok, or use Denny's favorite or 001/1056/US-05 if you have them. Those are all neutral, which is probably what you want for a beer like this.

I was thinking Perle because it's listed as a substitute for NB
Oh god...I have 13 different types...cascade, perle, summit, mt. hood, tettnanger, crystal, czech saaz, us goldings, chinook, fuggles, nugget, columbus, amarillo...nearly 2 pounds of each

I think I misnamed the beer. I want the chocolate to be at the forefront, to be the star...II think Brownie Beer is better

Hmm...Brewmasters Warehouse BrewBuilder (I've lost my faith in Beer Smith, half the ingredients it doesn't have. not even cream ale yeast) says it'll be ~7.34%. I'd like to try for a little lower than that. Should I maybe just cut the 6-row down by two pounds or so?

Hey Val my 2 cents: I agree with Bdawg too much caramel in this. You have to focus on what you want to achive. You say you want the chocolate to be the fourfront of this beer, so you don't want overpowering caramel malts distracting this maybe 1/2 lb to 3/4 lbs of Caramel 60 would be plenty, the Caramel 40 really is not needed. Also think of a chocolate brownie, thick, rich bready. That is what yous should try and make your base of the beer. I would go with half Munich and half 6-row (just curious, why 6row and not 2) for the base of this beer. For specialty I would keep the 1lb of the Victory for that nice bready quality. Hops I would use wilamette, great hop for experimental beers, I use it all the time with great results. For yeast I would use WLP 051 California Ale V or Wyeast 1272 American Ale II yeast. Would be perfect for what you are trying to achive, ferments a little sweeter than Wyeast 1056 or WLP 001. Also I noticed that you are using WLP 080, if this is trying for a creamy type of flavor or finish in the beer I would suggest using lactose or so flaked oats to achive this. This yeast is more for a lager type produces a little sulfur. I really like the idea and good luck with the brew, my reformulation suggestion below.

Cheers

5 Gal Batch
(Calculations from Beer Tools)
75% EFF
SRM 14.56
IBU 21.6
OG 1.053
ABV 5.21%

4lbs 6 Row (or 2 Row) 38.1%
4lbs Munich (10L) 38.1%
1lb Victory 9.5%
1lb Flaked Oats 9.5%
.5 lb Caramel 60 4.8%
1oz Wilamette (4.8 aa) 60 Min
.5oz Wilamette (4.8 aa) 5min
1272 American Ale II or WLP 051 California Ale V

Mash at 152
Ferment at 65

[Evan B]

Why 6 row pale? I'm thinking you should stick to 2 row for this.

[Valicious]

Why 6 row pale? I'm thinking you should stick to 2 row for this.

I was looking at the ratio of base/specialty grains, and it's a bit high. 6-row is described as being able to convert more than just itself. Why 2-row over 6-row?
I was shooting for having a slight taste of caramel in the beer (who doesn't like chocolate and caramel?) I put in as much caramel malts as I did because I was afraid that anything less would be completely masked by the cocoa. Since color doesn't really matter (it's going to be dark no matter what because of the cocoa), what's the difference taste-wise between the levels of caramel malt? Specifically 40L and 60L?
I'm going to be sticking with the hops I have on hand (see list in earlier post), and pearle seems to fit the bill nicely.

Anyone else have feedback on the yeast? The purpose in picking WLP080 was to make it exceptionally smooth while still being an ale, but I certainly am open for suggestions. I'm still a yeast noob. (Jamil, finish your yeast book already!)