Chocolate Ale - Help Please

[beer4myhorses]

I would like to use an extract kit and make a tasty chocolate ale. What base ale should I use, and what kind of chocolate should I use and what process should I follow to do this? Boulevard Brewery released their Chocolate Ale and I am determined to make one myself that is tasty.
Thanks in advance for your ideas and experience.

[Bugeater]

I would like to use an extract kit and make a tasty chocolate ale. What base ale should I use, and what kind of chocolate should I use and what process should I follow to do this? Boulevard Brewery released their Chocolate Ale and I am determined to make one myself that is tasty.
Thanks in advance for your ideas and experience.

Use whatever base you want. I would go with a simple porter rather than a stout so you don't have the roasted grains competing with the chocolate (though I just had a chocolate Yeti Imperial Stout a few minutes ago that was pretty tasty.) After primary, rack the beer onto about 4 ounces of cocoa nibs and let sit for a week or two. Taste after 4-5 days and every couple days after until the desired amount of chocolate is reached.

Wayne

[beer4myhorses]

I was thinking that actual chocolate syrup was used. What are nibs and do they originate from actual chocolate? Boulevard supposedly uses a local Chocolatier with fine chocolate.

[anday6]

The nibs are what chocolate is made from, just the cocoa, so they add chocolate flavor not chocolate sweetness.

[Blunt]

Most homebrew supply places carry Cocoa Nibs but if your looking for something different than the norm I found a chocolate makers supply place that you can find a assortment of nibs. http://www.chocolatealchemy.com/index.php
Good luck with your chocolate concoction.

[siwelwerd]

I would go with a simple porter rather than a stout so you don't have the roasted grains competing with the chocolate After primary, rack the beer onto about 4 ounces of cocoa nibs and let sit for a week or two. Taste after 4-5 days and every couple days after until the desired amount of chocolate is reached.

+1. I do a chocolate coffee porter when I want something along those lines (the base is a brown porter). One thing I would suggest is to use some pale chocolate (~200L) and some chocolate (~400L) in the malt bill (these can both be steeped). This lends complexity to the chocolate notes, and helps keep it from being one dimensional.

[LocoBrew]

Blvd chocolate ale clone(grain bill from blvd brewer)
82% pale malt
12% Caramel Wheat (briess but I use weyermann)
6% Golden Naked oats
Hops-magnum
yeast-american or english
o.g. 1.083
ibu 20-30

Then i use 1lb of cocoa powder in last 15min boil and try and carry chocolate into fermenter. Ferment. Then add 200gms of nibs for 2 weeks or longer. Try vanilla(3beans) or cinnamon (5gm) to mix it up.

[beer4myhorses]

If I am doing extract brewing, is there any way I can do this, based on the grain bill above? Do I just translate this into LME and DME of the same types you listed?
Thank you for your help!