Barley the Brew Pup's Chocolate Orange Stout
Dessert is defined as the sweet course eaten at the end of a meal. Don't get me wrong, I love dessert (when I have been extra good, the uprights will give me a spent grain treat after dinner), but I thought to myself, "Why does dessert have to be eaten?" The answer: it doesn't have to be! I decided to combine two of my favorite tastes, chocolate and citrus, in a rich, and delicious beer. Introducing my Barley the Brew Pup September recipe: Barley's Chocolate Orange Stout. So grab a bottle of your favorite homebrew, and check out my Chocolate Orange Stout brewing adventure!
The Recipe
- 1 can of Mr. Beer St. Patrick's Irish Stout Brewing Extract
- 1 pack Mr. Beer BrewMax Pale DME
- 1 packet No-Rinse Cleanser
- 3 Medium Size Oranges
- 1 Box of Bakers Unsweetened Chocolate OR 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
The chocolate squares contain natural oils, so they will give your beer more mouthfeel but a lower head retention. The cocoa powder will offer a better head retention, but less mouthfeel. - 1/2 cup Vodka
As always, before we get started, I recommend finding a brewing assistant. An assistant isn't completely necessary for humans, but I hear it makes the process more enjoyable. I like to keep my paws off the hot pots and make this guy do the heavy lifting. I fondly refer to him as the upright, the big guy, or the human. He will pretty much answer to anything. I have him pretty well trained.
Once I have my assistant on board, I assembled all the ingredients. I always take this time to read through the instructions at least once to make sure I have all the equipment and ingredients I need BEFORE we get started. Well, ok... maybe I can't technically read, but the upright has that part figured out, so he reads and collects everything while I watch. Like I said... well trained.
To get started, I had the upright bring 6 cups of fresh water to boil in our brew pot. He then removed the pot from the heat and carefully added the Mr. Beer St. Patrick's Irish Stout brewing extract, the pack of Mr. Beer Pale DME, and the box of Bakers Unsweetened Chocolate (or you can use 1/4 cup of cocoa powder). You'll want to take your time and try not to spill anything or your pup will be lunging for the wonderful gooey mess… I know, because I have tried this several times!
After the big oaf thoroughly mixed the wort (it took a good 4-5 minute of stirring to dissolve the chocolate, so be patient), I instructed him to first fill our keg to the 4 quart mark with cold tap water, and then carefully pour the wort into our already sanitized Mr. Beer Little Brown Keg. Next, he topped off the keg to the two gallon mark with more clean, cold water and aerated the wort with a sanitized brew spoon. Once we took a hydrometer reading and ensured our wort was at proper pitching temperature (around 66°F-68°F), I did the honor of pitching the supplied pack of brewers yeast.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
After we pitched our yeast, we began to prepare the citrus ?avor addition. To begin, my human (the one with opposable thumbs) peeled each orange. I have to keep a close eye on him during this part to make sure he doesn't peel too deep, as the white "pith" will leave bitter and unwanted ?avors in your beer!
He then placed the orange peels into a sanatized mason jar filled with roughly 1/2 cup vodka for 1 week. No matter what size jar you decide to use, you will want to make sure there is enough vodka to completely cover your orange peels.
After one week of fermentation, I commanded the assistant to very carefully add the entire contents of the jar, including the vodka, into our fermenter and let it stand for another 2 weeks. You want to make sure you pour carefully as to not disturb the wort too much!
After the additional 2 weeks (3 weeks fermentation in total) we bottles as normal.
Lastly, and quite possibly the most important step in the ENTIRE brewing process, is once you have tucked your fermenter away in a cool, dark, dry location and washed all of your brewing equipment, you need to sit down and crack open a cold homebrew. Get yourself a brewing journal and jot down any memorable notes from your brew day, as every brew is unique and a great learning experience. Also, while enjoying your homebrew, take a look on MrBeer.Com and start planning your next brew. You have to keep the pipeline going!
