modernlifeisANDY
Well-Known Member
- Recipe Type
- All Grain
- Yeast
- WLP004
- Yeast Starter
- None
- Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter
- None
- Batch Size (Gallons)
- 5
- Original Gravity
- 1.060
- Final Gravity
- 1.016
- Boiling Time (Minutes)
- 60
- IBU
- 28
- Color
- 37 SRM
- Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
- 14 days @ 68
- Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
- Kegged
- Additional Fermentation
- None
- Tasting Notes
- See below.
I made this beer as an attempt to give myself something a little darker and flavorful for the upcoming winter, but my fear is that it won't last much past November! This is a delicious dessert beer - the peppermint flavor is mostly aroma with a tiny kick on the back end complemented well by some hop spice. The beer pours black with a nice half-inch head that laces well and looks like chocolate milk that you've shaken up. Mouthfeel is creamy and thick, with a nice carbonation cushion. I know that a lot of people don't like mint with chocolate or mint with beer, but it's worth it!
Andes Mint Chocolate Stout
8 lbs. Pale 2-Row (UK)
1 lb. Flaked Barley
0.5 lb. Carafa III
0.5 lb. Crystal 40
0.5 lb. Chocolate Malt
0.5 lbs. Rice Hulls
1.75 oz. East Kent Goldings (4.5% AA) 60 min.
4-5 oz. unsweetened cocoa powder (last 5 of the boil)
10 peppermint tea bags (make sure that the brand you use only contains peppermint leaves. Celestial Seasonings is good) added in the last 10 minutes of the boil.
You can optionally add additional tea bags as a "dry hop" of sorts. Some have had success with this method but I haven't tried it myself.
Mashed at 156 for 60 minutes, batch sparge to 6.5 gallons for the boil.
Pitched one vial WLP004 Irish Ale yeast, no starter (definitely make a starter if the yeast isn't super fresh, but mine took it down to 1.016 just fine).
Comments welcome!