All Grain Recipe: #28 Jamil's Chocolate Hazelnut Porter

Another damn infection!

Okay, I wanted to create some beers for Thanksgiving. Something holiday-ish but not necessarily 'holiday' or "christmas" beers. I decided to go with a chocolate hazelnut porter and a witbier - both are spiced, but not 'holiday' spiced. The porter would be the more interesting one, while the witbier would be for family with less adventurous palates.

I retired my Mr. Beer kegs for this batch, and have moved entirely to Better Bottles. I picked up an extra one at HopTech in Dublin while mashing.

The recipe calls for baking cocoa added at the end of the boil. This turned out to be difficult, and it didn't distribute evenly until it boiled for a while (even then it was chunky). It sunk to the bottom of the fermenter. During fermentation, the cocoa all went up to the top with the krausen. It was all very strange and made me uncomfortable. If I were to make another chocolate beer, I'd stick with cocoa nibs or chocolate extract!

True to my word, I didn't repitch yeast. I used a fresh vial of WLP001, but with no starter. After a month in primary, the FG was insanely high - 1.028. Even given the amount of specialty malt, the attenuation was way too low, about 57%. Out of fear that I'd get bottle bombs, I bottled these all in 1 liter PETs, which would bend instead of exploding if fermentation started up again in the bottle.

After 3 weeks in the bottle, carbonation was perfect, but the flavor was... off. Ashy, like a freshly burned candle or incense. Unpleasant, and the hazelnut and chocolate just made it worse.

One more week, and suddenly all of my bottles were bulging. Opening the bottles led to a fountain of beer.

Okay, so I did have underattenuation, which led to fermentation in the bottle. No big deal, right? Just let off pressure until the CO2 level hits the right amount, then drink. The problem is that the flavor got worse instead of better, and no amount of pressure relief led to a proper amount of CO2. I believe there was an infection that didn't manifest itself until after the beer was bottled.

After I realized it was likely an infection, I poured everything out. Yet another failure; I'm starting to get discouraged.

Anyway, as usual the recipes are after the break.


Here's my 3 gallon recipe, followed by the Brewing Classic Styles 6 gallon recipe.

Chocolate Hazelnut Porter

Robust Porter

Type: All Grain	Date: 9/25/2011
Batch Size (fermenter): 12.000 qt	Brewer: Ben Barcellos
Boil Size: 17.693 qt	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Brew Pot, Full Boil All Grain (5 Gallon, High Efficiency)
End of Boil Volume 12.481 qt	Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 8.500 qt	Est Mash Efficiency 80.0 %
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 3.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 1 - 1.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 mins) Water Agent 2 - 4 lbs 12.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 3 66.6 % 12.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4 10.5 % 8.0 oz Crystal/Caramel Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 5 7.0 % 6.0 oz Chocolate Malt (UK) (450.0 SRM) Grain 6 5.3 % 5.0 oz Crystal/Caramel Malt - 75L (75.0 SRM) Grain 7 4.4 % 4.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (565.0 SRM) Grain 8 3.5 % 3.0 oz Crystal/Caramel Malt - British 70/80L (75.0 SRM) Grain 9 2.7 % 3.00 g Calcium Chloride (Boil 90.0 mins) Water Agent 10 - 17.00 g Northern Brewer (US) [8.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 11 39.4 IBUs 0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 12 - 0.25 tsp Wyeast Nutrient Blend (Boil 10.0 mins) Other 13 - 0.25 lb Cocoa Powder (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice 14 - 1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.00 ml] Yeast 15 - 8.50 ml Hazelnut Extract (Bottling 5.0 mins) Flavor 16 -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.068 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.068 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.016 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.028 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.7 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.3 %
Bitterness: 31.4 IBUs	Calories: 236.5 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 41.6 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body	Total Grain Weight: 7 lbs 2.1 oz
Sparge Water: 10.274 qt	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 10.699 qt of water at 166.4 F 154.0 F 90 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 10.274 qt water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Bottle	Volumes of CO2: 2.0
Pressure/Weight: 38.91 g	Carbonation Used: Bottle with 38.91 g Corn Sugar
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 73.3 F	Age for: 28.00 days
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Storage Temperature: 70.0 F
Notes

Chocolate Hazelnut Porter

Robust Porter

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/13/2011
Batch Size (fermenter): 24.000 qt	Brewer: Jamil Zainasheff
Boil Size: 28.571 qt	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Brew Pot (6+gal) and Igloo/Gott Cooler (5 Gal)
End of Boil Volume 26.000 qt	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 24.000 qt	Est Mash Efficiency 72.9 %
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Ingredients Amt Name Type # %/IBU 11 lbs 6.4 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 70.6 % 1 lbs 8.0 oz Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 2 9.3 % 1 lbs Crystal/Caramel Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 3 6.2 % 1 lbs Crystal/Caramel Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.2 % 12.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.6 % 8.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (565.0 SRM) Grain 6 3.1 % 35.00 g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 7 23.4 IBUs 23.00 g Willamette [5.00 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 8 7.8 IBUs 23.00 g Willamette [5.00 %] - Boil 15.0 min Hop 9 4.1 IBUs 11.00 g Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 10 0.0 IBUs 11.00 g Willamette [5.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 11 0.0 IBUs 0.50 lb Cocoa Powder (Boil 0.0 mins) Spice 12 - 1.0 pkg California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35.00 ml] Yeast 13 - 0.50 oz Hazelnut Extract (Bottling 5.0 mins) Flavor 14 -
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.067 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.066 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.018 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.019 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 6.4 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 6.2 %
Bitterness: 31.8 IBUs	Calories: 225.1 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 38.0 SRM
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body	Total Grain Weight: 16 lbs 2.4 oz
Sparge Water: 12.775 qt	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	Tun Temperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: TRUE	Mash PH: 5.20
Mash Steps Name Description Step Temperature Step Time Mash In Add 24.225 qt of water at 168.2 F 156.0 F 60 min
Sparge Step: Fly sparge with 12.775 qt water at 168.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Bottle	Volumes of CO2: 2.0
Pressure/Weight: 106.24 g	Carbonation Used: Bottle with 106.24 g Corn Sugar
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 70.0 F	Age for: 28.00 days
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Storage Temperature: 70.0 F
Notes
I began entering competitions to get objective feedback on my beers. Winning a medal was nice but not nearly as valuable as getting solid feedback on my brewing process. But I must admit, the first time one of my beers won Best of Show, I was elated. This recipe is the first Best of Show I ever brewed. If I were to create the recipe from scratch today, I would eliminate the later hop additions and only go with the boiling hops. It is important to use a low-fat, unsweetened cocoa powder. Add it at the end of the boil to sanitize it and to help it mix thoroughly in the wort. In the fermenter it will look like chocolate sludge, but that is OK. The longer you can let the beer sit on that chocolate sludge, the more chocolate flavor and aroma you will extract. Try to give it at least 10 days, but feel free to adjust the time based on taste. Hazelnut is not an extract you should make yourself. You should be able to find it at your local homebrew shop or grocery store. Add the hazelnut extract at bottling or kegging time. Typically, it takes about 0.5 oz. (15 ml) of hazelnut extract for 5 gallons of porter, but start with half that amount and see how it comes across before adding the full amount. Each brand of hazelnut extract has a different level of intensity, so you will need to taste the beer before you add the entire amount. Yeast options are White Labs WLP001, Wyeast 1056 or Safale US-05.
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