December 8th Advent # 8 Chocolate Orange Stout

[mthibodeau]

This recipe was for a 6.5 Gal batch, but my gravity was too low so I boiled for 75 mins to get the volume down to 5.5 Gal

2 Tsp Gypsum
13 Lbs 2 row
4.5 lbs Marris Otter
1.25 Lbs Caramel/Crystal 20
1 Lb Flaked Oats
0.75 Lb Roasted Barley
0.5 Lbs Carafa II
0.5 Lb Chocolate Malt

Mashed for 90 Minutes @ 150, strike temp was way too low, ended at 140, needed 4 kettles or boiling water to bring it up to temp

2.25 Oz Magnum (FWH)
1/4 Tsp Irish Moss @ 10 mins
1.5 Oz sweet orange peel @ 5 min
1 Oz Citra @ flame out, steep for 30 mins
1 Oz Nelson Sauvin @ flame out, steep for 30 mins

Pitched 2 packs US-05 and a bottle of clarity ferm once the wort was cooled and aerated

Left for 10 days in Primary @ room temp (21 C)
Transferred to secondary, let sit for a week
Added 8Oz Cocoa nibs and let sit for a week

Bottle Sept 4 with 1 cup corn sugar

OG 1.073
FG 1.013
ABV ~8%
Est. IBU's 92

Also since there was so much potential left I put another 2.5 Gal into the mash, and ran it into a separate pot and boiled with 1 OZ EKG, pitched some US-04, and then split into 2 1 gal carboys for secondary, and hit one with nibs and the other with fresh mint and nibs. ABV on those is 5.4%

[Ervine76]

What a wonderful recipe! I will definitely try this at home as orange is my favorite fruit. You know I add the oranges to my Green energy drinks too. They really enhance the taste of my green drink.

[jmacdonald]

Had this tonight. I got a little sweetness at the end but not sure I could taste the orange. I got that with an orange ginger beer that I made before and had a hard time detecting the orange in it as well. Disappeared quickly and at 8%, that is a dangerous brew! Great Beer!

[Highland Brewer]

Delicious stout. Couldn't pick up the Orange. This one was staring me down for the last week and didn't disappoint. Thanks for sharing.

[pet lion]

Dark, dark, dark. Thin head. Sweet and roasty on the nose. Not picking up much orange. Maybe a hint of citrus sourness. Possibly more pronounced when the beer was fresher. A tasty stout though.

[Highland Brewer]

"Cape Breton Highland Breweries" vintage bottle to boot. Almost forgot to add.

[mthibodeau]

glad one of those made it to the highland brewer. I was sorry to see those go, but I used all the 355ml crown caps I had. Definitely not as much orange as id like, I'll probably try 2 oz next time. I just went off guidance I found for other recipes, and the general concensus was 0.5 oz for a Wit, so I doubled it for a stout, and then added another 0.5 for the imperial stout, and well its still gone

[LiverDance]

Nice stout with a firm bitterness and lots of layered flavors. Great job

[Buccaneer]

I get all kinds of stuff from this: chocolate, roasted malts, a touch of astringents maybe, slight hint (really slight) of orange, sweetness in the middle, alcohol warmth. A tad solventy on the nose. Great lacing.

[Lucas]

I'm not sure whether it's the orange peel or the hops but I definitely get a pleasant hint of citrus in the taste, and I think it is at a level that really works in this beer - it adds a subtle layer of complexity without stealing the show. Very enjoyable beer - thanks!

[BrianMac]

I was leery! But, this stout was awesome! Wished we had more!! Nice bitter & chocolate flavour, hint of sweetness in the finish. Great!

[Halifax_Jeff]

Really enjoyed it, well done

[mumblecrunch]

Like most others I didn't get a whole lot of orange, but I do feel like there was some chocolate notes there smoothing things out. Definitely enjoyed the bitterness, it was very clean. And while there were some hints at the alcohol level I still found it pretty smooth. I'd definitely drink more of this; thanks!

[Woody]

I find the chocolate very subtle given the cocoa nibs and don't pickup any orange. This beer doesn't taste as high alcohol as it is which is great and I get a bit of astringency. Overall good job and thanks for sharing.

[Keith]

Not a big kick of orange in it. But over all a tasty beer. GJ and thanks for sharing. Looking forward to getting into those other 2 stouts you dropped off.
I also cracked that Saison you left me a while back last night. That was one of the better saison's I've had in a long time.

[amartin]

I also didn't really get a lot of orange, but that was fine with me. I liked the pungency that the late citra and nelson sauvin added, I would have never thought of adding those to a stout. Good job!

[ottiscan]

I really liked this stout. Just a hint of orange, it was very nice beverage.

[Broob]

Playing catch up again. Great stout. Didn't get much orange. A bit boozy but I like that in a big beer. Thanks.

[mthibodeau]

thanks everybody

[HappyHopper]

Loved it, not noticing the orange so much as I thought I might but who cares - this was fantastic!