Montezuma Stout

The idea was to make a beer that tasted like a mocha you might get at the cafe, so I started with a Milk Stout base. From what I read on forums the best way to add cocoa was to use cocoa powder, about 8oz mixed with water, heated to about 180F and added while chilling the wort. As with making a hot cocoa, a mocha, or nearly anything chocolate,... show more

The idea was to make a beer that tasted like a mocha you might get at the cafe, so I started with a Milk Stout base. From what I read on forums the best way to add cocoa was to use cocoa powder, about 8oz mixed with water, heated to about 180F and added while chilling the wort. As with making a hot cocoa, a mocha, or nearly anything chocolate, add some vanilla to smooth out the bitterness of the cocoa. This is where the two split beans at secondary come in. Finally, I wanted to add a coffee flavor without adding the harsh bitterness of coffee and cold pressed coffee is what I found to reduce this the most. Approximately 4oz of cold press will be added at bottling. Hopefully the flavors will balance well, there is kind of a lot going on here. Bottled and took SG 10/1/11: 1.020 show less