The Chocolate Stout was bottled on 08/22/08. I will sample in the next week or  two to check its progress, the worst part about homebrewing is the waiting game!

After taking my first gravity reading (currently at 1.035) from 1.066 original gravity) for the chocolate stout I just had to take a sample and I must pat myself  on the back on this one, it is pure  chocolaty goodness! I was a bit worried about the flavor profile for this  batch as I used  about a 1/4 of a White Labs Irish Ale Yeast (WLP004) due to the vial exploding all over  my hands when I opened  it! (shake gently and open slowly!!) To be sure  of proper yeast cell  count I added the only  yeast I had on hand at the time, the Safale US-05 which is a basic, nutrual ale yeast. Mixing two different yeast should in theory create a funky flavor profile that is not desirable in your beers. Although I may be missing some of the Irish Ale Yeast smokey flavors, the beer tastes great  with a huge chocolate backing. I think I will save  some of these for  the upcoming 2009 Valentine’s Day goodness!

I will update once flocculation is complete and I am ready to bottle, which should be soon. Pics from the brew day have been uploaded here!

Also, just a quick note regarding the self adhesive duct insulation (Frost King) that I wrapped around my 5 gallon mash tun, it worked like a charm! Held the temp steady for an hour with no additional water additions. Highly recommened as a cheap solution to buying a whole new cooler for your mash!

It’s time for me to brew again & this time I will be attempting my first chocolate stout! Should be a perfect recipe just in time for the fall & winter months to come! Here’s the ingredient list:

3 lbs. Dark DME (Dry Malt Extract)

4 lbs. Amber DME

1 lb. Chocolate Malt

1 lb. Roasted Barley

0.5 lb. Black Patent Malt

0.5 lb. Munich Malt

2 oz. Mt. Hood Hops

I will be doing a partial mash for this recipe & I may add more hops to play around with the hopping schedule a bit. Brewing tomorrow 08/09/08 I will post more either during the brewday or shortly afterwards.