Chocolate Milk Stout Hydro

Sample with the stupid thief



I just took a sample for my Milk Stout to get a hydro reading and taste test. I had to use my thief which I hate and now I remember why. First I have to sanitize it and then put the hydrometer in it. Then I can't get the sanitizer to flow out of the bottom because the hydrometer is blocking the hole. Then I have to try to open the lid on the fermenting bucket with one hand while I hold the sanitized thief in the other hand and try to keep it from touching anything. Then I have to get the sample into the thief without getting too much gunk, while making sure I still get enough beer for the hydrometer to float in. Much easier if you have a fermenting bucket with a spigot.
Anyways took the reading and after two weeks its at 1.034. I don't know how many gravity points lactose adds but that still seems kind of high to me. I still plan on leaving it in the fermenter for another week at least. Most likely won't be bottling next weekend because of family things, so it looks like Wednesday the 30th will be bottling day.

I let the sample sit in the freezer for about ten minutes then tasted it. It smelled a little "hot" from the alcohol when I was taking the sample and it tastes of that as well. That's basically all I get. Maybe some chocolate undertones but it could be me just wanting to taste that. I don't think there is anything wrong with this beer, it should mellow over time. I just need to get some more beer going so I can stay out of this one.

Finally brewing again!

I finally brewed a batch of beer on Sunday 11/5. The last batch of beer I brewed before that was July 27th. I have just been really busy with work, and the twins started kindergarden. But my Dad purchased a Mr. Beer kit and has been going crazy. I talked to him about maybe going to the LHBS and he said he wanted to go, so that made me get a recipe together.
I decided on a Chocolate Milk Stout which is a recipe I have been wanted to mess with for a while. I started with the Milk Stout recipe from Brewing Classic Styles and then looked at the Chocolate Milk Stout recipe on www.northernbrewer.com and I made my own. I wanted to do extract for the ease, this time.
I wanted to use cocoa nibs since that is what the northern brewer recipe used. They used to include chocolate extract in that kit but it got lots of negative reviews for tasting like fake chocolate.

Here is the recipe from Beersmith. This was a five gallon batch with about a starting boil of 3 gallons.

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs DME Dark Traditional (Briess) (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract 4 80.0 %
4.0 oz Crystal, Dark (Simpsons) (80.0 SRM) Grain 3 3.3 %
12.0 oz Pale Chocolate (200.0 SRM) Grain 1 10.0 %
8.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 2 6.7 %
2.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 5 26.1 IBUs
1.0 pkg Whitbread Ale (Wyeast Labs #1099) [124.21 ml] Yeast 7 -
1.00 lb Lactose (Boil 0.0 mins) Flavor 6 -

My OG was high at 1.072 but I attribute that to the lactose and it should be right around 5% ABV. I let this ferment a week and then added 4 oz of cocoa nibs in a hop sack. I'm not going to transfer to a secondary but I will leave it in the primary for three weeks total. Two of those with the cocoa nibs.
I also want to make a Jalapeno beer. My dad made the Fire in the Hole Mr. Beer recipe and it got me thinking about the all grain Jalapeno Cream Ale I did last year that was awesome. I also want to do another batch of the Amarillo Face.

It would be nice to get the pipeline going again but with money and time, I don't know if that is going to be possible.