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Brewers have many ingredients to choose from when looking to impart chocolate character into beer, including extracts, chocolate, cocoa powder, chocolate malts, cocoa nibs, and ground roasted cocoa beans. Then there are the questions of when to add them, whether to combine them, and at what rates. We’ll explore those techniques and some of our favorite chocolate beer clones. Plus, brewing the dark side of malts and building a cold room.
BYO’s own Kiev Rattee heads to the local synagogue for a special holiday brew day. He gets the scoop on the
WeBrew homebrew.
As most in the craft beer industry know, not every night is going to be lively in your nanobrewery taproom. But by hosting special events an owner can turn a slow night into a profitable one. Just be sure that you’re thinking it through.
A beer’s final gravity is going to be affected by so many minor decisions and will have a huge impact on the finished beer. Make sure you understand all the nuances as well as tricks brewers can use to control this aspect of their beer.
Most homebrewers know the Charlie Papazian saying, “Relax, don’t worry, have a homebrew.” But many of us don’t necessarily follow that dogma. Denny and Drew want to change that.
I’m presenting a modern homebrew version of this recipe that uses flaked maize rather than a cereal mash, and has some upgraded malt and hops.
A style still often called classic American Pilsner, or CAP, the pre-Prohibition lager has several distinctions that separate it from modern American light lagers. Learn the history of the style and some guidelines to crafting your own CAP.
Is there a good reason that brewers add corn or rice to beer to “dry” it out? Learn the answer to this as well as Mr. Wizard’s favorite way to fine beer, possible causes to a smoky off-flavor, and why distilled water can’t be used to calibrate a pH meter.
A flavorful beer led by chocolate with notes of raspberry supporting. The beer drinks like a chocolate raspberry dessert while retaining all the character and drinkability of a traditional milk stout.
The Replicator heads to the land of the haka and All Blacks rugby to get a recipe for a beer exploding with chocolate flavors from Auckland, New Zealand’s renowned Behemoth Brewing Co.
There is a huge variety of base grains out there that differ by type, barley variety, and maltster practices. These malts make up the majority of your beer, so don’t overlook them.
A cold room is the ultimate temperature-controlled homebrew storage space. When a new garage was being constructed with the intention of having one side dedicated to his homebrewing hobby, Greg Paterson finished it off with a cold room that many pros would be jealous of. Take a look inside this immensely cool build.
We’ve collected chocolate beer clone recipes from six of our favorite breweries. Together, they show just how different chocolate beer recipes can be.
Terrapin’s Moo-Hoo employs a generous addition of lactose sugar along with cocoa nibs from Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Company to recreate the perfect equilibrium of that American favorite, demonstrating that the pairing of dark beers and chocolaty richness can be both endlessly adaptable and enduringly simple.
We recap and share photos from a recent trip BYO’s Publisher and a group of BYO readers took to explore Vermont’s breweries, trails, and fall colors.
Dark, roasted malts contribute color, flavor, head retention qualities, and other benefits. Learn how these malts are made, what types are available and the differences between them, and how to use these malts effectively in your homebrews.
According to our annual reader study, meads are the third most popular beverage to ferment after beer and cider. Dive into the greater world of these fermented honey beverages.
There are at least nine ingredients homebrewers can use to contribute chocolate character to beer and five different times to add them. When considering combinations, that leads to thousands of possibilities. Luckily for you, John Nanci has done the test brews (well, a lot of them, at least). He’s here to share the results with readers.
