Behemoth Brewing Co.’s Chocolate Fish Milk Stout clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.023
IBU = 20 SRM = 41 ABV = 6.6%

Ingredients
7.7 lbs. (3.5 kg) 2-row pale ale malt
1.3 lbs. (0.6 kg) medium crystal malt (65 °L)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) Munich 2 malt (9 °L)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) malted oats
0.66 lb. (0.3 kg) pale caramalt (10 °L)
0.66 lb. (0.3 kg) pale chocolate malt
0.33 lb. (0.15 kg) Bairds chocolate malt (500 °L)
0.33 lb. (0.15 kg) black barley (500 °L)
0.22 lb. (100 g) cocoa powder (0 min.)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) lactose sugar (0 min.)
4.4 lbs. (2 kg) raspberry puree (primary)
1.8 oz. (50 g) vanilla extract (primary)
3.5 oz. (100 g) cocoa nibs (primary)
8 AAU Columbus hops (60 min.) (0.6 oz./17g at 15% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale), White Labs WLP013 (London Ale), LalBrew Nottingham, or an equivalent yeast
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Mashing at a temperature of 154 °F (68 °C) produces a reasonably full body but not so full that it takes away from the drinkability of the beer. Mash for 60 minutes or until converted. Recirculate and sparge with 170 °F (77 °C) water. Boil wort for 60 minutes, adding hops at start of boil and the cocoa powder and lactose in whirlpool.

Chill quickly to 66 °F (19 °C). Be sure that you have plenty of headspace in your fermenter for the raspberry addition. Ferment at 66 °F (19 °C) during active fermentation. When fermentation is about 80% complete, add the raspberry puree, cocoa nibs, and vanilla extract. Raise temperature to 68 °F (20 °C) to ensure raspberry puree ferments out and diacetyl is eliminated. Recommend two weeks at this temperature to ensure yeast are properly finished and flocculated. Bottle or keg and carbonate to 2.4 v/v.

Behemoth Brewing Co.’s Chocolate Fish Milk Stout clone

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.072 FG = 1.023
IBU = 20 SRM = 41 ABV = 6.6%

Ingredients
4.37 lbs. (2 kg) extra light dried malt extract
1.3 lbs. (0.6 kg) medium crystal malt (65 °L)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) Munich 2 malt (9 °L)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) malted oats
0.66 lb. (0.3 kg) pale caramalt (10 °L)
0.66 lb. (0.3 kg) pale chocolate malt
0.33 lb. (0.15 kg) Bairds chocolate malt (500 °L)
0.33 lb. (0.15 kg) black barley (500 °L)
0.22 lb. (100 g) cocoa powder (0 min.)
1.1 lbs. (0.5 kg) lactose sugar (0 min.)
4.4 lbs. (2 kg) raspberry puree (primary)
1.8 oz. (50 g) vanilla extract (primary)
3.5 oz. (100 g) cocoa nibs (primary)
8 AAU Columbus hops (60 min.) (0.6 oz./17g at 15% alpha acids)
Wyeast 1028 (London Ale), White Labs WLP013 (London Ale), LalBrew Nottingham, or an equivalent yeast
2⁄3 cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Use muslin bags for easy removal of the grain. Put the Munich malt and oats in one bag and the rest of the grains in another. Mash the Munich and malted oats in 3 gallons (11.4 L) of water at 154 °F (68 °C) until converted. During the last 10 or so minutes of the mash, add the second bag containing the rest of the crushed grains. Adding this bag later will still deliver all the flavors without risking too much unneeded astringency from the darker malts. Once the mash is complete, remove the bags, draining the liquid without squeezing the bags. Raise temperature to near boiling and slowly stir in half of the dried malt extract (DME). Return to the heat source and raise to boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the beginning, the rest of the DME with 5 minutes remaining, and the cocoa powder and lactose at the end.

Meanwhile, boil and chill about 2.5 gallons (9.5 L) of water so you can add it to the rest of your wort after the boil.

Chill wort quickly to 66 °F (19 °C). Add pre-boiled and chilled water to top up to 5 gallons (19 L). Ferment at 66 °F (19 °C). When fermentation is about 80% complete, add raspberry puree, cocoa nibs, and vanilla extract. While primary will only take a few days, let the beer sit for two full weeks to condition. Raise temperature to 68 °F (20 °C) to ensure raspberry puree ferments out and diacetyl is eliminated. Bottle or keg and carbonate to 2.4 v/v.

Tips For Success:
To create a water chemistry profile similar to that used by Behemoth Brewing, start with a base of reverse osmosis water and make the following additions: 5 g CaCl₂, 2.5 g CaS0₄, and 4 g CaCO₃. For the vanilla addition, feel free to substitute chopped up whole beans; 2–3 beans should be plenty. If using extract, just be sure to use real vanilla and not imitation extract.