Rocky River Brewing Co.’s Chocolate Jitters
Chocolate Jitters is a combination of Rocky River’s Oompa Loompa Chocolate Stout and Merlin’s Black Magic Coffee Stout. Brewer Matt Cole suggests adding the melted chocolate in the boil, a vanilla bean in the secondary, and to use cold-brewed coffee, which is less acidic than traditionally brewed coffee.
Rocky River Brewing Company: Chocolate Jitters clone recipe
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.071 FG = 1.018
IBU = 21 SRM = 33 ABV = 6.9%
Ingredients
10 lbs. (4.5 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (454 g) Munich malt (20 °L)
1 lb. (454 g) Munich malt (10 °L)
0.75 lb. (340 g) aromatic malt
0.44 lb. (200 g) Weyermann Carafa® III malt (500 °L)
0.44 lb. (200 g) chocolate malt
0.75 lb. (340 g) lactose (60 min.)
3.3 AAU Tettnanger hops (60 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
3.3 AAU Tettnanger hops (30 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
1 AAU Liberty hops (hopback) (0.25 oz./7 g at 4% alpha acids)
2.5 oz. (70 g) Belgian chocolate, melted (0 min.)
1/2 vanilla bean, chopped (secondary)
20 oz. cold brewed Jamaican Blue coffee (at bottling)
Wyeast 1007 (German Ale) or White Labs WLP029 (German Ale/Kölsch) yeast
¾ cup (150 g) dextrose (if priming)
Step by Step
Mash the grains together at 152 °F (67 °C) for 60 minutes. Mash out, vorlauf, and then sparge at 170 °F (77 °C) to collect approximately 7 gallons (26.5 L) wort to boil for 90–120 minutes and have a 5-gallon (19 L) yield. Add hops at the times indicated. Near the end, melt the Belgian chocolate in a double boiler and add at the end of the boil.
Give the wort a vigorous stir to create a whirlpool and let settle for 15 minutes. If you do not have a hopback device, add the Liberty hops in the final 5 minutes of the whirlpool. Cool, aerate, and pitch yeast.
Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Soak the chopped vanilla bean in vodka or neutral spirits for one week. When primary fermentation is finished, transfer the beer into a secondary fermenter and add the chopped vanilla bean plus spirits to the beer. Age for another week. Cold brew 20 oz. (590 mL) of coffee for 24 hours and then add it to your beer. Bottle or keg.
Partial mash option:
Substitute the 2-row pale malt in the all-grain recipe with 6.6 lbs. (3 kg) Coopers unhopped light liquid malt extract. Place crushed malts in a large nylon steeping bag and steep in 5.4 qts. (5.2 L) of water at 150 °F (66 °C) for 30 minutes. Rinse grains with 2 qts. (1.9 L) of water at 170 °F (77 °C). Add water to make 3 gallons (11 L).
