Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout
In Updating the Colorado 6 Pack, I mentioned that I was updating my Homebrew Colorado 6 pack, replacing 3 beers that no longer exist.
The first replacement was T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager vs Ska Mexican Logger. That really turned out well.
Next up ... I want to try to make a beer inspired by another one of my local favorites ... Copper Kettle Mexican Chocolate Stout.
"Dynamic stout with cinnamon, local organic chocolate, and habanero, ancho and guajilo peppers!"
I sat down with one of these beers on my patio to think about how I would design the tribute beer.
I shot for 7% ABV with around 45 IBU and a very dark color. I decided to go with cocoa powder rather than cocoa nibs and since I had lactose, I threw half a pound in.
For spicing, I added Ancho Chile powder and Cayenne Chile powder along with a couple of cinnamon sticks.
I ended up not adding nearly enough, and the end result really just tasted like a chocolate stout or porter.
I enjoyed the chocolate stout quite a bit and decided to make a tincture of 1/2 cup vodka to 1/2 tbsp cayenne and ancho with 2 tbsp cinnamon. Rather than adding to the keg, I kept it around to dose individual pours with.
This way I was able to add to taste "on demand", and didn't have to worry about killing a whole lot of spicy beer.
| Caliente Fuerte --- Batch 1 |
| Style | American Stout | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 7.71 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 70.00 | Boil Time | 60 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.070 SG | Estimated FG | 1.017 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 45.8 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 7.0 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.656 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 37.0 SRM |
|
|||||
| Measured OG: | 1.069 | Measured FG: | 1.017 | ||||
| ADF: | 74.3 | Measured ABV: | 6.9 |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.48 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
| 5.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
| 2.00 g | Epsom Salt (MgSO4) (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
| 11 lbs | Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 4 | 72.1 % | 0.86 gal |
| 1 lbs 8.0 oz | Munich Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 9.8 % | 0.12 gal |
| 12.0 oz | Midnight Wheat Malt (550.0 SRM) | Grain | 6 | 4.9 % | 0.06 gal |
| 8.0 oz | Crystal Dark - 77L (Crisp) (75.0 SRM) | Grain | 7 | 3.3 % | 0.04 gal |
| 8.0 oz | Crystal, Medium (Simpsons) (55.0 SRM) | Grain | 8 | 3.3 % | 0.04 gal |
| 8.0 oz | Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) | Grain | 9 | 3.3 % | 0.04 gal |
| 0.750 oz | Magnum [10.90 %] - First Wort 60.0 min | Hop | 10 | 34.0 IBUs | - |
| 8.0 oz | Milk Sugar (Lactose) [Boil] (0.0 SRM) | Sugar | 11 | 3.3 % | 0.04 gal |
| 0.500 oz | Nugget [15.60 %] - Boil 25.0 min | Hop | 12 | 11.9 IBUs | - |
| 0.50 lb | Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) (Primary) | Flavor | 13 | - | - |
| 1.0 pkg | Irish Ale Yeast (White Labs #WLP004) | Yeast | 14 | - | - |
| 1.00 tsp | Ancho Chile Powder (Primary 5.0 mins) | Spice | 15 | - | - |
| 1.00 tsp | Cayenne Chile Powder (Primary 5.0 mins) | Spice | 16 | - | - |
| 0.50 tsp | Gelatin (Bottling 2.0 days) | Fining | 17 | - | - |
| 2.00 Items | Cinnamon Stick (Bottling 1.0 days) | Spice | 18 | - | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mash In | Add 18.44 qt of water at 163.7 F | 152.0 F | 60 min |
Batch sparge with 2 steps
(Drain mash tun , 4.87gal) of 168.0 F water
Make 6 cup starter a couple days before brew day.
Brewing salts in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=70,Mg=14,Na=21,SO4=72,Cl=91,HCO3=104
Mash and boil as instructed.
Chill as close to 60 degrees as possible.
Add cocoa and spices into primary fermenation.
Keep fermentation cold until signs of fermentation start. Then let go to ambient temperature.
Add to keg with Cinnamon Sticks.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.057 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (7.71 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
10/30/2021 Making starter. 6 cups water. 1.5 cups dme. Lots of Irish ale yeast harvested from Eric's Red. Brew day tomorrow.
10/31/2021 Brewing today. Doing a weird hybrid approach to the equipment. Mashed in my old mash tun. Then, because of the wind, decided to boil in Anvil. Pre-boil gravity was right on, but because the boil-off rate is lower in the Foundry, I am making it a two hour boil. Not sure I'll reach the right OG even with this extended boil. We'll see.
11/1/2021 Ended up at 1.069 OG, which is very good considering the change in process. This morning, the fermentation is going very strong. Looks very chocolatey. Temp strip says 64 degrees this morning.
11/3/2021 After kegging Mr. Awesome, I popped the Tilt into this fermentor. It says 1.017 at 70 degrees. Fermentation seems mostly done, but I'm hoping it will clarify significantly over the next couple weeks.
11/5/2021 Since I put the Tilt in, the gravity has been consistently at 1.017, so I'd say fermentation is done. It still needs quite a bit of clarification. I think the cocoa is still in suspension. I'm really hoping that settles out. I have lots of time before I keg it, so we'll see how it goes.
11/21/2021 Kegged with a couple of cinnamon sticks. 1.017 FG. Sample not as dark in color as I expected. Cocoa doesn't seem to have settled completely, and can taste it. Just a touch of heat. Might want to add more pepper.
11/23/2021 Put into the beer fridge yesterday. Today, I added .5 tsp of gelatin in 1 cup of 180ish degree water. Hoping this will help settle the cocoa powder.
12/5/2021 Have been drinking. Not getting much from the spices. Cocoa might be a bit over what I'd like. Made a tincture of 1/2 cup vodka to 1/2 tbsp cayenne and ancho with 2 tbsp cinnamon. Will use this to dose pours.
2/5/2022 Killed the keg. Been a good beer, but there are changes I will make if I brew this again.