BIAB#15 Christmas Ale - Chocolate Orange

[AdyG]

Following a previous thread I started about dark chocolatey but hoppy Christmas ale, I finally got round to brewing it.

Here's the previous thread where it all started: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=61969

Grain Bill:
Maris Otter 5kg
Chocolate Malt 250g
Crystal 150g
Torrified Wheat 110g
Flaked Oats 200g
Flaked Barley 200g
Black Malt 50g
1 tsp Gypsum in mash
1 tsp Epsom at start of boil

Hops:
28g Bobek @ 90 mins
12g Green Bullet @90mins (wanted 40g Bobek but ran out and went for alternative bittering hop)

40g Saaz @30 mins
30g Galena @30 mins

3g Irish Moss @15 mins

Zest of 1 orange @5 mins + 30mins steep
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger @5 mins + 30mins steep
1 crushed cinamon stick @5 mins + 30mins steep
1 tsp grated nutmeg @5 mins + 30mins steep

40g Amarillo @0 mins + 30mins steep

Planned OG 1056
Planned FV 1014

ABV 5.5%
IBU 58.4

Brew Day

I boiled 38l of water the day before and let it rest overnight, also weighed out the grain so I had a head start in the morning:


I mashed at 66 start and after 90 minutes I was still at 65!



The grain bag was drained into a fv, nice and dark... added back to the boiler with grain bag to hold at 76 degrees for 10 minutes:



Nice and prepared, hop weighed out:



The boil is on and first hops added:



Mmmm hoppy



Christmas spices all ready to add, less is more... I did a spiced beer last year and even with little amount the background flavour comes through



Here's the colour of the wort before yeast was pitched, I just ended up using S-04



My actual OG was 1052 not 1056 as planned.

After just over a week in my fermentation cupboard (old fridge!) it's dropped to 1012 and is tasting pretty good. It's got a nice hoppy bitterness to it with chocolatey aftertaste with just a hint of the spices. I could go a bit more hoppy aroma with more orange, so I'm currently thinking about dry hopping with a bit more Amarillo, maybe 40g pureed leaf stirred in for 5-7 days.

Any comment or feedback welcome, or dry hopping and additional spices to fv recommendations greatly received and considered!

[DaveyT]

Looking good! Now might be a good time to add more orange. Fermentation appears to be over so it'll just sit and enjoy itself. The zest of another orange, maybe? I know Floyd did an orange beer a while back. The post might even give hints on how much to add.
I've added flavours after a week (fruit and honey) with positive results.

EDIT: Floyd's beer is here:
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=51644&p=548943&hil ... ge#p548943

David

[AdyG]

Cheers DaveyT! That orange beer in the link looks pretty good too!

I'm going to transfer to my secondary bottling fv tonight, give it a quick taste again and probably add a bit more Amarillo and one more orange zest. As it stands now I'm sure it will make a nice beer so I don't want to over do it and ruin it.

[AnthonyD]

Mmm Chocolate Orange.. It's not Terry's it's AdyG's!

Looks a lovely recipe and a good brewday. I really like the concept of a chocolate organge beer in time for Christmas. I've sure it'll go down a treat.

[AdyG]

Mmm Chocolate Orange.. It's not Terry's it's AdyG's!

Looks a lovely recipe and a good brewday. I really like the concept of a chocolate organge beer in time for Christmas. I've sure it'll go down a treat.

Nah it will never be a proper Terry's! But then that doesn't have alcohol in!

I've just stuck it in the secondary fv and it has a definite orange smell and twang to it, not overpowering though. I think an Amarillo dry hop maybe enough for this one....