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Mexican Chocolate Stout was one of the first beers that Copper Kettle Brewing Company brewed after it opened in Denver, Colorado, in 2011. The beer won gold the same year at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in the Herb and Spice Beer category.
Mexican Chocolate Stout is a dry stout to export strength of around 7 percent ABV. To that they add chile peppers and cinnamon at two stages of the brewing process, along with cacao nibs in the fermented beer.
According to Copper Kettle’s owner and head brewer, Jeremy Gobien, Mexican Chocolate Stout is very sensitive to temperature, and warm storage can deteriorate the spice flavors. So keep it cold and drink it fresh!
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.075
FG: 1.016
IBUs: 50
ABV: 7.5%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
11 lb 4 oz (5.1 kg) 2-row malt
1 lb (454 g) chocolate malt
12 oz (340 g) dextrine malt
12 oz (340 g) crystal malt 77L
12 oz (340 g) roast barley
8 oz (227 g) flaked oats
HOPS AND ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
1 oz (28 g) Warrior [16% AA] at 60 minutes
Spice Addition #1—Steep in whirlpool
½ habanero chile, dried, chopped
4 whole guajillo chiles, dried, chopped
2 whole ancho chiles, dried, chopped
2 oz (57 g) Saigon Cassia Cinnamon chips or sticks
Spice Addition #2—Post Fermentation “Dry Spicing”
¼ habanero chile, dried, chopped
0.5 oz (14 g) Saigon Cassia Cinnamon chips or sticks
1 oz (28 g) cacao nibs
YEAST
White Labs WLP001 California Ale Yeast
DIRECTIONS
Mash at 150°F (65°C) for 60 minutes. Collect the wort and begin a 60-minute boil with a single hops addition for bittering only. Cut up the chile peppers and steep the chile pepper blend and cinnamon chips in a nylon bag in the hot wort for at least 10 minutes after the boil is complete. Ferment using a neutral ale yeast at 68–70°F (20–21°C). When the final gravity is reached, steep the “dry spices” in the fermented beer for 3–5 days.