Chocolate Beer

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Over the years, adventurous homebrewers have tried including a wide range of ingredients in their beers, and it's no surprise that chocolate is one of them.

Many beers have a chocolate-like flavor, sometimes because of the addition of barley products such as chocolate malt rather than from the use of chocolate. Some of these beers even include "Chocolate" in the name of the beer; an example is Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout, which is often mistakenly assumed to contain chocolate, but achieves its flavor with malt alone. Because this flavor is easy for an experienced brewer to achieve, very few of the beers with chocolate on the label contain chocolate.

However, a few brewers have tried adding chocolate to beer. Usually it is added to a beer that already has a chocolate flavor, such as a Stout, Porter or Mild.

Brewing with Chocolate

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See the entry on Chocolate for hints on brewing with various types of chocolate.

Competition Styles

The BJCP includes beers brewed with chocolate in its general Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer category. The GABF, however, does include a chocolate-specific style definition (for beers brewed with dark chocolate only).

GABF Style Listings

Chocolate/Cocoa Flavored Beer

5B. Chocolate/Cocoa Flavored Beer
GABF Style Listing (2007)
Chocolate beers use “dark” chocolate or cocoa in any of its forms other than or in addition to hops to create a distinct (ranging from subtle to intense) character. Underhopping allows chocolate to contribute to the flavor profile while not becoming excessively bitter. Beers made with white chocolate should not be entered into this category. The brewer should list the classic or experimental style of the base beer, to allow for accurate judging. Beer entries not accompanied by this information may be at a disadvantage during judging.
Original Gravity (ºPlato): 1.030-1.110 (7.5-27.5 ºPlato)
Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (ºPlato): 1.006-1.030 (1.5-7.5 ºPlato)
Alcohol by Weight (Volume): 2-9.5% (2.5-12%)
Bitterness (IBU): 15-40
Color SRM (EBC): 15-50 (10-100 EBC)
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