Bitter Chocolate Imperial Stout

5 gallons, extract with grains; OG = 1.070; FG = 1.022; IBU = 45

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. black malt
• 4 oz. chocolate malt
• 4 oz. roasted barley
• 7 lbs. dark dry malt extract
• 2 oz. unsweetened baker's chocolate, broken
• 8 AAU Target hops (1 oz. of 8% alpha acid)
• 4 AAUs Fuggles hops (1 oz. of 4% alpha acid)
• 1 pint starter of English ale yeast (White Labs WLP002 or Wyeast 1968)
• 3/4 cup dry malt extract for priming

Step by Step:

Steep the black and chocolate malts and the roasted barley in 2.5 gallons of cold water. Gradually raise heat to 150° F, hold 30 minutes. Remove grains and rinse them back into the pot with hot water. Stir in dry malt and baker's chocolate, bring to boil. Boil 15 minutes, add Target hops. Boil 45 minutes, add Fuggles hops. Boil 15 minutes, remove from heat, cool 15 minutes. Add to fermenter along with enough chilled, pre-boiled water to make 5.25 gallons. Cool to 70° F, pitch yeast. Seal and ferment for ten days, rack to secondary and age in a cool dark place for a month. Prime with dry malt and bottle. Bottle condition cool and dark for a month or more.