Choctoberfest

5 gallons, partial mash; OG = 1.068; FG = 1.018; 16 IBUs

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. pilsner malt
• 0.5 lb. carapils malt
• 2 lbs. Munich malt
• 0.5 lb. Vienna malt
• 0.5 lb. crystal malt, 60° Lovibond
• 4 lbs. unhopped light dry malt extract
• 1 oz. Tettnanger hops (4% alpha acid): 0.5 oz. for 60 min., 0.5 oz. for 5 min.
• 1 oz. Spalt hops (5% alpha acid): 0.5 oz. for 15 min., 0.5 oz. for 5 min.
• 4 Tbsp. unsweetened ground cocoa
• 1 qt. slurry of Wyeast 2308 (Munich lager) or similar
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step:

Heat 1.75 gal. of water to 166° F, mash in cracked grains. Hold at 154° F for 90 min. Sparge with 2.5 gal. water at 169° F. Add dry malt extract to kettle and bring to a boil. Total boil is 60 min. Add 0.5 oz. Tettnanger hops, boil 45 min. Add 0.5 oz. Spalt hops, boil another 10 min. Add the rest of both hops and the cocoa, boil 5 more min. and turn off the heat. Add to fermenter along with enough pre-boiled and chilled water to make 5.25 gal. Cool to 60° F. Pitch yeast.

Seal and ferment cool (55° to 60° F) for two weeks. Rack to secondary and age cold (40° F) for six to eight weeks. Prime with corn sugar, bottle, and condition at 50° F or below for four months.

All-grain version:

Increase pilsner malt to 8 lbs., mash water to 4 gal., and sparge water to 5 gal. Adjust boiling time to suit your rate of evaporation and maintain the hop schedule as above.

All-extract version:

Omit the pilsner malt, reduce Munich malt to 1 lb. Steep all grains in 2.5 gal. of water at 150° F for 30 min., then remove grains and bring liquid to a boil. Increase malt extract to 6 lbs. and proceed as above.

A note about cocoa:

Cocoa and hot chocolate mix are not the same thing. In this recipe (and elsewhere in your brewing adventures) you only want to use cocoa, that is, the extract of the cocoa bean, not a prepared chocolate containing milk solids, sugars, preservatives, and so forth. Try for the most pure cocoa you can find, unsweetened, unpreserved. A word of caution: Cocoa contains lipids and fats, which reduce foam retention.

Send YOUR favorite recipe to: Recipe Exchange, 5053 Main Street, Suite A, Manchester Center, Vermont 05255 OR e-mail it to: edit@byo.com, Subject: Recipe Submissions. If we publish it, we'll send you a cool BYO gift.