Chocolate Vanilla Imperial Stout

We wanted to feature a wide range of chocolate flavors and complexity in our Chocolate Imperial Stout. To start, we brewed the base beer with an obscene amount of chocolate malts (over 150 lbs) and added oatmeal and crystal malts to lend a sweet caramel malt backbone and smooth, creamy mouthfeel. We add enough hop bitterness to balance the huge malt sweetness and then the real fun began. We knew we couldn’t brew a chocolate stout without real chocolate so we added 25 lbs of TCHO cacao nibs, which added rich flavors of dark chocolate and bittersweet chocolate along with a subtle bitterness. Finally, we add vanilla beans to enhance the chocolate character of the beer and bring out more milk chocolate notes. With so much chocolate in this beer, even Willy Wonka would be proud!