Chocolate taste to a beer?

[yashicamat]

I was drinking a local beer last night which was a copper coloured ale, but had this fantastic chocolate like aftertaste, borderline on maybe a touch roasty? Didn't seem to have a bitter aftertaste like roasted often gives in a stout though. I've also had this flavour from Thornbridge Ashford.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be giving this flavour? It's very smooth and tasty and the "transatlantic brown ale" I made used some chocolate malt and crystal malt to try and get this flavour, but it didn't really succeed!

Cheers.

[yashicamat]

The right balance of chocolate and crystal malt will produce this flavour as long as the yeast isn't to attenuative. 2-300g of crystal plus 150-200g of chocolate in a moderate gravity beer should do it but be careful which hops you use, citrusy hops don't go at all well with this flavour.

Cheers Chris. The beer I did used 3990g low-colour MO, 220g crystal, 85g choc and 175g torrefied wheat, fermented with US-05 (maybe too attenuative?). The hops were cascades for bittering and susan for aroma. This beer was pushing a dark colour, definately a lot darker than this beer I had last night, so do you think it's just a case of lowering the overall quantities that you've outlined, but keep the proportions the same?

[yashicamat]

Cheers Chris, much appreciated. I have some Northdown left over from my stout so I might use some EKG for bittering (hopefully very little will make it's way through then) and Northdown for final tastes, then use the proportions of choc and crystal you suggest. What sort of amount of pale would you use for that quantity? Just thinking about the % proportions as opposed to the actual measurements as I don't know what gravity / efficiency you are thinking with those figures in mind?

Ta.

[yashicamat]

~90/6.5/3.5

Cheers Chris, the help is very much appreciated. Bottomless well of information as usual.

Will probably give something along those lines a go next, might get some Windsor in for the job too as I've not used that one before.