Just drank the first of an extract batch of chocolate milk stout from NB. It’s got great taste, but leaves a little too much of a lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue. Not sure if its from the hops (1oz cluster @60 minutes and .5 oz @30 minutes) or the cocoa nibs (4 oz) in the secondary. Any other experience with this beer from the forum? I really like the initial taste and would love to attempt to cure the lingering bitterness in the next batch.
Full disclosure…I am drinking it at 5 weeks, so I imagine it may be a touch “young”.
It will definitely mellow out on another month. Sounds like its just hop bitterness, for a sweet beer I really go low on my IBUs (single digits). I don’t think it would be the cocoa nibs, those are nutty and no hint of bitterness. The only other possibility is fermenting warm, that can leave a sour aftertaste.
@chuck- I’m not sure the origin of the nibs that were used. I am VERY happy with this beer, just wondering if there’s something I can do to have it finish a little cleaner. As originally posted, it is relatively young, so age may cure this issue. I also used a smack pack and not a starter, I wonder if the starter could get the FG lower and create a drier finish.