Speidl Braumeister 20l- an all in one brewing vessel


The main issue with beer implementation into chocolate is condensing the flavor. Beer is anywhere from 85-96% water, and means the amount of flavor compounds can easily be over-casted by the chocolate. The high amount of water also means high water activity. To put it simply, the higher the water activity, the lower the shelf life due to microorganism growth.
Water Activity Meter


One easy way to lower the water activity is to make beers with a high alcohol content. Since Belgian beers are already known for their high alcohol content, this made the Belgian style beers I made much easier to implement. In terms of flavor, I had to add higher amounts of specific malts and hops to makes sure the desired flavors would show up in the chocolate.  With all these obstacles in mind, I decided to brew a Belgian Dark Strong, a Belgian Golden, and an American IPA (India Pale Ale).

Original pralines made with a beer ganache filling. These were made with mass produced Belgian beers. While these samples tasted great, only one group showed significant beer flavor.

The brew days were long due to the Braumeister boil being humble and the necessity for the beers to be as concentrated as possible.  The efficiency, which measures the amount of sugar extracted from the malt compared to the hypothetical amount that should be extracted, was not the best, but it did produce highly fermentable sugars for the Belgian beers. This means high alcohol content (one of our necessities), and more fermentation means more Belgian yeast flavors being produced. These flavors are due to the fact that Belgian strains of yeast produce high levels of esters and phenols. Some flavor notes of Belgian yeasts include pears, apples, cloves and pepper.

For the IPA, my American hop selection was limited.  I figured this would create some issues, but the hops I chose did exactly what I hoped they’d do: allow the malty backbone of the beer to be noticeable in the chocolate, and produce complementing pine and tropical fruit flavors.


This week the fillings made with my beer will be put into pralines. I am beyond excited to taste the final products. I have had a certified chocolatier helping me with the chocolate side of things, because otherwise I would be completely lost.   As far as the fillings, all I will say for now is IPA caramel is pretty awesome.

While this internship has not been brewing intensive, it has created an impact on me in many different areas. Having to think on my feet in terms of recipe formulation, living in a completely different culture for 3 months, and having the pressure of producing an excellent product have, in my opinion, helped me prepare for a career in brewing.  I only have 14 days until I am back in the states, and I intend to finish my internship strong while soaking up every bit of this incredible country.