Meisters of Brew - Aztec-Style Chocolate-Chili-Honey-Corn Brown Ale Recipe

Aztec-Style Chocolate-Chili-Honey-Corn Brown Ale

A recipe by the great Charlie Papazian

When my May 2018 issue of Zymurgy arrived, I had a bittersweet surprise. Charlie Papazian, the Godfather of homebrewing, had written his last "World of Worts" column for the magazine. I remember back in the 1980s buying his Complete Joy of Homebrewing book, which shepherded me through many of the trials and tribulations of homebrewing back in the day.

In his final column, he reprinted part of another column that he'd done back in 1995 which included a very loose recipe for "Aztec-Style Chocolate-Chili-Honey-Corn Brown Ale." It wasn't an exact recipe, but instead his meanderings of "I'd include this," and "I'd throw in some of that," but out of respect for the Godfather of Homebrew, I wanted to brew this! Here is my take on the recipe, based on his column in Zymurgy:

Ingredients:
Mini-Mash:
• 1.5 lb. pre-gelatinized flaked brewers corn
• 2 lb. Pale Malt Grain
• 1/4 lb chocolate malt
• 1/4 lb Belgian Special 'B' malt

Boil:
• 3.75 lb light dry malt extract

Hops:
• 1 oz Cascade (60 minutes)
• .5 oz Cascade (5 minutes)

Flameout:
• 1 lb honey
• 6 oz unsweetened cocoa powder

Yeast:
Charlie calls for Aztec Yeast 2000, which I've never heard of and can't even find a reference to. Failing that, I used Safale S-04; the last time I used in a brown ale, I medaled in competition.

Secondary:
• 6 oz Cocoa Nibs soaked in vodka
• 1/2 oz dried chipotle chili pepper pods

O.G.: 1.052