Chocolate Covered Cherries Sour Milk Stout

Malt Notes:
American Pale 2-Row - Bulk Maltose.
Crystal 90L - 15%, Date-Rich and Caramel Flavor
Chocolate - 5%, Bulk Color
Carafa III - 5%, Bulk Color and Aroma
Special B - 10%, Caramel Raisin and Fruit Flavor
Flaked Oats - Up to 30%, Mouthfeel of Cream
Roasted Barley - Low %, Color and Dry Stout Flavors.

Mashed Sweet Cherries - 5oz of cherry syrup. Buy 5 lbs of frozen cherries in 1 lb quantities. Toss the cherries in 1 cup of sugar per lb of cherries. Place the cherries and sugar in a sauce pot with water up to covering the cherries. On medium heat, bring to a simmer. Mash the cherries regularly as the mixture simmers. The sauce will be complete when the cherries reduce to a simple syrup. Toss in secondary at bottling, as the yeast will quickly and readily eat through the cherry syrup.

Lactose should be added in a 5 oz bag quantity. Boil water with lactose added for 15 minutes. Toss into beer after boiling at bottling so as not to rack out of beer.

Place 2 bags of shredded coconut onto a baking sheet well spread out. Bring oven to bake at 350 F. Place coconut on middle rack and let sit for 15 minutes or until they start to yellow. Turn the coconut over and let yellow again for 15 minutes. Bring the oven to a broil, and place coconut on high rack and let crisp to darker brown (~5 minutes). Flip coconut and crisp again for ~2 minutes. Place in a cheese-cloth bag, and place in beer for 3-5 days. Note: it sat initially for 4 days, but a single day more would have made it more present in the nose.

Cocoa Nibs: Add to secondary after 5 minutes of boiling in clean water. Let sit in secondary for 3-5 days. Note: nibs were left in beer for 5 days.