Belgian golden ale with cocoa nibs

am planning on a belgian golden ale with nibs in secondary for Christmas. it is a 2.5 Gallon batch . I have 4 oz nibs but was thinking 2 oz. and save the other two for a stout or porter. or would it be more appropriate to use 1 oz for the style? any suggestions for those who have used nibs? this is the first I will be using them.

Belgian GOLDEN ale and cacao nibs? Not too sure about that. I think The chocolate blends well with "darker " beers- I.e. Stouts, porters, maybe even browns and dubbels- because the sweetness or roasted favors from the darker caramel or roasted malts blends nicely with the chocolate. But a golden?? I think it will clash with the clean sweet pilsner malt. However, guess we will never know until someone tries it. So......I would go with1- 2 oz max for 5 gallons. This should give a slightly nuanced backdrop of cocoa. 4 oz may start overpowering the malt because it is a golden ale. Remember you could always add, but never take out. If it were a darker sweeter or more roasted beer, 4 oz would be minimum and 6-8 would give it a nice cocoa flavor. You could event throw an ounce or 2 in the mash and see how it effects the beer when it goes in fermenter.

had some brewed by someone else last year and was fantastic
had asked twice for the recipe but no go and I do not want to be a pest so am using Northern Brewers kit for the base
I want a little more than a hint of chocolate to finish but not too much so I may use 1 oz then can check the secondary and add after a couple of weeks
I agree for what I want 4 oz is too much just wanted verification on the amount
surprised you would not think chocolate would go with a belgian it can be dark and bitter, dark and sweet, light and sweet, light and dry, mixed with fruit or spices.
as the saying goes everything is better with chocolate
Thanks I'll let you know how it turns out

I think cocoa can go very well with a Belgian- just the darker varieties. But you had a Belgian golden with cocoa and loved it. I can only guess how it is- and I've been wrong before guessing. How much of the chocolate came through on the one u had?

Why not? But DON'T call it a belgian anything.

Actually it sounds gross, but please, be the guinnea pig.

I love SA chocolate porter, but I doubt if it starts with a blonde.

it will be a golden chocolate ale will leave out the belgian. if its gold.

Will it not add color??

I would imagine nibs would make it dark, but I have no direct experience to draw from.

Nibs give more aroma then flavor IMO. They have the added bonus of being able to be washed and reused for another batch. You might want to save them and reuse them for a later batch.

I'm curious how they would work in a golden strong ale, but that's the fun of the hobby, and especially belgian beers, you can experiment.

mhot55 said:

How much of the chocolate came through on the one u had?

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just enough to give a light chocolate pleasant aftertaste
so will probably go with one oz in 2.5 gallons
as you said earlier I can always add to taste

Homercidal said:

I'm curious how they would work in a golden strong ale, but that's the fun of the hobby, and especially belgian beers, you can experiment.

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It's that sort of thinking that helps birth so many terrible 'Belgian' homebrews.