cacao nibs

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pmoneyismyfriend

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I plan on adding cacao nibs to the secondary, I have never used these before and am wondering if there is a recommended pretreatment of the nibs, as in sanitizing, if necessary
 
You can sanitize them in a bit of vodka, then just poor them into your secondary. If they are sealed up, you could probably just poor them directly in without sanitizing them. Some have boiled them in a bit of water for 10 minutes then let them cool and poor them and the water in. Personally, I'd probably poor them directly in.
 
I like the idea of using the vodka (and is what I do when I use them). While it sanitizes them, it also helps extract alcohol-soluble flavor compounds that might not come out in the beer alone. In any case, do something to sanitize them. You never know who/what was the last person/thing to touch them.
 
Thanks much for the advice, is there a recommended amount of vodka? Like I said I have never used these before and I am concerned about turning them into mush
 
I put mine in a pint mason jar and used enough vodka to cover. After a day or two, it seemed like a lot of the vodka had been absorbed and it was a slurry. I just dumped that in a bag in the keg.
 
I put mine in a pint mason jar and used enough vodka to cover. After a day or two, it seemed like a lot of the vodka had been absorbed and it was a slurry. I just dumped that in a bag in the keg.

This is exactly the way I use nibs in a secondary, the resulting chocolate character is way more intense than just dumping them in dry...

Cheers!
 
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