backsideslash
Well-Known Member
Hello all,
I'm fairly new to homebrewing and had a couple questions I wasn't able to find an answer to online or from a couple other homebrewer friends. I am planning on brewing a 5 gallon imperial stout extract kit from Northern Brewer (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/extract-kits/imperial-stout-extract-kit) but I want to add both chocolate and cherry flavors to it.
I've read that a common way to impart chocolate flavor is to add vodka soaked cacao nibs to the secondary fermentation, but the reviewers of the stout recommended leaving it in secondary for about six months. It seems like six months is way too long to leave the nibs in the secondary for. Is there a better way to go about getting that flavor into the beer, like maybe adding them to secondary a few weeks before kegging?
For the cherry flavor I have read that using cherry juice concentrate is a good way to get that taste into the beer, but I couldn't find any recommendations on how much or when to add it. I would be nervous about adding actual cherries to the secondary for fear of an infection or some unexpected off flavors, but again, I'm new to this and don't really know what to expect.
Has anyone ever done a beer like this that might have any recommendations? I would definitely appreciate any help. Thanks!
I'm fairly new to homebrewing and had a couple questions I wasn't able to find an answer to online or from a couple other homebrewer friends. I am planning on brewing a 5 gallon imperial stout extract kit from Northern Brewer (http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/recipe-kits/extract-kits/imperial-stout-extract-kit) but I want to add both chocolate and cherry flavors to it.
I've read that a common way to impart chocolate flavor is to add vodka soaked cacao nibs to the secondary fermentation, but the reviewers of the stout recommended leaving it in secondary for about six months. It seems like six months is way too long to leave the nibs in the secondary for. Is there a better way to go about getting that flavor into the beer, like maybe adding them to secondary a few weeks before kegging?
For the cherry flavor I have read that using cherry juice concentrate is a good way to get that taste into the beer, but I couldn't find any recommendations on how much or when to add it. I would be nervous about adding actual cherries to the secondary for fear of an infection or some unexpected off flavors, but again, I'm new to this and don't really know what to expect.
Has anyone ever done a beer like this that might have any recommendations? I would definitely appreciate any help. Thanks!