Cocoa nibs??

What's the best way to add cocoa nibs to your brew?

I soak them in vodka for a couple of days and add to secondary. There may be better ways but it works for me.

Monkfish said:

I soak them in vodka for a couple of days and add to secondary. There may be better ways but it works for me.

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I bought an 8 ounce bag, how much of it should I use for a 5 gallon batch? And how much vodka?, I assume a non flavored vodka

I have a 10 gallon batch of Chocolate Milk Stout fermenting right now that asks for 8oz to be added to secondary. I would guess 1/2 would be your answer. Not sure what you're going for but I would start there.

The one time I used them I just did it the same way I would do dry hops. 4 oz in a 5 gallon batch gave me a very nice chocolate character.

I have a founders breakfast stout in the secondary. recipe calls for adding an additional 2 oz of cold brewed coffee at bottling, 2.5 oz bakers chocolate powder at 15 minutes, and 1.5 at the 15 min also. Not really sure why the powder and nibs are thrown in at the same time, but that is what the recipe says.

I am thinking that I would steep the nibs for a few weeks and then add them to the secondary after its been racked. I believe this would add to a stronger chocolate flavor with the final product. As a former mead maker adding to the secondary always brings out more of the flavor your adding.

As a word of caution though. Nibs tend to expand so, steeping them in gin, vodka, or ever-clear is not a bad idea. Not sure I would just throw them into the secondary.

I will see what happens with this patch and adjust according to taste.

I normally add a few ounces at 10 minutes and at 0 minutes into the boil but the vodka/secondary may also work well. They add more aroma than flavor IMO.

schwibbidy said:

I bought an 8 ounce bag, how much of it should I use for a 5 gallon batch? And how much vodka?, I assume a non flavored vodka

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I'd add 4 oz. I did 3 oz in secondary to a 6 gal batch of stout and thought it could have used a bit more cocoa. Yes, I used plain, cheap vodka - just enough to cover the nibs (to kill any buggies.)

The alcohol in vodka (or even better, Everclear) is a great solvent to pull the cocoa character out of the nibs, something that even a kick ass RIS can't do as well on its own.

As above, for a 5 gallon batch I put at least four ounces of nibs in a seal-able container and pour in enough alcohol to cover, seal it up and give it a shake now and then. Supplemental additions over the next few days to keep the nibs covered (they absorb quite a bit of the booze in the first day). Four or more days later the whole container gets dumped into a carboy through a sanitized funnel.

Just for something different, I'm trying a dark rum soak on a honey chocolate imperial stout right now. In my head it sounded right

Cheers!

How long should I leave it in the secondary? The average 1 week before bottling? Will the added sugar from the cocoa affect what amount of priming sugar I add to my batch before bottling? Thanks again for the advice

schwibbidy said:

How long should I leave it in the secondary? The average 1 week before bottling? Will the added sugar from the cocoa affect what amount of priming sugar I add to my batch before bottling? Thanks again for the advice

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As long as you like. I let my big stouts sit on the nibs for at least a few weeks.

I would tend to discount their contribution with respect to carbing, as the yeast would have made short work of any sugars provided by the nibs well before bottling day...

Cheers!

Cool thanks!, ill go ahead with putting in secondary when racking and leave for a week before bottling