How Long on Cocoa Nibs

[kevinb]

I racked my chocolate Oatmeal stout onto 4 oz of nibs yesterday. I boiled the nibs for about 2 minutes to sterilize then added the nibs and the water to the secondary and racked on top. Any advice on how long to leave in the secondary to get a good chocolate flavor? I was thinking about 4 weeks min. I know longer is better, but I wanted to understand the minimum to get a good result.

 

[kevinb]

Anyone?

 

[brewingbryan]

I soaked mine in vodka prior to using nibs with a stout. Not sure if the boiling changes anything.

Nonetheless, I let the beer sit on them for two weeks and got what I thought was an OK flavor, but an extra week or two may give more. I'm not sure if there's a threshold nibs have for that kind of thing.

 

[kevinb]

Thanks. I ended up bottling today. After about 2.5 weeks, the flavor is not strong. Not sure if longer would have helped. I guess next time I will need more nibs of use the extract.

 

[Ceetar]

4oz doesn't seem like a lot/enough. Especially in a stout that probably already has some dark/roasted/chocolately malts?

I keep meaning to brew with nibs but haven't done it yet.


Saw this late, but maybe an experiment would be to leave a couple of nibs in one bottles as a sort of control case. Hell, maybe open one back up and try it. you'll lose carbonation but it could be a good test. I have no idea on if there is a time period at which you hit diminishing returns .

 

[kevinb]

Just thought I would close the loop on my own question. I opened a bottle of this stout yesterday. The stout was great. Good carbonation, good flavor, but almost no chocolate taste or aroma. If you are trying something similar, I suggest a lot more nibs.

 

[Monkfish]

I have a chocolate PB stout in secondary now. I used the same amount of nibs you did (4oz, steeped in vodka) and a quarter cup of cocoa powder (all in secondary.) I have fairly low expectations for the chocolatey and peanut buttery nature of the brew, but it's worth a shot. I'll report back if the cocoa powder gives it a boost at all.

 

[KevinM]

Nibs. In a keg. Going on over a year now (last year Feburary) and it's almost empty. It kept getting better so I didn't want to drink it too quickly. I also soaked in a bottle of vodka filtered and added the nibs (kept the vodka though). I don't recall how long I soaked and a shorter vodka soak or more nibs would have helped if I had really let it soak for a few days. If I did let it sit that long, it probably pulled a fair amount from the nibs already. Although, it was a good chocolate vodka.

I just wish I had a better recipe for it and had added maltodextrin (Gluten free brewer so it was mostly sorghum syrup).

If I had to say, I'd give it 6 months to 1 year on nibs. I don't feel that I've noticed a change in the past few months but it could be subtle.

 

[sweetcell]

i added 5 oz of nibs, soaked in vodka for 8 hours, to my belgian dark strong for a week... and got very little effect. the taste is probably somewhere in there, in the background. i was afraid of the chocolate taking over, instead it did too little. definitely should have let them soak longer in the vodka and then let them sit longer in the brew.

 

[kaconga]

I used a half pound of nibs in five gallons for 2 weeks and the flavor was quite present in my brown ale. I think the trick is to roast them just beforehand. It really makes a nice dark chocolate flavor that way. They are conditioning right now after getting a bit of lactose and hazelnut flavoring. Those additions were just done to the taste of my wife. I think I will like it better than her though in the end.

 

[kevinb]

Thanks. I will try the 8oz next time.

 

[HawksBrewer]

Just another chime in here... when I add nibs I always add 10oz for 7-10 days and am always pleased w/ the results. Picture the chocolate flavors subtly placed in the middle of the flavor profile. Not in front w/ the roasted grains, not in back w/ whatever balanced bitterness, but right in the middle where you are aware of it.

 

[BeerLoverHere]

+1 to roasting/toasting first
+1 to letting sit in vodka/rum for a week before adding to secondary (you will definitely notice the smell of the chocolate this way when you add it; I always notice an overpowering aroma of chocolate and the alcohol really helps this when I add to secondary)

I good the results I want in a 2 week secondary using 4oz in 6 gallons. If you want a more pronounced chocolate flavor, allow more time, use more chocolate malt/nibs, add cocoa powder, tone down some other specialty malts.

 

[TexanRudeboy]

I used 2.75oz directly into the secondary of a 3 gal milk stout. Left it for 2 weeks and was very pleased with the result. Bottled it with some espresso and the chocolate and coffee balanced very well.

 

[rodwha]

Are you guys not breaking the nibs? I have a brown ale waiting for nibs, and what I saw gave me the impression that one week was all it took for 4 oz (5 gal beer). This was without soaking in vodka or roasting them. Now I'm concerned...

 

[number40fan]

I was thinking of doing the same thing with my Chocolate Covered Beavr Nuts beer that I am making. Crushing the nibs to give it a greater chance to be absorbed into the beer. I have been swirling the carboy with the peanut butter powder to help get it mixed up too. I am really hoping for a strong flavor of the peanut butter (after spending the $15 for it and seeing it sit in the bottom of the carboy there isn't a chance in hell that I would let it go to waste without trying something).

 

[rodwha]

I'm considering hanging on to my 8 oz of cacao nibs as I'm unsure how it will turn out, and if I have enough time as I had intended on dropping it in a week before bottling.

 

[Hurphy]

I used a half pound of nibs in five gallons for 2 weeks and the flavor was quite present in my brown ale. I think the trick is to roast them just beforehand. It really makes a nice dark chocolate flavor that way. They are conditioning right now after getting a bit of lactose and hazelnut flavoring. Those additions were just done to the taste of my wife. I think I will like it better than her though in the end.

How long did you roast and at what temperature?

 

[camonick]

How long did you roast and at what temperature?

None of the members who participated in this thread are active members of the forum anymore, as well as the last post being 9 years ago. Perhaps posting your question in the “recipes/ingredients” forum would yield some useful comments.
I, personally, have never had any luck using cocao nibs, but I know others have.