adding spices to fermenter?

[mmonteiro]

could i add a chocolate flavoring spice to my fermenter, or did i miss the boat on this one?

 

[Golddiggie]

Depends on what you're making and what you're looking to get for the end result. There's also more than one item you can add to get chocolate flavors in a brew. Some you mash, some you boil, some you add post fermentation. Each will add something different to the brew.

 

[mmonteiro]

im doing an oatmeal stout, i wanted to add chocolate to it, would that even be a good idea?

 

[Golddiggie]

Since you're post boil you could try some cacao nibs in the batch.

This is really something you need to think of BEFORE you brew a batch. IF you did, you could have added a few ounces of chocolate, or pale chocolate malt to it. Those would have given you good chocolate flavor without the potential issues from chocolate powders (if they have fat in them, they can mess with the end results).

Personally, I figure out a batch before I brew it. I decide what I want for a flavor profile, then mix the malts to get that. I have a mocha porter (second brewing) in primary right now that has zero chocolate or coffee in it. It uses pale chocolate and kiln coffee malts to get the flavors. The first batch came out really good. This time I've slightly tweaked the grain bill and will see what it's like when it's actually in glass.

 

[mmonteiro]

Since you're post boil you could try some cacao nibs in the batch.

This is really something you need to think of BEFORE you brew a batch. IF you did, you could have added a few ounces of chocolate, or pale chocolate malt to it. Those would have given you good chocolate flavor without the potential issues from chocolate powders (if they have fat in them, they can mess with the end results).

Personally, I figure out a batch before I brew it. I decide what I want for a flavor profile, then mix the malts to get that. I have a mocha porter (second brewing) in primary right now that has zero chocolate or coffee in it. It uses pale chocolate and kiln coffee malts to get the flavors. The first batch came out really good. This time I've slightly tweaked the grain bill and will see what it's like when it's actually in glass.

how much cacao nibs for a 5 gallon batch? is there a high risk of contaminating the beer by adding them? this is only my second brew and rushed into it before thinking about if i wanted to add something

 

[Golddiggie]

Depends on the batch and how much you want from them. You could start with a simple 4oz package of them. If you're concerned, add half of it first and have the rest sealed up in case you want to add it later. Or add it all and see what you get.

You could soak them in a bit of high grade vodka for a short spell (an hour or more) to make sure nothing hitches a ride, or just dump them in without. IF you do soak in the vodka, only use enough to cover them and then pour everything into the brew.

A good 'plan B' would be to not mess with this one but plan on brewing a chocolate stout later.