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Venari

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I live in a remote area, and all my purchases must be online, with a hefty shipping fee attached. So I'd like to make sure of a few things before I buy cocoa nibs.

Should I get raw, or roasted? Will there be a difference in flavour?

If I were to use vodka or bourbon to soak the nibs, that's adding another $200 to my cost, since that's how much it would cost me to get a bottle here. Is it required to soak them in alcohol? Are there any alternatives?
 
Well, I am not a en expert at nibs, but I think you could do either depending on what taste you want.
And the liqour is just a way to disenfect it with something that isnt going to harm the beer.
I would contact the guys at Northern Brewer, they have a live chat help from actual brewers during there work hours. They may be able to give you some advice. Also ask them about shipping, they maybe able to help you out a bit. And you may be anle to buy nibs in a sterile condition so you could pour right from bag to fermentor.
 
If amazon delivers to your island these are the nibs I bought and roasted them myself. No need for a vodka soak since the roasting process will kill anything the vodka will, maybe more. But don't quote me, i'm not a scientist. I just play one in my garage. Of course you would need to toast them and toss them in your beer within a reasonable amount of time. Letting them cool for an hour in the oven is probably the safest bet. Looking at my notes, I roasted them at 250 for 15 minutes. If I were do do it again, I would probably go longer on time, or up the temp to 300 for 15 minutes.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ok. I think I found something for you. I just copied and paste:
Cocoa nibs: alcohol might contact sanitize them but remember, sanitizer works by contact. Anything in the nibs protected by a surface layer could later be exposed. Again, I don't think this is a significant concern. If you are concerned, I'd suggested heating the nibs in water to a pasteurization type temperature (160 to 170) rather than boiling them. Heating them will raise the internal temperature of the nibs as well as the surface temperature but may damage the flavors. Since people add nibs to the end of the boil, I don't think that is a huge concern. Sanitation wise boiling them would be the most conservative while alcohol would be the least. Pasteurization might be a happy medium.
 
Thanks guys. My uncle had placed a liquor order a while back, and I hijacked some of his vodka for this. So I do have sanitary nibs now :)

Amazon DOES ship to my island, but it costs an arm and a leg.

Thanks wookie, for that bit of research. I was thinking of heating them, but I heard that adds bitterness to the flavour, so I simply waited for family to place a liquor order :)
 
I thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate vanilla stout, and have ordered another 16 oz of nibs.

However, I doubt I will get a chance at another family member's booze, so I think I shall try pasteurization.

We'll see how this goes :)
 

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