Is this the same as Cacao nibs?

[kingwood-kid]

Alcohol is pretty awesome at dissolving lipids--this is how rubbing alcohol works--so I think there will be enough oil extraction to kill the head, unless you compensate with a crazy amount of carapils or flaked whatever. I don't think that the beer itself will taste or feel oily. If you'd rather drink your beer than hold it up to the light and admire its beauty, you should be fine.

 

[SpeedYellow]

Considering that a lot of folks use nibs across the gamut of ways possible, and because nibs are 50% fats, perhaps the conventional wisdom that fats and beer don't miix is simply flawed. Otherwise nibs should be a huge fail.

 

[Revvy]

Considering that a lot of folks use nibs across the gamut of ways possible, and because nibs are 50% fats, perhaps the conventional wisdom that fats and beer don't miix is simply flawed. Otherwise nibs should be a huge fail.

Or, like I've been saying maybe it simply depends on where you add them....I don't think beer's power to "dissolve lipids" is as powerful as the abve poster seems to think. Remember beer is STILL largely water. That's why you still have to distill it to concentrate it enough turn it into a spirit with any power to do anything.

I think as long as there's no heat being applied no fat is coming out. I think adding too fatty a cocoa at other points is more risky then dropping it in to an pretty inert secondary.

 

[cbehr]

Well I gave it a shot this weekend. I'm going to let it in the secondary for 2 weeks then bottle. I'll report back with results in 5 or so weeks.

 

[originalben]

Well I gave it a shot this weekend. I'm going to let it in the secondary for 2 weeks then bottle. I'll report back with results in 5 or so weeks.

How did it turn out?

 

[OhSoHumuLonely]

How did it turn out?

Yeah, what he said!

 

[cbehr]

Yeah, what he said!

Sorry, must have missed the first response. Didn't turn out well...I'm not sure what happened but they all but one have been bottle bombs. Pop the top and about 75% fo the beer foams. Way over carbonated or some type of gusher infection? Taste is decent but it's hard to really tell what's going on. I'm not sure how but I must have not measured my priming sugar correctly? Choc aroma and taste is there, I'll have to try another one now that it's been another couple months and a couple have been in the fridge for a month+

I'd like to try this recipe again but I'm rather annoyed with my last few batches so I've been taking a break for a while

 

[OhSoHumuLonely]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. This morning I added a small amount to my batch (Amber Ale, I just wanted a HINT of chocolate flavor, not a chocolate beer). I will update and let you guys know how it worked for me since it seems to be easier and more readily available than plain cacao nibs. I'll be checking back in a month or so from now.

 

[cbehr]

Any update on your Amber Ale?

 

[benzy4010]

So I'm doing a recipe that calls for chocolate extract at bottling time. I couldn't find any extract so my brewshops gave me nibs. Should I soak them in vodka and add the mixture to the bottling bucket?

 

[Randy_Bugger]

So I'm doing a recipe that calls for chocolate extract at bottling time. I couldn't find any extract so my brewshops gave me nibs. Should I soak them in vodka and add the mixture to the bottling bucket?

Soak in vodka and add to fermenter for a week.

 

[benzy4010]

Add nibs and vodka?

 

[benzy4010]

It's supposed to e a double chocolate stout but I am adding powder in the boil

 

[Randy_Bugger]

Add nibs and vodka?

Yep. Pitch both after primary fermentation is done. You only need enough vodka to cover the nibs.

Let the nibs soak in the booze while your batch is fermenting.

 

[vNmd]

I wish I read this thread before making my chocolate vanilla stout. I had bottle bombs (1 exploded because thinner bottle than the rest). I opened the rest and dumped and they were all sooner or later going to go. I used some of this stuff soaked in vodka for a couple of days and dangled in secondary with vanilla beans for a week. This is the first time I used any additions to secondary. I can't imagine the vanilla beans or the vodka giving me an issue. I have about 10 other batches with no additions that turned out well. I will research a bit more before trying for chocolate flavour again. Fortunately for me there was a bucket on the shelf below my bomb that caught most of the liquid, so I feel I got off lucky in the clean up department (still sucks but could have been about 50 times worse).

 

[SpeedYellow]

Be very careful with vodka. IMHO only a couple ounces ruins a batch due to that vodka burn. Some folks are more sensitive to it than others, but I'd strongly suggest you add a proportionate amount to a 12 oz beer and see if it bothers you.

If you need to add cocoa after fermentation, I would definitely go with cocoa powder simply heated up in some water. There's not a huge risk of infection at this point, so there's little reason to go ruining a batch with vodka. Plus, cocoa powder isn't 50% fats like nibs.

 

[Franky]

Noob here, hope it's ok to ask a question on this thread. I've been reading as many threads on cocoa (nibs, powder, bars, etc) and this seems to be the best one so far with the most current replies.

I have a deep dark wheat beer in primary. I'm looking in the next day or two to split the batch, I want to put cherries and chocolate in one secondary and keep the other half of the batch un-touched.

I will be using cocoa powder, does anyway see any problems with me just adding the cocoa powder to the cherries when I'm pasteurizing them?

It will be 3 gal. and my ratio so far:
2lbs Cherries
1 oz. Cocoa Powder

Does this look acceptable, or would you add more or less? I do want the cherries to shine through, but not overly powerful and just a slight hint of chocolate.