Is this the same as Cacao nibs?

[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.