Proper Way To Add items to Secondary

[MyCarHasAbs]

I've got cocoa nibs soaked in Vodka and oak cubes soaked in bourbon to add to a stout in a few weeks. Is there a particular method of dumping them both in the carboy? I.E., adding them without making a splash..or is this a non issue? Tilting the carboy?

 

[Kaz]

I usually try to put the oak cubes into the secondary first and then rack the beer onto the oak (or whatever you're adding). If the beer is already in secondary, add them so as to not agitate the surface too much, tilting a little to the side sounds like a good plan.

 

[MadHomebrewer]

As Kaz said, normally you put them in your secondary container first and rack your beer on top. If your doing all this in your primary, maybe gently pour in the nibs and use sanitized tongs to gently place the cubes in the beer. You could also put it all in a sanitized hop bag and gently lower in.

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

If your doing all this in your primary, maybe gently pour in the nibs and use sanitized tongs to gently place the cubes in the beer. You could also put it all in a sanitized hop bag and gently lower in.

Oooh, I have a mesh bag. Hopefully it would fit through the hole of the carboy but that's a good idea. Last time I made a mint chocolate stout and while I didn't notice any off flavors I def just poured the mint leaves and vodka right on in there. But with cubes and heavier nut like objects being dropped in, they're heavy enough to create a splash. So I felt this was a different case to ask questions on..in which it turns out I was right.

 

[Opiate42]

I usually try to put the oak cubes into the secondary first and then rack the beer onto the oak (or whatever you're adding). If the beer is already in secondary, add them so as to not agitate the surface too much, tilting a little to the side sounds like a good plan.

Oooh, I have a mesh bag. Hopefully it would fit through the hole of the carboy but that's a good idea. Last time I made a mint chocolate stout and while I didn't notice any off flavors I def just poured the mint leaves and vodka right on in there. But with cubes and heavier nut like objects being dropped in, they're heavy enough to create a splash. So I felt this was a different case to ask questions on..in which it turns out I was right.

I'll second/third/umpteenth on adding everything to the secondary before racking the beer over. But if just dumping them(gently) into the beer directly so long as you don't splash too much it should be fine.

Oh hells yah, the bag makes cleanup a lot easier and less likely to get nibs in your beer when moving through the bottling process. I did cocoa nibs in a chocolate lager a while ago and just dumped them in there after straining the vodka out, was okay but a nib or two had wandered into the occasional bottle. Have toothpicks at the ready.

 

[MyCarHasAbs]

I went ahead and added the vodka soaked cocoa nibs and bourbon soaked oak cubes to the stout; which by the way both smelled amazing.
I was going to let it sit in there for a month but is that too long?