Adding Cocoa Nibs added to my Milk Stout

[devilssoninlaw]

Long story short, I ended up with 2 Milk Stout kits. One is the Sweet Stout from NB, which I really like and see no reason to try to make it better. The other is a Milk Stout kit from Brewers Best.

I'll be bottling my Sweet Stout in the next day or 2 and wanted to experiment a bit with the next batch a little. I figured a Chocolate Milk Stout might be pretty good.

I searched the forum and the info is overwhelming, so I figured I'd add some Nibs soaked in Vodka to my 5 gallon batch. My question is how many ounces of Nibs and how long in Vodka and how long in the brew?

Thanks for any feedback and thanks for saving me 2 hours of searching old topics!!

[irishjoe]

Not sure but, oil in or on the beans?

[damian_winter]

I usually use about 4 to 6 oz per 5 gallons of beer. As for soaking them in vodka i normally about 3 days ahead of when i add them. Then add to fermenter for a week for best flavor

[loopie_beer]

I use 4-6oz per 5gals and have NEVER soaked them in alcohol. Whenever I add anything soaked in alcohol it gives it a weird alcohol flavor.

[damian_winter]

I only add enough to get them wet and sealed up. So i never get that odd taste from the vodka. Just enough that kills any wild yeast or bacteria..

[squeegeethree]

I soak in bourbon because it complements the nibs IMO. You WILL (shouting like loppie) taste the bourbon.
Nibs are never the same and a by-product with no regulation. Dump as much as you want/ have and then dump more next time

[jmck]

I’ve always done vodka, but I like the cut of your jib.

Soak the cacao in bourbon... maybe some oak chips too...

[devilssoninlaw]

Thanks for the feedback, yall !!

[wilcolandzaat]

Me use a mini spider do add6 0z coconibs no tincture just add the coco nibs to the beer. For 8 to 10 days. Than pull them out. Se_emphasized text_ems flav wise to work for me.

[GoBlue59]

I made one where I wanted to really get the chocolate flavor in there. I used 9 ounces in a 5 gallon batch, soaked them in bourbon for a week. The flavor is a little different than I expected, but here's something funny...

The oils from the cacao have separated from the liquid and are sitting on the top of the beer. If you hold the bottle up to the light at the right angle, you can see an oily shine at the top of the liquid. It has no impact on the taste, but it does lead to some slight gushing when the bottle is opened. The oils seem to hold back the bubbles for a little bit, and then eventually the carbonation is so strong that it can't be held back anymore... Thus it leads to a little extra foaming. If I act quickly enough, I can just pour the bottle into a cup immediately, which stops this from happening... But just food for thought. Kinda funny

[damian_winter]

There is a difference in coco nibs for brewers you want roasted nibs. The ones at the grocery store in the healthy snack section are raw and contain all the oils and won't give you the chocolate flavor. They give you kinda a nutty like taste very little coco flavor.

[GoBlue59]

The nibs I got were sold as "for brewing beer", but I admit I didn't get them at a HBS so who knows. No problem, just an interesting turn of events

[dannyboy58]

I’ve put them in the boil and in the fermenter. Never soaked them in alcohol.

[damian_winter]

Here is my Science Nerd moment and why I make a tincture. Here is a great read on how Coco beans are processed https://onthecocoatrail.com/2012/06/20/from-tree-to-bean-the-beginning-of-fermentation/

[sneezles61]

That's an eye opener about cocoa beans... Thank you Damien!! Sneezles61

[dannyboy58]

My wife is Ecuadorian. One visit to Ecuador we went to a chocolate "factory". Saw the process from start to finish. Their fermentation process was almost identical to the one documented here. All manual and low tech. That was actually after the last time I used nibs. Does make me reconsider about tossing them directly into the fermenter now that I think about it...