It has been in primary fermenter for 3 weeks. On Friday I moved to secondary fermenter and added vodka soaked cacao nibs. Should I taste chocolate by now? Can I add anything to get more chocolate flavor?
Take a sample and taste. I did a brew in dec but when i took a grav sample last sunday. And a taste. Not much. Choc. Flavour. Must say. Got to rethink next time how much more choc i do add. Dont want to get a to much choc. Flavour
If you did the recipe from NB I don’t think it is meant to have a real heavy chocolatey taste. Mine turned out delicious and got better with age. Finished the last of it last night. It had a slight chocolate and coffee flavor, nice foamy head and great aroma.
I looked at the Extract recipe, and it uses 0.75 pounds of pale chocolate malt for steeping, which would give more of a subtle chocolate flavor(along with the cacao nibs). Last year I used a pound of straight up chocolate malt, not the pale, and it was over the top chocolate.
NOTE, pounds not ounces of pale chocolate malt, I corrected it. I clearly meant pounds, but my fingers typed ounces. Not enough caffeine apparently.
The nibs give it more of a bitter chocolate like baking chocolate taste. Did you happen to taste some before adding them to the vodka? Check out the reviews on it. Lots of people add coco powder or syrup to the boil or something similar. Too late now but worth a try next time you brew it.
Chocolate extract might be a viable option since it already has some flavor. You could even dose it per serving to your, or others, liking.
I read that adding 1 or 2 vanilla beans to the vodka/cocoa nib mixture helps bring out the chocolate flavor.
