Just tasted the chocolate milk stout i brewed after 2.5 weeks in secondary on nibs. It doesn’t taste very chocolatey. I’m not expecting a candy bar, but some chocolate would be nice(maybe my palate isn’t very sensitive). I thought about just dumping another bag of nibs from N.B. in there, but was wondering if anyone has some other good techniques for getting some chocolate flavor in there. Any ideas are much appreciated.
How much did you put in? Did you boil with nibs also?
If you are using the extract kit from NB, I found the chocolate flavors became more pronounced over time in the bottle. I moved to the secondary and left the nibs in for 3 weeks.
I brewed the all grain kit from northern brewer according to recipe(MIAB), so I used 4oz of nibs only in the secondary.
I know if I used some flavor extract I could boost the chocolate instantly, but was wondering if adding more nibs or maybe some coco powder would be better?
If anyone has used the powder in secondary how did that work? I’m thinking it could be a huge mess that wouldn’t settle out very well and maybe cloud the beer adding some kind of off flavor.
When I want a bit of chocolate flavor I use 4oz nibs@20min and 4oz in secondary. I would never use an artificial flavor. I have used powdered cocoa before, but like you said it basically turns into a sludgy mess. Also, I feel like it didn’t completely drop out and some pours were a bit grainy. I’d say throw in more nibs and if that’s still not enough remember to put some in the boil next time.
try soaking the nibs in enough vodka to immerse them, covered in plastic wrap, for a week, then adding the whole mixture. The aromatic and flavor compounds become soluble in the alcohol and will be much more pronounced in your beer. I just tasted a milk stout of a guy in one my homebrew clubs and he used this method. He has won several awards prior, and this stout took second in our monthly competition.
This is the same way vanilla extract is made.
FWIW, I’ve only heard of chocolate flavor FADING over time, so I was surprised to hear that brewers on here are getting more prounounced flavors over time.
I used 4 oz cocoa nibs in the Dry Irish Stout extract kit during secondary. They’ve been in the bottles for a couple of weeks and not really tasting a lot of chocolate at this point but I’m hoping it will come through with time. I didn’t do the Milk Chocolate Stout because I didn’t want to have to worry about others having an adverse effect from the lactose. So, while waiting for my own to age a bit, I got a bottle of Rogue Chocolate Stout and wow! Very chocolatey, almost too much. Tasted and smelled just like Hersheys syrup. I wonder if anyone has ever used that in either primary or secondary?
For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t recommend using the artificial chocolate flavoring from NB. When I brewed this kit (extract) a couple years back, the flavor came though just fine, but it definitely tasted artificial. It reminded me very much of a tootsie roll (which I’ve never associated with chocolate).
That’s the chocolateyest beer I’ve ever had. Even more so than young’s double chocolate. Makes a great beershake though.
