I was reading in a few posts to put the cocoa nibs for a soak in vodka for a week before pitching into the secondary.
Would less time be too little to get the benefits of this?
Do you pitch the vodka with the nibs?
The only time I have used them I put them in the boil for the full 90 minutes. This was for Stone Bitter chocolate oatmeal stout and it turned out fantastic.
Less time won’t hurt, it will just take a little more time to extrct into the beer. Add the nibs as well as the vodka.
You might even consider toasting your nibs for a bit before soaking them. If they are kind of light they’ll give more of a nitty flavor than chocolate.
I have also just put the cocca nibs directly into secondary without any issues.
I just add them to the secondary.
I posted on this a while back for a chocolate oatmeal stout. I did the vodka for about a week and then added them and it turned out pretty good. Several people warned me about the bitterness they add and it was a bit much at first but mellowed out into an excellent beer.
Make sure you use the Ghana nibs the other one has a bite to it.
I just threw them into the secondary… I would soak in vodka next time though. Wasn’t chocolatly enough for my tastes.
I soak in grain alcohol and “dry nib” in the keg. I place them in a very fine nylon bag. I also add chopped and scraped vanilla beans to the mix. for that chocolate/vanilla taste. As a matter of fact, I just put a batch on tap. Time for some Chocolate Stout Floats!Tasty!
