Pitched my cocoa nibs in my secondary and then

Getting Started
1

Brewing a Chocolate Stout kit. Everything going good so far…
however I pitched the cocoa nibs in my secondary fermenter and then…
Looked back in the instructions that talked about soaking the nibs in vodka first.
which I did not do…
Any thoughts on how big a screw up this is?
other posts talk about the chocolate flavor being better.

I presume this was to help sanitize the nibs.

any comments appreciated.
Thanks
Ron

2

The vodka is for sanitation. A recipe that specifies bourbon would be for sanitation and the flavor. Probably little risk if you poured directly from the bag. Even handling the nibs before adding to the secondary is not a huge risk with the alcohol content of the beer.

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3

Beer turned out ok. Something I am having trouble with. I had the beer in my primary for two weeks. The beer was in my secondary for 4 weeks. Could not get the finished specific gravity in that gree range on the hydrometer. So I bottled it anyway. Not sure my steps for brewing worked for the best results.

4

The colors on some hydrometers are pretty much meaningless. Final gravity is determined by the ingredients and the yeast used. You were at final gravity if the SG readings of the beer in the primary were taken three to five days apart and were stable. Some yeasts may need the SG readings taken at longer intervals but typical ale yeasts finish fairly fast.

5

Thanks for the input. Clearly I need more knowledge . I’m drinking my Stout now and all is well.

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6

I typically let all my beers sit for 3 to 4 weeks. Sometimes even 2 weeks for witbiers and the like. Every time I am ready to bottle or keg them I take a hydrometer reading and they are always finished. Like @flars said, they are typically done fairly quickly.