I am attempting to use Cacao Nibs for the first time in a Milk Stout. I heard that some people soak the nibs in Vodka or Bourbon. My question is has anyone used cocoanut rum and how much nibs should I use for a 5gallon batch? Thanks.
If you're talking Malibu, I wouldn't use it. It's only 21% and has a bunch of other crap in it besides the rum and coconut extract. As to how much nibs to use, that will totally depend on what you're trying to achieve.
If you use a tincture like you said, you can add a little at a time. I've only put them in a cocoa orange mead but id start with 4-6 oz crushed in a jar with vodka. pour half in secondary, taste, decide what to do next. I've also used cocoa powder #noshame
I actually brewed a milk stout Saturday. I used these for info on the cocoa nib extract to http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...ing-with-a-chocolate-stout.43189/#post-556040 http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...a-nibs-and-cinnamon-sticks.43181/#post-548544 More beer has nibs in 4oz bags so I doubled the vodka (the formula in one of those posts is 2oz nib/6oz vodka). It definite smells chocolatey but the nibs absorbed more vodka that I thought. I only collected about 5oz of extract (I put all 4oz. of nibs in 8oz of vodka.) I'll will be dosing the keg at transfer after fermentation with about half as was suggested above and adjust from there.
I toss them right into the secondary...and I like to use some in a hopstand style at the end of the boil for a more full and rounded chocolate flavor. I just made a Double Chocolate Vanilla Coffee Stout (going for a Tiramisu flavor) with 1 oz of nibs at hopstand and 7 ounces in secondary for 14 days. Came out very dark chocolate flavor with a slight brownie nose to it. The vanilla didnt show up as much as expected so I might add more to the keg, but the chocolate came out very similar but not as overpowering as Choklat from Southern Tier http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/40058/ & coffee is slowly coming on too (I only added around 2 oz of coffee as a 20 minute "hopstand" at flameout).
Not sure where you are heading with this. If what you are driving at is that there is no need to sanitize -- using a spirit to soak the nibs is not about sanitization (at least, not the way I think of it). It's to produce a concentrated extract that can be used to dose a small serving of beer dropwise, until the desired taste is reached. Then one can scale up the addition to batch size. This way you wouldn't overnib. Disclaimer: I never nibbed (!) but I have overdone spices before, in a pumpkin beer, by adding what turned out to be too much to the beer. The tincture approach might have helped me get the spice just right. Unfortunately, there is, as yet, no easy way to remove pumpkin from beer.
I've found that the flavor and aroma really differ depending on the source of the nibs as well. For example, there is a profound difference between the ghana and ecuador nibs that Midwest stocks. The ghana seem more brownie like while the ecuador is more of a darker chocolate. Ive had good results blending the two as well.
