Chocolate Milk Stout

1. The one time I used nibs, I added them to the end of the boil and I didn't think they contributed much. I don't recall what the amount was. If I were doing what you're doing, I'd probably throw the whole shebang (vodka and nibs) into the fermenter after active fermentation is done.

2. It depends on how sweet you want the final product. Do you know what your FG will be without the lactose? A 1/4 lb of lactose will add about 2 gravity points to your final product. Your ABV is biggish, so I'm guessing the beer is probably going to be pretty sweet the way it is.

 

I've use 4 oz of nibs added to secondary and felt it was a good chocolate addition. Never used the vodka tincture approach. I guess I'm not really sure if the vodka was meant to help surface sterilize or to extract chocolate. I'd probably add the whole thing, if left to my own devices. But I do not know. I used a kit from northern brewer back when I made chocolate milk stout. They probably still sell it. IIRC, 1# of lactose. Too much for me. I just had a commercial beer that I also thought was overdone in this department. Best to start small, which is how you appear to be heading.

 

Both, I think.

I've done this twice. Once for a Choc Milk Stout and once for an Imperial Stout. In both cases, I added 6oz of roasted cacao nibs to (roughly) equal amount of vodka in an old Nalgene bottle for a week. Then dump the whole thing into the fermenter about a week before packaging. Both were very successful beers.

As far as lactose is concerned, I add it with 10 min left in the boil.

 

Well, good that they didn't taste like old Nalgene.

 

Nibs, as you discovered, need prolonged contact time in order to extract the flavors from the fairly durable crushed beans. OTOH, cocoa powder works fairly well in the boil. I think it's because the powder form allows much greater contact area, and because some of that powder also makes it into the fermenter.

 

I add nibs to the secondary, roughly crushed, for a week. Usually around the 4oz mark. Never soaked nibs or boiled them just crush and toss in

 

yeah i've "hopped" at 1oz per gallon of cacao nibs for a ~2 weeks and barely had extraction. On the other hand I tossed 1oz of nibs into a keg and left them in there (2.5g keg) and it's provided a very nice like dark chocolate flavor.

 

I did mine for two weeks.

 

4 oz seemed to give me good chocolate in 2 weeks. So maybe use more or allow longer contact time.

 

You did 4 oz per gallon?

 

5 gallons

 

After many experiments, I have stopped using lactose. In my experience it has gone like this:

A little lactose - not enough.
A little more - not enough.
A little more - not enough.
A little more - dang it! WAY to much!

The point is, I’ve found it hard to get lactose right, and I’m a big milk stout guy.

FWIW