Cocoa nib use in primary/keg ?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by makisupapolice14, Jul 29, 2016.

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  1. makisupapolice14

    makisupapolice14 Pundit (799) Jun 5, 2005 New York

    I have a milk stout that I brewed almost 2 weeks ago and the recipe calls for a 4 oz 2 week dry cocoa nib in the secondary. I'm not planning to use a secondary at all but I was wondering what my best option is in terms of method and time? I was planning to add the nibs to a weighted hop bag and add to the primary for 2 weeks. Is that too long? Am I better off adding these to the keg in a hop bag for the duration the beer is on tap or will the cocoa nibs cause a harsh bitterness? Any tips would be great
     
    #1 makisupapolice14, Jul 29, 2016
  2. CADETS3

    CADETS3 Initiate (0) Dec 3, 2014 Texas

    I've done cacao nibs in the keg for 2 weeks with great results. If cacao nibs is all you're going to add, just add to the keg and remove 2 weeks later.
     
    #2 CADETS3, Jul 29, 2016
  3. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    Not too long, IMO, if you dry hop in primary beginning now and transfer to the keg. This is how I did my nibbed milk stout.
     
    #3 pweis909, Jul 29, 2016
  4. makisupapolice14

    makisupapolice14 Pundit (799) Jun 5, 2005 New York

    So how long in total did u dry nib?
     
    #4 makisupapolice14, Jul 29, 2016
  5. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    I'm not @pweis909, but my experience with dry nibbing in the keg is that after about 5 days (at room temp), there's little or no flavor left in the nibs. I'v tasted them, and the (non)taste reminded me of those little wax juice bottles from the 70s, but without the juice.
     
    #5 VikeMan, Jul 29, 2016
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  6. makisupapolice14

    makisupapolice14 Pundit (799) Jun 5, 2005 New York

    So after 5 days in the keg u think i can just leave them for the duration?
     
    #6 makisupapolice14, Jul 29, 2016
  7. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Actually, after 5 days in the keg, I would remove them. I don't think anything good would come from having chocolate-less wads of fat and oils sitting in your beer.
     
    #7 VikeMan, Jul 29, 2016
  8. makisupapolice14

    makisupapolice14 Pundit (799) Jun 5, 2005 New York

    ^understood haha. I always hated those wax bottles filled with that insipid liquid
     
    #8 makisupapolice14, Jul 29, 2016
  9. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    I don't remember! I think I'll have to check my notes. I seem to recall initially intending to do 2 weeks as per a recipe at northernbrewer.com, but vikemans advice of 5 days also rings a bell.
     
    #9 pweis909, Jul 29, 2016
  10. makisupapolice14

    makisupapolice14 Pundit (799) Jun 5, 2005 New York

    Quick question regarding dry nibbing in the keg. Ive only kegged two beers thus far and both times have filled the keg completely with starsan, poured thru my tap and purged several times at 30psi to minimize o2 left in the keg as much as possible. I then transfer beer into the keg through the liquid out post using a liquid qd on the end of my spigot or siphon tubing. I've never dry hopped in the keg but have some hop bags with draw strings on them.

    I assume there is no way for me to do a closed transfer as I have done in the past when it comes to dry hopping in the keg? I'll just have to clean with starsan, add the nibs in a bag, and transfer beer on top. Once the dry hop is done how do you guys typically retrieve the bag from the keg? Sorry for the newb questions just things I've been thinking about
     
    #10 makisupapolice14, Jul 30, 2016
  11. VikeMan

    VikeMan Grand Pooh-Bah (3,067) Jul 12, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    You can certainly do a closed transfer into a keg with a hop/nib bag.
    Sanitize -> Add Hop Bag -> Seal Keg -> Purge -> Transfer

    If you want to keep the whole process closed, you can push the beer into a second keg after the dry hop/nib stage is over.
     
    #11 VikeMan, Jul 30, 2016
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  12. makisupapolice14

    makisupapolice14 Pundit (799) Jun 5, 2005 New York

    Thanks vike my problem was retrieving the dry hop bag from the initial keg without some sort of string of something and then having to open up the keg, therefore exposing the beer to o2. I've definitely read about keg to keg transfers before I just need to read up on it. I was just trying to limit the amount of cleaning and co2 I'd need to use if possible.
     
    #12 makisupapolice14, Jul 30, 2016
  13. pweis909

    pweis909 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,250) Aug 13, 2005 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah

    Checked my notes. I dry nibbed for 2-weeks. I do not have problems with oils/head retention as Vikeman suggested, but you know, I've only used nibs one time. I won't try to tell you it's the best way to do it, but I feel like the approach I took turned out a good beer.
     
    #13 pweis909, Jul 30, 2016
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