I’ll be brewing a Founder’s Kentucky Breakfast Stout clone using the recipe posted on the AHA website. The recipe states “cacao nibs” - I assume it would specify roasted nibs if that’s what was called for or if it’s know that this is what Founders uses. The fact that it doesn’t specify leads me to believe raw would be the choice to go with. Any advice or input on this from others who have used cacao nibs for a stout? I’ve used roasted in a chocolate stout but never used raw so don’t know what the flavor difference might be. It calls for them last 15 minutes of boil (not in fermenter). Thanks!
I think the recipe assumes that the nibs are roasted. Even if it doesn’t, that’s the route I would go.
Thanks for your input.
Roasted nibs are generally the only option you see in brewing. Raw nibs have kind of a green taste to them and a lot more subtle to what you think of as cocoa flavor, especially in beer. You generally only find the raw nibs in health foods where they are supposedly more healthy because they haven’t been processed by way of roasting.
This is what I suspected but felt unsure - it makes sense that a bit of roasting would bring out the desired flavors. Thanks!