I have a milk stout in primary for 10 days. Should I add the Cacao nibs to the primary or rack the stout on top of them in a secondary fermenter? Does it make any difference?
I fermented it with BRY-97 and it is already pretty clear, so secondary is not needed for clarification.
Will three weeks on the 97 be too long?
Thanks for the advice, fellow brewers!
I’d go ahead and add them to primary since fermentation appears to be done, and pull when the flavor is where you want. Not too long on the 97 by any means. I’ve had many beers on the yeast a month+, with no negatives .
I had good luck with a milk stout recently where I made an extract from the cocoa nibs rather than adding them directly to the fermenter. I soaked the nibs in 6 oz of clean tasting vodka for about 7-10 days, then added the extract to the secondary in small amounts until I got the intensity / flavor desired. There were some light tannin-type flavors for the first 2 weeks after I kegged it, but that went away in and I felt it was really well balanced after a month of conditioning.
This was my first time making an extract and I think a good experiment would be to taste the extract periodically during the 10 day soak and see if there is an optimal soak period.
I would just go ahead in the primary. No need to trasfer unless it’s a lager, a fruit beer or something with extensive aging…my opinion anyway.
Thanks, guys. I was thinking of adding them directly to the primary, but it’s nice to run it by others–especially you folks on the forum.
Yep, I recently brewed a Chocolate Banana Milk Stout. Added the nibs directly into the fermenter and it came out delicious!!