I also want to mention, that a touch of vanilla will accentuate the chocolate,
It kind of gets the aroma rolling.
I just go by trial, Greg. Tastes vary and the amount you want will vary depending on the beer. I just add a bit to the bottling bucket or keg and taste, adjust if necessary.
I have been messing around with cacao nibs a lot in the last 6 months. I have always put them in secondary (usually tied to a keg dip tube in a vodka soaked disposable hop bag). Yes, gently crush the nibs before placing in the bag.
I find that the crush + Vodka bag help to pull out more flavor of the chocolate into the beer. A min of 4 weeks is needed. Warm or cold didn’t make too much difference as far as secondary temp controlled.
The last thing is that the chocolate flavors really opened up more in a darker and higher ABV beer than lighter ABV and color beers.
I have worked on blond ales, american ryes, and Baltic porters with nibs. Makes sense to me, but the Baltic Porter was the best!
Remember, Cacao nibs are not chocolate. So plan the beer to have a nice residual gravity or a big mouthfeel (rye really helps here) to help give the “chocolate flavor” more push in your finished beer. Early tastes of the nibs will give you an earthly aroma and flavor, but tends to die out over a month.
I have used cocoa powder in making a chocolate blond. I was not having the sweetness I wanted so I added 8 oz. of lactose, it is unfermentable by yeast so it will stay in the beer. Next batch I am planning on using the chocolate extract. My beer is based off of a chocolate blond brewed at America’s Brewpub in Aurora, IL. My loves the beer, because it is not a stout or porter that you usually find that has chocolate added to it.