I have a bag of cocoa nibs I want to use in a recipe. I also have a party planned in July that I am brewing some beer for. I was going to stay away from stouts and porters due to the warm summer weather. I came across a recipe for a “white stout” (basically a stout without the color. Thought it might deceive my guests into thinking it is a lighter beer) but I am quickly realizing that this recipe is too much for my small partial mash set up.
I then came across a batch of wort from my local German brewery. It’s a German Weiss. Described as follows:
“Versatile wort. It is all German with wheat, pilsner and Munich II malts and German herkules hops. The wort had a ferulic acid rest so the phenolic producing yeast strains will go crazy with this wort.”
So my question is, would I be totally off my rocker to throw cocoa nibs in this? I have seen wheat beers with cocoa nibs in them before but I have never tried them. I don’t want to go over the top. Maybe throw them in the last couple days of fermentation before cold crash. Maybe even a few coffee beans and a German banana flavor producing yeast? I imagining something like coffee cake. Something wheaty with a hint of cocoa and coffee.
Crazy?
Personally I’ve never been a fan of those cinnamon donuts with chocolate frosting. That’s what I’m envisioning for a German hefeweizen with cocoa – doesn’t sound great to me. However, if you don’t use a weizen yeast, it would probably turn out the way you want. Just avoid a weizen yeast. Or, go for it if you think you might like it.
not crazy at all. Go for it and report back.
What kind of yeast would you recommend? The wort comes with free yeast of my choice. Check out the list. http://www.imperialyeast.com/-yeast-strains/
I was thinking of the G01 stefon but that’s a weisen strain.
The A10 Darkness yeast looks to be well suited to your plans. That’s my recommendation.
You definitely want to stay away from “clove” (4-vinyl guaiacol) producing strains and go more for “banana” (isoamyl acetate) producing strains. WLP300 fermented in the low 70s may be the way to go. Personally, I do not think it sounds like something I could drink more than a few samples of, let alone 5-10 gallons, but adventure and experimentation are what make American brewers great.
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
Honestly I don’t think I will love it either but I am not a stout/porter fan and I told a buddy I would brew something using the cocoa. Then I acquired this wort and I saw an opportunity. If it doesn’t turn out disgusting and it gets consumed at the party I will be happy.
Didn’t mean to sell you short, you may have stumbled on the next craft beer fad. But understand when you say “wheat beer” I am assuming you are talking about a hefeweizen strain. The balance of banana and chocolate might work well. Perhaps a dunkelweizen.
Ha! No problem. I hope it turns out great. I guess what I meant was that even if it turns out fine it’s not really my style. I hope the guests love it. If not then at least I tried.
I get a free pack of yeast with the wort. These are what I have to choose from but I could always go buy a wyeast strain.
I recently had the opportunity to sample a light colored beer with cocoa nibs and coconut. This one was a gose, so it also was tart and had salt in it. It reminded me of tanning lotion. This was in a flight of about 20 other beers with cocoa nibs and it really became work after about 5 or 6 of them. But done right, meaning noticeable but restrained, they do make interesting and tasty beers. Too much and they are just… interesting. Way too much and they become a stunt, novelty. Gross.
Good luck and let us know how it goes
Good to know. I am definitely going use them very sparingly.
I have no idea how much… never brewed with them. But I have a lot of tasting experience, not always by choice. Another thing that comes to mind is that the stellar examples have all been one with the nibs paired with something else, like vanilla bean. But that’s just personal preference and probably useless info
Hmmmm…bananas and chocolate…a drizzle of brandy…whipped cream and a cherry. Yes!
(Oh, uhm…sorry)
I realize this isn’t the goal but what about doing something dark in color but light in roast like a schwarzbier?
I brewed what I called a black wheat a long time ago however I used a clean American yeast. I could see the cocoa working well in that. I think it was 50% wheat, a good portion of pils or two row, maybe some dark crystal malt, and enough midnight wheat to get it to 25 SRM.
I am not a big fan of German wheat beers so the cocoa with that yeast character sounds strange. Like others have said, it could turn out really good if you are judicious with your amounts.
Yeah that doesn’t sound bad. I love schwarzbiers. I am just trying to do something with what I got and that’s this German wheat wort. I am starting to rethink this though. I may just ferment the German wheat as is and brew something else for the cocoa. Maybe I will try a schwarzbier.