Using cocoa nibs

[Matt]

I've made a pretty solid oatmeal stout for Brewfest this year, but I'm considering adding some cocoa nibs for added chocolatey goodness. But I've never used them before. I managed to purchase some "Raw Organic Cacao Nibs" (12oz). I hear I'll probably want to roast them prior to using them. This both increases their chocolate flavor, as well as eliminates concerns about infecting the beer.

I'm reading something like 250-300 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Can anyone confirm or make other suggestions on this?

Also, I hear they make a pretty sludgy mess, and that adding too much can basically turn your beer into pudding. Any suggestions on how much I should add to a 5 gallon batch for optimal chocolate flavor and aroma? How long should I "dry nib"? Can you over-do it? I plan to just take tastes every day or so and rack off when it's just right.

Should I use a mesh bag to keep the mess in check? Or just dump them in and let them settle out?

The beer is in kegs now, and I was planning to add them to the keg, suspended in a mesh bag. Then transfer from that keg to a clean keg once they've done their work and age cold until Brewfest. My thinking is that going into kegs and using mesh bags would allow for the safest transfers (jumping from keg to keg) and least amount of sludge. But it also puts the dip-tube right down where the sludge is most likely to be. So maybe that's not the best route.

Any advice on these from some of you who've got experience with nibs would be MUCH appreciated. I've got a very good stout already with my base beer, and I don't want to screw that up. I'll probably nib 5 gallons and keep the other 5 plain as a back-up/comparison -- but the more info I can get the better, with this being my first time using nibs.

Thanks!
Matt

[brick]

Use them in secondary like your dry hopping.

[Matt]

Thanks Brick... I got that much. :)

Anybody else have any advice? Amounts to use? Advice on roasting them? Experiences with "dry nibbing" in kegs? How long they need to be in the beer for best results? Other concerns?

Thanks!
Matt

[JMcG]

I used 4 oz (bagged) in 5 gal keg for two weeks then jumped to new keg. It had a lot of chocolate character.
jim

[Ace]

With my last batch I ground them in a coffee grinder and added them to enough vodka to completely cover them, let them steep in that for some weeks. I don't recall if I put them in a hop bag or not in the keg, maybe Joe remembers. I got them at Au Marche, probably a 4 oz.

[Matt]

Did you guys buy them roasted or raw? Mine are raw. I've read in several places that roasting them and/or soaking in alcohol like vodka releases a lot more of the flavor (as well as preventing infections).

Thanks for any further input. I'd just HATE to ruin a 5 gallon keg of good beer by doing this wrong.

Matt

[JMcG]

Got mine at the Merc, don't remember, but think they were raw and I didn't roast them.
jim

[Ace]

I'm looking at the nibs I bought, made by Scharffen Berger it comes in a 6 oz package. They are roasted and shelled and it cost $9.85 at Au Marche.