Cacao Nibs

Third Eye co-owner and head brewer Kelly Montgomery makes the case for freshly roasted cacao nibs and using real vanilla extract in combination with vanilla beans to capture a rich chocolate flavor in stouts.

Cacao isn’t just for chocolate beers—around those nibs is a whole fruit with its own bright and unexpected flavors. Largely unknown outside tropical climates, those flavors present some unique possibilities for beer.

From layering malts to selecting and infusing adjuncts, Third Eye co-owner and head brewer Kelly Montgomery lays out their medal-winning approach to planning and brewing rich, flavorful stouts.

From various fruits to coconut and cacao nibs, Phase Three in Lake Zurich, Illinois, takes a pragmatic approach to using a wide range of flavor adjuncts. Here, cofounder and head brewer Shaun Berns goes into deep detail on their philosophy and process, ingredient by ingredient.

In this clip from his video course, Weathered Souls head brewer and cofounder Marcus Baskerville digs into adjunct techniques for Black Is Beautiful and other rich imperial stouts—including contact times for various ingredients.

With this recipe, the brewers at Main & Mill are going for imperial character and mouthfeel in a sessionable frame, with this lighter version of their Imperial Breakfast Stout.

This rich stout is the result of an unusual team-up between the rap group Nappy Roots and Arches Brewing of Hapeville, Georgia.