What Are Cacao Nibs—and 12 Tasty Ways to Use Them

I'm by no means a serious chocolate connoisseur, however I do enjoy a nice piece of the dark stuff and thought I'd buy a few bars and review them here; hopefully this will help narrow down some options for those of you who are looking to buy some craft chocolate.
Keep in mind that what I purchased was primarily based off of my desire for rich textures.
Goodnow Farms Esmeraldas 70%
I can see why this bar is well-liked, as it has a conspicuously approachable flavor as far as dark chocolate goes: it's definitely jammy/grapey as the tasting notes describe, with very strong buttecream/dairy notes as well. It reminds me of buttered toast topped with a deep, dark berry jam that is both sweet and tart; this one has an overall very familiar, "safe" taste that's very straightforwardly pleasing, but lacking some depth at the same time (me personally, I want a smooth/moderate bitterness with a bit more complexity and nuances).
Mouthfeel decent but a bit tacky due to not enough cacao/cocoa butter; there is also a slight grain to the texture if you outright chew through it, meaning the beans themselves aren't 100% finely ground.
Goodnow Farms Special Reserve 100% Cacao
Remarkably silky, decadent texture; arguably the smoothest and richest out of the bunch, which tells me that the nibs are meticulously ground to a very fine texture and are supplied with liberal quantities of cacao/cocoa butter (unlike Esmeraldas).
Very natural, vibrant cacao taste that has prominent lemongrass notes cut with a subtle, fresh, creamy milk-like taste and richness; some natural bitterness that is balanced by a bright acidity, making it appropriately self-limiting and never overwhelming.
Chocolat Madagascar Dark 70%
Velvety texture; very pleasing moderate sweetness and good flavor, with strong notes of hazelnut, caramelized sugar, rich chocolate, as well as subtle floral/fruity notes. Just like the 85%, it's $9 for 3 oz, which makes these 2 bars better value compared to the other 5.
This one has a forgiving/mild taste (not unlike Goodnow Farms' Esmeraldas 70%), making it good for those who usually don't like dark chocolate. This definitely blows away your average chocolate bar, milk or dark irrelevant (it does has sunflower lecithin unlike the 85% bar though, if that bothers you).
Chocolat Madagascar Dark 85%
Flavor is undeniably better than your average dark chocolate bar, but lacking some complexity and refinement: primarily, I find that it isn't particularly well-rounded or balanced; what I did taste was decent though, with a "woody" quality and hints of citrus, yet it's unfortunately let down somewhat by a rough around the edges, distractingly acrid/astringent/tannic bitterness that also lingers in the mouth. Just an overtly acidic and bitter bar in general.
Texture is fairly nice and smooth, although with slightly less cacao/cocoa butter than the 70% bar.
Qantu Morropon 70%
Best flavor: intense yet incredibly balanced, with a trailing "fruity" acidity that is offset by a mildly tannic/astringent background (like that you would find in sour berries) and hints of cream that accentuate the base chocolate taste; cherry is the most prominent fruit taste in my opinion, along with raspberry nuances and another "red" taste I couldn't quite put my finger on (no plums or anything, though). Yep, red tastes great.
Texture is thoroughly smooth and melty, too, and perfectly complemented/carried the wonderful flavor; this is all in all a very refined, very balanced bar.
Chocolate Tree Porcelana Venezuela 85%
Most unique flavor: strong notes of cinnamon, and a warm "coppery" quality similar to leather perhaps; this is contrasted with an equally warm, comforting, "pure" chocolate taste with malt undertones, yet an odd (and somehow fitting) contrasting subtle mint flavomenthol coolness popping up every once in a while.
Mouthfeel is very consistent, indicating that the cacao beans are completely and finely ground, and the cacao/cocoa butter content is decently generous too.
Better value compared to the Goodnow Farms, Amedei, and Qantu bars.
Amedei Toscano Black 90%
Worst texture: a fair amount of cacao/cocoa butter is present, yet the problem is the sheer lack of even consistency/smoothness (you can clearly feel uneven particles of powder that aren't quite emulsified with the butter even with no chewing, despite the mouthfeel not being outright gritty or anything).
Flavor is reminiscent of a fresh, floral chocolate cream and is surprisingly quite nice and balanced, though.
Personal Ranking:

1. Goodnow Farms Special Reserve 100% Cacao; 9.5/10 (best texture; fresh/natural cacao taste with well-rounded bitterness)
2. Qantu Morropon 70%; 9.5/10 (best flavor; very smooth/melty texture)
3. Chocolate Tree Porcelana Venezuela 85%; 8.5/10 (most interesting/unique flavor; consistent/fairly rich texture)
4. Chocolat Madagascar Dark 70%; 8.3/10 (mildest, sweetest)
5. Goodnow Farms Esmeraldas 70%; 6.5/10 (very approachable, familiar and straightforward flavor; so-so texture)
6. Chocolat Madagascar Dark 85%; 6.0/10 (least-developed flavor; texture sufficiently smooth)
7. Amedei Toscano Black 90%; 5.0/10 (worst texture due to its lack of consistency; flavor pleasantly mild and floral for a 90% bar)

Recommendations:
Best value and mildest flavor: Chocolat Madagascar Dark 70%
Best high-end pick: Qantu Morropon 70%
Best for texture-lovers: Goodnow Farms Special Reserve 100% Cacao
Best all-rounder with unique qualities: Chocolate Tree Porcelana Venezuela 85%
I wanted to try Chocolat Madagascar Dark 100% as it has been well-received with numerous awards; interested to see how that stacks up against Goodnow Farms Special Reserve 100% Cacao.
Update:
I changed some of my descriptions and made the comparison(s) fairer, as I had eaten these chocolates in different contexts rather than consecutively in the same setting.
Update 2:
I'm going to review eleven 100% bars within the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned if you want to read that (1 will be the 100% bar I already reviewed here, so 10 new ones).

I started keto about a month and a half ago. I made note of my starting weight & measurements, but I haven't weighed or measured myself since then. This is mainly because I don't want to get obsessive over the numbers, which I have a tendency to do.
What I do know is that my shirts are starting to get baggy, and I no longer have to squeeze into my too-tight pants. Even my shoes fit more loosely. Oh and my phone and keys now have enough room in my pockets! And there’s now room for one more person under my sheets!… Oh wait. Just kidding on that one. But yeah, for the moment that's good enough for me.
A few other things I've noticed:
I no longer dread feeding myself, and I no longer stress about where my next meal/snack is going to come from. Let me explain:
Xarama’s World of Food used to be a relentless cycle of cravings or hanger, pigging out, and guilt. I constantly felt bad for eating too much, eating things I shouldn’t, being fat, “knowing” that people were judging me, eating at the wrong time, eating out all the time when I can’t afford to, eating more than everyone else at the table combined, or just eating, period. I couldn’t help noticing that I was that greedy pig who takes half the cookies at the office party and hoovers up an extra slice of wedding cake before the last guests in line have been handed their first plate. I hated parties, because in my mind, a party was a place where you spend an evening plotting how to get more food without anyone noticing (or, god forbid, forcing you to have a conversation you can’t focus on because THERE’S STILL FOOD LEFT AT THE BUFFET). I felt unable to drive from one place to another without stopping at a donut store or coffeeshop, because in my mind it made total sense to pick up something sweet to feel bad about later. I beat the summer heat by eating nothing but ice cream and watermelon for weeks on end, growing more blubber and ending up even hotter and sweatier and less motivated to do anything but eat another bucket of ice cream. Maybe with a helping of sweet liquor, to take the edge off, just a little longer before remorse kicks in once more.
Every day I suffered knowing I was the fat person at the table. You know, the one who’s still shoveling a mountain of food in their face, seemingly oblivious to the fact that everyone else is long done eating, yet more painfully aware of said fact than anyone else would ever know yet UNABLE TO STOP AND LOOK PEOPLE IN THE EYES… Oh the humiliation. The dreadfully bitter, caustic, swirling cocktail mixed up from self-hate, self-pity, and childish defiance. I justified my bad “choices” to myself and others, fully knowing that my arguments didn’t make any sense and that I wasn’t really making “choices” to begin with.
I was incensed by the fact that people treated me like I was stupid, because I know I’m not stupid. But precisely because I’m not stupid, I also realized that I objectively looked pretty damn stupid from the outside. I mean, come on! I clearly hadn’t even managed to stop eating before I turned into a whale, which definitely seems like a Smart People 101 level concept. But I hated the lectures from people who deemed themselves smarter or more educated or more disciplined than I was, the ones who knew all about my heart attack risk and how I should try harder and oh, aren’t I getting a little chubby? and The Diet That Will Work For All People Because It Worked For Me. How dared they assume that I lacked insight into my all-consuming problem, or the desire to change, or the right facts, when I had been trying my entire life to stop being fat, and yes of course I have read about your magic diet and in fact I tried it years ago, thankyouvermuch-but-please-stop-talking-about-my-weight-I’m-so-uncomfortable.
I was never satisfied. I never stopped obsessing. I never stopped beating myself up for being so out of control. I was thinking about food 24/7, and feeling bad about all of it literally all day long. So exhausting.
Nowadays, I plan a quick and easy breakfast before I go to bed. Things like perfectly cooked, fatty, salty, crunchy, uncured bacon (a new discovery of mine!) with poached or scrambled farmer’s market eggs and a fresh garden tomato. Or smoked salmon with capers (cream cheese optional), served on a bed of intensely flavored greens and/or asparagus, with a drizzle of lemon juice and a hard-boiled egg. Or some of that leftover lamb shoulder soup from last night: succulent meat with Brussels sprouts, zucchini, cauliflower, onion, tomatoes in a richly flavored, hot, oily broth. Such satisfying flavors and textures, yum. Such variety. Such vibrancy. And none of it takes more than 10 minutes to make from scratch (or re-heat leftovers from a more elaborate dinner). Oh and most days I like to drink black or green tea with a generous shot of cream… cold or hot, depending on the day’s temperatures. Or a nice refreshing glass of water. I eat a quick lunch: a crunchy salad, or a steamed veggie, or some greens; paired with creamy cheese and olives and nuts, or a hard-boiled egg, or last night’s leftover steak, or a juicy thigh from a rotisserie chicken I grabbed to take home with me and use in tomorrow’s green beans & chicken salad with mayo and toasted almonds.
When I get home from work, I cook a proper meal and sit down and enjoy it. These are not complicated affairs, unless of course I feel like making an elaborate guest-worthy dish, which pretty much never happened in the past and happens quite frequently now. But really, most nights it takes me 20 minutes tops to put something delicious on the table. I eat out significantly less often, and when I do, I usually find it easy to order a dish that I know I will enjoy, all without food shortage panic or regrets. And if I don’t find anything I can eat? Well, then I wait until I can eat something decent later, no big deal. And that’s it. The rest of the time, I truly don't think about eating in between meals. Food doesn’t even enter my thoughts nowadays, except when I fondly think back to the amazing meal I ate last (something that used to NEVER happen, but which happens a lot now), when I’m grateful for how much better I feel thanks to keto (another thing that happens a lot now), or when I go buy more groceries.
Boy do I enjoy what I eat. It is delicious, and it keeps me full. I eat way more veggies than I used to eat for the majority of my life, and not the sugary ones from the Hollywood prop box. (You will learn about this in the next paragraph, have patience.) I even have dessert after dinner: cheese and nuts, berries and cream with bits of dark chocolate, creamy yogurt with cacao nibs, or perhaps a sip (no really, just a sip, think a thimbleful) of red wine, or all of the above if I’m feeling really noshy while ready a book on a lazy late weekend night. Or maybe I’ll enjoy some fine chocolate I had to order online (oh it’s worth the extra time and money), or Greek yogurt drizzled with thick, creamy, what-wonderful-things-are-happening-in-my-mouth-I-think-I’ve-died-and-gone-to-heaven peach-balsamic vinegar. Yes, I said it: Greek yogurt and peach balsamic vinegar for dessert. This is a combination for the inventing of which I probably deserve to be burned at the stake, or perhaps impaled on a stake, take your pick, yes I’ve been reading too much fantasy lately and please don’t burn me to death. But yeah, it’s a wicked good flavor combo: try it, if you don’t mind springing for expensive vinegar. I have dessert every day, and it’s incredibly delicious and 100% guilt-free, and even with all this decadence, my blubber is just melting away with zero effort or forced restraint. That’s right, I don’t force myself to stop at the end of a meal… because I don’t need to. I just stop eating when I’m done. Did you know what that feels like? Because I sure didn’t. But “finished and satisfied” is a thing now. It’s when I feel like I don’t want or need anything else, when I feel rich and spoiled and pleased with I have and what I am allowed to do. What a world to live in for the rest of my life!
Speaking of food: grocery shopping is infinitely faster and easier. Walking through a grocery store now means passing by entire shelves filled with stuff I no longer buy, or even look at. You know... cereal, chips, rice, pasta, beans, baked goods, most canned goods, prepared foods, the entire drinks section, the "sugary dairy" case, the candy aisle, the fruit displays in the produce section... they all feel like some kind of plasticky, dusty relic from the past. Like a thing that used to be magnetic and magical until I saw behind the veil, and now they're OBVIOUSLY just cheap Hollywood props, and I’m tearing down that veil so you can know it too, if indeed you so choose. You know, we gotta spread the love. And the cream cheese. (cue conspiracy theme music)
Anyway, uh… right, grocery store. So nowadays, I hit the cheese section, grab some yogurt, eggs, salmon, and bacon on my way across the store, and end my round by choosing the best-looking veggies (whatever is green plus cauliflower, eggplant, mushrooms, and tomatoes; that’s the rule more or less, when in doubt Google is just a couple swipes away). Pay, boom, done. Time to go home and cook and eat that stuff. I also frequent the farmers' market for locally-grown produce and humanely raised fresh meat and eggs. To think that I used to literally spend hours in the grocery store each week, pondering my choice of sickly colored cereals, picking the “healthiest” type of candy and fattening ice cream out of the many brands that were even worse (gasp), and waffling over which kind of bread or noodles I should buy. And then guiltily returning that ice cream or candy to its spot on the shelf on my way to the register because, come on, I really shouldn't be buying this. And then going back to throw it in the cart at the last moment, after all. Ugh.
I’m convinced now that grocery stores are places of great evil, places that only exists to suck up the precious moments of our lives that we should be spending doing fun things. Like writing a longwinded letter to random internet strangers, just because if it weren’t for other random internet strangers, precisely those who shared their thoughts with me in the past, I wouldn’t be where I am now :)
But wait, there’s more! Cooking is so much less complicated, too. Where there used to be three components (meat/protein, veggies, and starch) there are now only two. That’s a 33% savings, err, reduction in time, effort, and cookery. It’s just one less thing I have to deal with, you know? Yes this sounds silly, but hear me out! I no longer need to spend any of my already-depleted mental energy on trying to decide which kind of noodles/rice/potato/bread/… goes best with the meal I’m making. I don’t need to pick them out in the store, have room to store them in my kitchen, prep/cook them or provide and later wash a pot/dish to cook and serve them in. I have so much breathing room and storage room and workspace now where I used to store pasta, grains, beans, jam, alcohol, sugar, flour, milk, candy, chips, cookies, yadda yadda yadda. Clutter begone! I need the space for fancy chocolate and vinegar, haha.
I’m so much more clear-headed. I’ve struggled a lot with anxiety and obsessive & negative thoughts. Now I just get stuff done: instead of endlessly agonizing over how exactly I should do something, I just do it and move on. I’m not spinning in circles, mentally speaking. I’m more cheerful and less tired. I arrive to work on time (most days). I have more focus. I think I sleep better? (But who knows, I’m not watching myself sleep. That would be weird.) Umm… oh right, more focus. And yeah, you know? I’m happy. I feel like a human being again, after decades of being a junkie. My self-confidence is much stronger, and not because the weight loss is starting to show. To me, keto goes deeper, it goes to the heart of who I am, who I have been all along inside that fat suit. Watch out world, I’m ready to step out.
Thanks to my best friend for introducing me to keto, just by living the example, without pressure or guilt-tripping. And thanks to all of you here who encourage each other, and me. May we all have good food, good friends, and happiness always.
Edit: Formatting

I just made these as Christmas gifts for my mom and several of my friends, and got rave reviews on them, so figured I'd share.
Ingredients:
1 cup finely chopped cocoa butter
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/3 cup date paste (or to taste)
Nuts/dried fruits for variety
Tools:
Immersion blender, food processor, double boiler (or bowl that fits nicely in a pot), molds.
Instructions:

1. First, chop up the cocoa butter in the food processor until it is quite fine. Set aside.
   
2. Next, make your date paste. I've found that a 300g package makes about 2/3 of a cup, so half a package should be enough. Put the pitted dates in the food processor with 1-2 tbsp water. Blend until smooth.
   
3. Heat the cocoa butter and stir until completely melted. Add 1/2 cup of cacao and whisk until smooth.
   
4. Add the date paste, and use the immersion blender to get it to mix with the chocolate base. Once blended, it will look very different from regular chocolate: it will be doughy, lumpy, and grainy-looking. The cocoa butter will start to separate from the rest of it. Don't panic; that's how it's supposed to look.
   
5. Now it's time to mold the chocolates. If you don't have chocolate molds, you can use muffin papers, ice cube trays, or just drop dollops on parchment paper. If using a mold, you will need to push the chocolate into them a bit to get them in all the way, though you will probably have some air pockets. Scrape excess chocolate off the top with a butter knife and add it back to the pot. If you want to add extras, now is the time; push nuts or dried fruits into the center, or sprinkle some on top and pat them down. Put in the fridge and chill until set. Sometimes the cocoa butter separates more than others; don't worry if you have large white sections on the bottom, it will not effect the taste, only the appearance.
   I will say that if dark chocolate isn't your thing you might not like this too much, so if you don't need to avoid sugar you might as well use something easier to work with than dates (and be able to skip the immersion blender step). Or you could try using cocoa powder instead of cacao, as it's supposed to be less bitter. If you do use a different sweetener, keep in mind that in addition to the lack of fiber, it will also be more sweet than the dates and a 1:1 substitution might be too much sweetness. Add it slowly and taste as you go.
   

​
I made a lot of different kinds to give as gifts; blueberry, raspberry, cherry, macadamia, hazelnut, pistachio, walnut, pecan, and double chocolate mocha (coffee bean and cacao nibs). So far everyone's favourite is blueberry. Definitely a recipe I'm going to be using again!

Hello, chocolate lovers! Are you craving something sweet but have found dark chocolate to be sadly lacking so far? You simply may have not found the right bar for you.
Cacoa beans are interesting in that their flavors are very dependent on what's going on around them. Temperature, rainfall, etc - many different countries product these beans and different tastes will be had from all of them. (In fact, if there's a forest fire near the beans, they'll even start tasting smokey.) This difference is really noticeable in dark chocolate. With milk chocolate, so much milk and sugar is added that the different in bean type is really negligible - but dark chocolate, you're really getting that flavor profile.
So, I've gotten my hands on 10 different types of dark chocolate bars that can be found in various local stores and specialty stores. I didn't order any of these online or from special chocolate distributors, although that'll likely be my next step if I want to grow my chocolate reviews. Your suggestions are welcome.
I eat dark chocolate every day. Below, I have reviewed bars that are at least 75%. Realistically, for an every day chocolate, you'll want at least 85%; most could fit a piece or three into their macros for the day. Under 85% is still doable, but may require planning or having it as a rare treat.
I'll generally also note the square size for you. This is because smaller squares are easier when it comes to calorie counting. If I have a bar with small squares with each of them being 25 calories (for instance), it's easier for me to exactly customize how much chocolate I can have vs a bar with big 90 calorie squares.

• Lindt 90% : the infamous Lindt and the one everyone seems to try first as this bar is ubiquitous in many grocery stores. The small squares make it good for being able to really customize your calorie count to what you want. However, I would not consider this a beginner's chocolate. It's got a strong, bold taste with very traditional bitter notes. Not all dark chocolate is bitter, but this one is. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just a personal preference. So if this was your first bar and you weren't fond (I'm not a fan myself), read on.
  
• Ghirardelli 86% : this one swings back the other way. It's an exceptionally mild dark chocolate bar, almost buttery. I sometimes like to put a splash of whipped cream or PB on my dark chocolate, but any other flavor will overpower this one. If you're used to stronger darks, this one would be considered bland. Large squares.
  
• Endangered Species 88% : One of my favorites! This has a nice dry crunch indicative of a quality tempering process. It's got some traditional bitter undertones, but an overarching pleasantly sweet flavor. Squares are medium size.
  
• Valrhona 85% Le Noir : This company has a reputation for being an excellent chocolate maker and this bar does not disappoint. Great quality chocolate. It's extremely calorically dense for a single piece (which is a downside), but in that single piece you'll get a lot of richness of chocolate. One piece actually made me feel full and nearly overwhelmed by chocolate. Slight dry notes at the end would be my only complaint.
  
• Alter Eco 85% : Another one not for beginners due to its traditional bitter taste! This finishes with a bittersweet snap and strong fruit notes throughout. I wasn't a big fan.
  
• Dagobah Eclipse 87% : Very slight bitter aftertaste but overall pretty smooth and good. I would get an occasional rough mouth feel that felt like a nib. This would be an appropriate beginner bar IMO. The nutritional info here is for the whole bar (big plus) with tiny rectangles to help your calorie needs.
  
• Chocolove Extra Dark 77% : Nice snap in regards to mouth feel from a quality chocolate and tempering process. There was a VERY slight bitter aftertaste but very smooth throughout. This one didn't really stand out in any way besides that, though; you can find tastier chocolates with less carbs elsewhere.
  
• Artisana 85% : Made with Criollo beans. Criollo beans are like the Arabica beans of the coffee world (I think, I don't drink coffee). Very few bars are made from Criollo as the trees are very delicate and only grown in Venezuela. I believe this is the only bar I've had made from Criollo (it should be blasted from the packaging as the beans don't come cheap). Anyway, some people think Criollo is all hype, others love it, I fall on the latter side, especially with this bar. So good! NOT CHEAP! Not an every day chocolate for sure. Rich, smooth, fantastic flavor with a really great aroma. Medium-large squares.
  
• Nib Mor 80% : NIBS! Well, what else to say? This one actually has cacao nibs built into the bar. If you're new to dark chocolate, nibs are a bit of an acquired taste. I actually don't mind nibs (wouldn't buy them, but would eat if offered) but I just didn't love this bar. It's got a sort of jarring crunch due to the nibs. Depending on the bite, how many nibs, etc, sometimes I got a very slight minty note and sometimes a red wine kind of note. Medium-large squares.
  
• Theo Classics 85% : This is a classic dark chocolate with heavy bitter notes and a bold flavor! It reminds me of the Lindt tradition, although I prefer this chocolate over Lindt due to its tastiness and high quality, but overall not a beginner chocolate. Big squares.
  

Apologies for the long post, but I don't have a blog and felt like my experience was worth talking about.
I was recently asked by 2 different friends to brew a beer for special occasions. One friend asked for a coconut stout for his wife's birthday since she had tried one that was her favorite beer. The other asked for a clone of Berkshire Brewing Company's Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale for his anniversary.
The Steel Rail clone came up first. It was my friend's favorite beer in college, but I'd never heard of it (it's apparently hard to come by outside of Massachusetts). I researched it a bit and found very little information about ingredients. I found a clone recipe on a forum, but it only used 2-row and 3 small hop charges (Goldings, Willamette, and Northern Brewer). It didn't seem like enough to make the beer my friend was describing. Finally, I found a Massachusetts home brew shop that sold a recipe kit and ordered it. It came with only 2-row, TWO small hop charges (Goldings & Willamette) and a pack of US-05. I was still skeptical that I could get any kind of character out of that simple of a recipe. Still, I forged ahead. We brewed the kit together (adding LME to make up for my lower-than-average efficiency), and it was one of my first brews where I hit every single number dead on. Volume, gravity... it was a flawless brew day. It fermented happily and I bottled it up, curious to see how it would taste.
While it bottle conditioned, I started the coconut stout, which was more of an adventure. Since I hadn't played around much with flavorings and additions, I decided to make the stout the maiden voyage of my 2.5 gallon setup. It was also the first time using my new mill, so I knew I'd be in for a bit of a guessing game when building my recipe. I read up on a few coconut stout and porter recipes and crafted one that I thought suited my needs. The recipe crafting was pretty much the last thing to go right on that brew. It was a stove top BIAB and I had some problems reading, adjusting, and maintaining mash temperatures. I panicked at a low thermometer reading and I'm pretty sure I over-heated it too early (lesson: multiple readings from multiple points in the kettle are probably a good thing). My boil-off rate was much lower than estimated, as well. As a result of over-heated mash, low boil-off, and possibly the lactose addition, I WAY undershot my OG. I decided to roll with it, anyway. It was essentially an experiment, after all.
I decided to use a dry yeast (S-04) since I had it on hand, but since I was only brewing 2.5 gallons, I skipped rehydrating. As a result, my fermentation never really took off. It stayed a slow, steady bubble with a tiny krausen. Gravity readings confirmed I had more or less finished up at 1.022, higher than intended, but not by much (though with the lower OG, I thought I might go lower). After I confirmed stable gravity, I added a tincture of raw coconut and cacao nibs in rum along with toasted coconut flakes, making a huge mess in the process (turns out I'm not great at pouring things into small carboy necks - part of why I love my Fermonster). All in all, it was reminiscent of a "short and shoddy" brew, except it wasn't short. It was just shoddy.
So how did these turn out? Remarkably, they are both beer. Pretty damn good beer, in fact. I continue to be stunned by the Steel Rail. Considering it only has two small hop charges and the most basic grain bill imaginable, I'm amazed at the depth of flavors that come through. The Goldings give it a nice, easy bitterness and the Willamette gives it just enough spice to stand out. There's also a note of pineapple in there that I can't quite explain. Maybe it's an ester from the yeast, or maybe the hops are just working overtime. It's a refreshing, clean beer that I enjoy way more than I expected to. My friend says it's exactly what he remembers Steel Rail tasting like. It's a total win!
The stout isn't quite what I expected, but despite all the troubles, it's still very drinkable. The cacao nibs overpowered the coconut to the point I can barely taste it, and it's sweeter than what I usually drink (to be expected based on my gravity readings), but it actually balances out the roastiness pretty well. It's not cloying, and ending at 4.0% ABV makes it nicely sessionable. There's no indication in the final product that the beer struggled so mightily to come into existence.
So what does it mean, and why am I writing this? I'm not sure, exactly, but it felt significant to me. Two drastically different experiences on drastically different beers, and both of them turned out very well. One made me challenge my expectations about ingredients, recipes, and simplicity, and the other is pretty much the physical embodiment of RDWHAHB. I've just been brewing for over a year, but I love how much I learn from every step of the process each time I brew.
Tl;dr - don't bail on your beer and enjoy the process; you might be surprised with the finished product!

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Date: 2014-05-01
Link to submission (Has self-text)

Questions	Answers
What's the best way to get into home-brewing? Is there a kit you can recommend for me to give it a try?	I would say just go for it. Our first homebrew batch was horrible (fermentation temperature control is key! handle that and you're ahead of 95% of homebrewers) and it just made me mad. I went for the Northern Brewer deluxe starter kit (www.northernbrewer.com No association, I just think they have great products and excellent service), got a turkey fryer to do full boils, and a wort chiller in short order.
	Definitely start with extract kits, do one or two at the minimum to learn basic boil process and sanitation. Partial volume boil or full volume are just fine. Once you're rock solid on fermentation and sanitation, you can choose step up to partial mash or all-grain, or stick with extract. Don't let anybody fool you, you can make excellent, professional quality beer with malt extract- 90% of good beermaking is good fermentation.
	We did a modified brew-in-a-bag all grain because it gives you the control of all-grain with basically zero equipment costs. We brewed BIAB until the first day we fired up the 3bbl system.
	No matter what you do, stick with recipe kits and other people's recipes (preferably popular or commonly brewed ones) for a LONG time so you can learn what different ingredients do to a beer, then you can start making small tweaks to adjust beers to your liking. Eventually, you'll understand things enough to start crafting recipes from scratch! Homebrewtalk.com and /homebrewing are both great resources.
What method do you use to control fermentation temp? I'm having a hard time using the "swamp-cooler" method in my no-AC apartment.	We used to just wrap our fermenters with wet towels and keep them very wet with a fan pointed at them. That worked in our very dry climate. I also like "muckbucket with frozen water bottles" method, if that's not what you're already talking about.
	Currently we have a temperature controlled fermentation box that's attached to our cold box to ferment the 3bbl batches. Any bigger than that and I don't think ambient cooling would be enough.
What's your favorite SD craft brewery?	Sam recently brewed a version of Unite Pale Ale for International Women's Collaborative Brew day with Erica over at Intergalactic, it was RAD! I think they still have some on, but we're out of it. We also brewed a collaboration beer with Intergalactic that will be out this month, it's a super cool mashup of their Coconut Porter and our Chocolate Stout.
What's your favorite LA/OC craft brewery?	It's so hard to pick a favorite brewery! I think Intergalactic is knocking it out of the park right now and I'm glad to hear they're getting a bigger brewhouse. I also think Alesmith is making some of the best beer in the country right now, and I hope the new bigger brewery will help them get some of the national acclaim they deserve!
Do you have any collaborations in the works?	I haven't been to a ton of OC breweries, unfortunately, but The Bruery is the obvious choice. I also think Noble is absolutely KILLING IT right now- Naughty Sauce is one of my all time favorites. Up in LA, I've had the pleasure of touring Golden Road and seeing the new construction, it's a really cool place but I wish they would package their Berliner Weisse! My favorite in LA would have to be Eagle Rock- really good stuff!
My favorite in LA would have to be Eagle Rock- really good stuff! That would also be my pick. Not just 'cause it' in my 'hood, but because the product is outstanding. Has Sam ever come up to Eagle Rock Brewery for the Women's Beer Forum? If not, we need to make this happen.	Sam hasn't been to the WBF. It's a bit of a hike, but shoot her an email at [email protected] and we'll see what we can work out!
Hi Rob Congrats on the business venture and chasing your passion, very few of us actually do. What strength is your brew before retail and how do you control the alcoholic strength it for retail? I've always wanted to know this. Kind wishes Stephanie.	Hi Stephanie! We calculate alcohol basically the same way homebrewers do. Essentially, we measure how much sugar is in the wort (unfermented beer) before we add the yeast, and then measure the sugar when the beer is finished fermenting (there will be much less). Using a simple formula, we assume that all of that missing sugar has become CO2, H20, and ethanol.
	Controlling alcohol content is a bit of a trick. We have to be sure to have a tightly controlled mash and boil process so that we always start out with the same amount of sugar in the wort, and then we have to design our process so that the yeast always eat up the same amount of sugar and we aren't left with a beer that's too weak and sweet or too strong and dry. We do this with careful yeast selection, oxygenation, and temperature control of the fermentation.
	Currently, we have 9 beers on tap in the tasting room, and their ABVs range from 3.1% (our English Ordinary Bitter) up to 8.9% (a Belgian golden strong ale).
Thanks for the AMA. Quick question, in what ways are you ensuring that your product remains consistent? I understand on a large scale there is usually a quality assurance and quality control department, but with a small craft brewery I would like to know what you are doing to ensure consistency? Thanks!	Consistency is always an issue at small breweries, but we keep meticulous records which help us to identify problems or sources of variability. One of the biggest things is sanitation- we break every piece of equipment totally down before a brew day and clean and sanitize every part. I'm also a biologist, so I'm nutty about yeast health and sanitation. Those are the biggest things, but we are also always adding equipment and processes that help us make the same great beer every time. It's not going to be perfect, but it's part of the fun of going to small breweries, seeing how things change over time. For example, we've always brewed our IPA with the same grist, but it hasn't had exactly the same hop bill since we started making it. Always tweaking.
That makes sense. Thanks for the answer. I think that a evolving product seems to fit well with the American craft beer culture, because from what I have seen it seems that people are more likely to go out of their way to try new things instead of find their favorite beer and drink only that.	Our board changes a LOT. We have some beers we keep on all the time, and then 3 or 4 rotating, special, or seasonal taps, and we typically also have one experimental, tiny batch, that will typically only be on for 3 or 4 days. We like to keep it fresh and find out what people dig.
What beer do you make goes good with chicken wraps? I'm tryin' to impress a white lady, so I can get my mama some grandkids.	They are all awesome, but if your lady likes IPA, ours is killer.
Sounds good. Let me get a sixer. If it all goes well, I'm a name my kid after you.	No bottles yet- we'd have to spend twice what we spent on the whole brewery just to buy a bottling line. You'll just have to come in to the tasting room!
Hope to make out to 2Kids soon!	We try to focus on beers you can't get elsewhere, unusual styles. Our board features a bunch of beers nobody makes anymore, like an Ordinary Bitter, a Cali Common, and an American Cream ale. We also try to be creative- we've got a winter saison on right now, which isn't really a thing, we just kind of made it up. We'll have a summer one on soon, though.
Awesome. I'll make sure to head out there. My wife's cousin mentioned you guys because she knows one of your somehow. Jennifer Witherspoon?	We went to High School with Jennifer! She probably saw the brewery on Facebook.
The winter saison is great, keep up the good work!	Thanks! Come by for the summer version when it gets really hot!
Thanks for the AMA and for the beer. Your cream ale and the Astarix might be two of my faves in San Diego. What advice might you give a homebrewer who's thinking about opening up their own Nano or micro brewery? #BlueHairOut.	Thanks for the compliment! I would say find a market that's underserved. There are a lot of nanos right now, and they're going to keep growing. If you can find somewhere that isn't going to be too crowded in a few years, I think that would be a great way to get into it. You may be slow at first, but have much more room to grow and learn your customers preferences!
off, I want to be you when I grow up! How many barrels a year do you guys produce? Did you start it all up yourself, or did you have to get investors? If you needed investors, are they included in the actual process for choosing what you brew and when you brew it, or is it all you and your wife?	Right now we brew about 3bbl a week, which is less than 200bbl per year. We hope that we can brew a lot more than that once we can get in the brewery full-time. It was really important to us to own the brewery outright and not have any other partners/investors. Total control of the creative process is essential to making good beer, and not just beer that will sell. We write all the recipes, decide how much of what to make, and when to rotate out beers.
Awesome! Good luck. I'll have to try your beers the next time I'm out west.	Thanks! Be sure to take a growler home to show off!
Do you believe there's such thing as too many hops?	You can have too much of anything, but I love hops! I'm a huge IPA and IIPA drinker, but I'm always disappointed when you go into a bar or brewery and the board is nothing but Belgians and IPAs. More selection please!
Where can I buy some? Are you guys going to sell online?	At the moment, you can only buy 2kids beer in our tasting room! In the next few months, you'll start seeing our beer in bars in Mira Mesa, and then hopefully we'll branch out into some of the more competitive tapspace in the county.
I live in San Diego, but I've only hit up the larger breweries. I'd love to go on a micro brew tour.	There are a ton here. Pacific just opened up about a month ago just across our parking lot and they're doing good work. They brew on a system about our size, but have a much fancier tasting room! Intergalactic is absolutely knocking it out of the park right now and are stepping up their 1bbl system to a 3bbl like ours in the next couple of months. They are another nano doing things right.
What are some other solid breweries I could visit in Mira Mesa after checking out Two Kids?	If you're looking for small, definitely hit up the original Mike Hess tasting room, which is also here. The big brewery in North Park is cool, but it's neat to see where it all started. We also have friends over at Rough Draft and New English. Both make fantastic beer, but are larger than nano. You really can't go wrong! After those, obviously we've got Green Flash, Alesmith, Ballast Point, White Labs, Wet 'n Reckless, and St. Archer. They're all doing great work. Looking forward to the expansions of Alesmith and Ballast point!
Ditto, and I've been reading your other posts, it seems you have a great IPA, so I'm excited. How hoppy are we talking?	Obligatory is sort of an Eastcoast/Westcoast fusion IPA, so it's on the malty side and won't blow your face off with hops. It's fairly bitter at 70 IBU, but has the malt to back it up and a big, heavy hop aroma. It also uses some fairly unusual hops for american IPAs, so it's definitely distinctive.
How do you ensure your beer doesn't taste EXACTLY like the countless other brews out there? That's one beef I have with the craft beer scene.	I think there's a lot of great diversity and selection in craft beer today, and more breweries means more of that, so I'm stoked. We try to hit styles that other folks aren't making, though, so that helps a lot in hitting other taste niches. For example, Incredulous is probably the only really traditional ordinary bitter you can get that's made CA. We also have a Cali Common, and a kind of weird beer that's a winter warmer style re-imagining of a summer-style Saison. We like to make beer you can't get anywhere else.
I live in Bend, OR where we have a ton going on in craft brewing. Crux is one of the newer breweries and I recently had a beer they made with a prohibition era recipe using corn. It's dynamite. I like seeing the new breweries going after something different. Good luck!	That was probably a Classic American Pilsner (CAP). It's a great style. We also make a nearly-extinct American adjunct beer: our American Cream Ale, One Twenty Three, is made with about 15% flaked corn.
My business class is currently creating an L3C brewery for a class project, so I can honestly say that i understand and appreciate your efforts. How many barrels of beer are you trying to make per year, and what is your marketing strategy for selling them?	At the moment, we'll make less than 200bbl per year, but hope to expand that a lot! We have a big system so it's totally doable, especially if we can get in the brewery full-time. Our marketing strategy is pure grassroots. We're on social media and try to reach out to the press when we can, but it's a zero-budget kind of thing!
If you had to describe your beer in one word, what would it be?	Unconstrained.
Have you thought about trying cannabis instead of hops in a beer? Like an IPA style?	Sadly, it would be illegal in CA. We have medicinal MJ here, but not recreational. I think the Fed also gets annoyed, since our license is for alcohol only. I think some homebrewers have tried it, and their consensus was "not tasty."
Any thoughts on doing a gluten-free beer?	Well, the FDA prevents us from labeling beer gluten-free if it's made with barley malt, but we could potentially make a gluten-reduced beer using an enzyme called Brewer's Clarex (Clarity ferm is one brand from White Labs). There's some debate as to whether or not beer treated with clarex is safe to drink for people with various gluten-related issues. We definitely want to do that, as we have a lot of friends and family that have gluten allergies, sensitivities, and Celiac's disease.
	I don't have any experience brewing with gluten free grains like sorghum, but I haven't enjoyed beers made that way. Most gluten free people I know avoid those and stick to naturally gluten-free drinks like wine, cider, and mead.
Late to the party, but like many here I just want to ask, how difficult is it to get started? I work a 9-5 job and have never brewed anything in my life, though I'm always considering getting a kit.	Get started homebrewing? It's easy! I would definitely recommend starting with extract kits. You'll save a lot of time and effort, and learn the basics of brewing. I like Northern Brewer's beginners kits, particularly the deluxe version, if you have the scratch. Do a lot of reading on homebrewtalk.com and you should be on your way. Just FYI, Sam and I were both full-time employed when we started brewing, and we live in a sub-600sqft apartment! At one point we had 7 kegs full of beer, probably ten cases, and 6 more fermenters bubbling away in our living room. You definitely have the time and the space!
Is your liver sore?	Never, it's in good shape from the regular workouts it gets.
Wish you the best! Have you heard of Lagunitas? If so, what do you think?	Lagunitas is huge here on the west coast, and they're building a new brewery in Chicago, where my brother lives so it's about to get easier to find elsewhere. I love their beers, particularly their IPA.
My buddy and I are looking to start a brewery along the same size as yours in the next year or two. Would you mind if I asked roughly the amount you had to invest to start?	We ran a successful kickstarter that raised about $25k, but that was only a small portion of what we ended up spending. Maybe a third? I don't have the numbers in front of me, but it was a lot, and our tasting room is NOT fancy. Very DIY- most of the money went into stuff that would make and serve beer, and while our system isn't pretty, it's where we wanted to focus our spending.
How often to you use "local supply" when at work?	If you mean drink on the job, then all the time! Why else own a brewery? If you mean buy ingredients and equipment from local suppliers? Then we do that where we can. Our ingredients come from California, and all of our equipment and tasting room was bought and fabricated here in San Diego!
Yes I meant drinking on the job. Is it not hard to be productive when you are constantly getting lit?	We try not to catch a buzz on the job, but I can drink Incredulous all day! At 3.1% abv, it's delicious and doesn't even have that many calories! I can have a few pints and still be able to keep track of tabs in my head.
Have you heard about the CEO of Samuel Adams who has a secret recipe on how to not get drunk? He eats raw yeast with yogurt so he can drink all day without hardly getting drunk.	I don't buy it, honestly. Yeast and/or alcohol dehydrogenase wouldn't survive the nasty habitat that is your stomach acid. I think the dude's been drinking long enough he has an above-average tolerance and also know how to pace himself. You never see brewery owners pounding IIPAs at the bar.
Damn, I was all excited there might be a miracle to counter binge drinking.	The only way to avoid a hangover is to not drink too much!
Any chance your products are coming to the east coast?	Not for a very long time! There are a lot of great reasons besides beer to come out to the left coast, though!
Where is your tasting room located? I'm in Sorrento Valley and I need a beer to go with my lunch today!	We're in the Mira mesa/Miramar area, off Camino Ruiz and Miralani. We show up on Google Maps and Yelp now if you need directions!
Rob, I tried the beer back East by Wells called Banana Bread Beer, it was like a dessert! I think it was an ale, how would I make something like that?	Banana extract! Using banana fruit is messy and doesn't give you super great flavor. We do use cocoa powder, cacao nibs, and vanilla beans in our chocolate stout though.
Oh awesome! New brewery to try out!	There's a bunch! How far behind are you?
Pretty far, I'm a creature of habit and usually stick to my north county brews or what ever is on tap @ TapThat in oceanside.	I know the feeling! I love ordering stuff I've had before, but I always try to get at least one beer I've never had before if I'm at a bar.
Congratulations on being able to pursue your passion! No questions myself, but I have some friends who brew; I've sent them a link to this thread, in case they want to get involved.	Thanks, it's been a blast! I'm always happy to give out homebrew advice!
I do a twice-yearly beer trip to North County + SD proper to check out the latest and greatest breweries. Will have to swing by next time! Congrats on making the dream happen.	Thanks! Hope to see you next time around!

Last updated: 2014-05-06 02:24 UTC
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