Infusing Flavor: Using Cacao Husks in Beers

Cacao nibs get all the credit when it comes to brewing chocolate beers, but they aren’t the only tool in the toolbox for getting chocolaty flavors from cacao. Conveniently, another part of the plant—cacao husks—is actually cheaper, and can be great for either supporting the flavor of nibs or standing alone in the right beer.

What Are Husks?

Cacao beans are surrounded by a thin membrane, and after the beans are dried and roasted, this membrane turns into a brittle husk. The beans are then cracked and winnowed, and the fragments of this husk fall away. The husks can’t be used in chocolate-making, so typically they’re a waste product. They can be composted, or used as mulch, but they have to be disposed of somehow, like spent grain in brewing.

This problem for chocolate makers can be a boon for brewers. You see, while the husks can’t be used to make chocolate, they do still have a chocolatey, cocoa-like aroma and flavor that can be imparted to beer. And since they’re a waste product, they’re typically much cheaper to purchase than nibs, and lighter weight by volume. Nibs are often 5-10x’s the cost of husks, making this by-product a potential win for brewers.

Pros and Cons

The most important thing to keep in mind, both as a potential advantage and disadvantage, is that cacao husks have no fat content. 

Fats, of course, have a negative impact on beer foam, and brewing with cacao can potentially impact head retention. In most beer styles, this doesn’t typically create much of an issue, but in beers that may already struggle with head retention, such as mixed-fermentation sours, adding nibs can eliminate any chance of that visually appealing foam. Brewing with husks can be a good option to mitigate this. 

However, that fat isn’t all a bad thing. Cacao beans are about 40% fat, and that has an impact on mouthfeel. When brewing with nibs, you not only get a rich chocolate flavor, but a silky, rich texture you can’t get with husks. 

Style Considerations

If you’re interested in brewing with cacao husks, here are some styles to consider.

If you want to experiment with husks on their own, the aforementioned longer-aged sours are a good application. The light, dry body on those beers is part of their profile, so you don’t want the richer, rounder character of nibs to alter that. One well-known brewer of these styles has used husks in mixed-fermentation, barrel-aged settings to get a light cocoa accent without impacting foam, and without clashing with the fermentation flavors.

There is also an opportunity to use husks on their own in lighter, paler beer styles where coffee might otherwise be used. Golden or blonde ales with coffee have become quite popular in recent years, and brewing a similar concept with cacao husks offers a fun and surprising variation.

Husks can also shine in a supporting role with traditional nibs. When brewing chocolates stouts with nibs, adding husks can add subtle complexity, lending a milk chocolate or cocoa component to the dark chocolate of nibs. The higher the ratio of husks used relative to nibs, the more of a milk chocolate character can be achieved.

Techniques and Final Thoughts

Husks are typically added during secondary fermentation, just like nibs. They can be steeped in hop bags, or used in a recirculation filter setup. If using nibs and husks, they can be intermingled together. 

One brewer of award-winning chocolate beers has seen success in adding husks to the mash. The milk chocolate flavor extracted under the low heat of this phase survives the boil and even extended barrel-aging, lending a slightly fuller flavor than cold-side additions.

The only stage to definitely avoid? The boil itself. This high heat environment can extract astringency from the husks.

While husks aren’t always the right choice for chocolate beers, they have very little downside, a low enough cost to justify experimentation, and situations where they’re exactly right. Consider cacao husks for your next brew.

In Collaboration with David Nilsen [Freelance beer journalist, speaker, podcast host, & Advanced Cicerone©. Author of Pairing Beer & Chocolate book]      davidnilsenbeer.com