adding coffee to a coffee stout

[Jimsal]

Hello all-

looking for input on those who have brewed with coffee in the past. I have an OG 1066 stout and I'm looking to add coffee either to secondary or cold brewed to keg. First dilemma is how much coffee to use if i steep coarse grind beans in secondary and for how long. Cold brewed is to taste so I can figure that. Just wondering which is the preferred method.

 

[Chaos home brewing]

I have only done it one time and but in a 5gal batch I put 2 oz of course ground in the boil with 5 minutes left. I planned to put cold brew in secondary but the coffee flavor was already strong enough for our taste i decided against it. So my suggestions is use a little and try it before adding more.

 

[Recurring Session]

I have done cold brew and whole beans, both with great results. My favorite method is dry beaning with whole beans, but will advise to do it with caution. The first time I tried using whole beans, I put the beans in the beer and let it sit for the 5 days, the beer came out with some acrid flavors that ruined the beer. So, I moved on to cold brew, which always created a good, mostly consistent product...but it was always a bit lacking. So, a guy in my club suggested I try dry beaning again, this time to taste it until it was at the flavors I was looking for. I found out that after just two days it was already almost where I wanted it. With that I let it go about another half day and then kegged it, this was the perfect balance. Understanding that I was waiting until it was what I wanted gave me the most control and character. With that, I also think a good medium roast works best, but that may really be dependent on your preferred flavor.

 

[Mark Farrall]

Haven't played around with cold brew or espresso yet. I put a 100g of cracked beans in the mash (10 litre batch) and another 100g of whole beans in a bag steeped after fermentation has finished for 2-3 days. The coffee flavour from the mash is pretty subtle and the steeped whole beans really helps the aroma as well.

And I enjoy this guys blog - http://scottjanish.com/guide-to-coffee-beers/

 

[Craigerrr]

I have done this a few different ways with my coffee porter. I added 8 shots of espresso to a 5 gallon batch. I have added 5 scoops of fresh ground beans to fermenter in five gallon batch. Most recently I cold steeped 5 oz of fresh ground coffee in Mason jars overnight, filtered and added to a 8 gallon batch. The last one has not been packaged yet. I had great results with both of the first two methods though.

 

[Rairch]

Thinking my next brew will be a partial mash imperial stout so this thread is great.
Some interesting ideas here as never done it before. I was toying with the idea of chucking in 100ml cold brew (11.5L batch size) into the bottling bucket. Might try the steeping whole in fv for a few days to taste.

 

[Nosybear]

I find actual coffee in beer tastes like green peppers. Coffee malts seem to do the job much better for me.

 

[Rairch]

I find actual coffee in beer tastes like green peppers. Coffee malts seem to do the job much better for me.

Not sure if I'm doing the full batch with coffee yet, as I've been toying with bottling half and adding coffee to the remainder.
Or else I'd be looking into adding coffee malt into the recipe.

 

[Recurring Session]

I find actual coffee in beer tastes like green peppers. Coffee malts seem to do the job much better for me.

This is interesting to me. I don't get that flavor at all. And, the coffee malt (which I love) just doesn't do nearly enough for me.

 

[Nosybear]

This is interesting to me. I don't get that flavor at all. And, the coffee malt (which I love) just doesn't do nearly enough for me.

Green peppers is an approximation - it's a very vegetal flavor that reminds me of a green sweet pepper, not coffee-like at all. Of course, that's my taste buds talking so you may have a different experience.

 

[Recurring Session]

Green peppers is an approximation - it's a very vegetal flavor that reminds me of a green sweet pepper, not coffee-like at all. Of course, that's my taste buds talking so you may have a different experience.

Oh, yeah, we all taste things differently. Do you drink coffee normally? What roast levels would you be using? I'm just wondering because I currently have a specific light roast that is very vegetal that I cannot drink from a local roaster...but that is the one example out of the hundreds of coffee's I have had with that distinction.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I find adding coffee to whirlpool/fermentor like a dry hop does add flavour but it fades just like dry hops do over a month or two it's a remincent reminder of what's been.

Sooo if you are looking to age that stout go for the coffee malts if drinking fresh go both.

 

[Craigerrr]

I have done this a few different ways with my coffee porter. I added 8 shots of espresso to a 5 gallon batch. I have added 5 scoops of fresh ground beans to fermenter in five gallon batch. Most recently I cold steeped 5 oz of fresh ground coffee in Mason jars overnight, filtered and added to a 8 gallon batch. The last one has not been packaged yet. I had great results with both of the first two methods though.

This coffee porter is pouring now, and I the most pleased with the cold steeped and filtered method I used this time.

 

[56 Firedome]

Thanks Craigerr. I am fermenting a milk stout that I plan to add coffee to. I'll use your suggestion regarding cold steeped filtered coffee. I assume you added it to the keg? How much water did you use? 5 oz of coffee in 8 gallons. My batch size is 5 gallon. I plan to reduce the 5 to 4 oz.

 

[J A]

I've done cold brew for the coffee stouts I've done. I add some vodka or everclear to make up for the alcohol dilution. Cold brew and Kahlua/coffee liqueur is a nice combination.
I did a lighter ABV version using a dry stout recipe and added cold brew, coffee liqueur and caramel extract for a really great little beer. The caramel extract added those notes without making things too sweet.

 

[Craigerrr]

I've done cold brew for the coffee stouts I've done. I add some vodka or everclear to make up for the alcohol dilution. Cold brew and Kahlua/coffee liqueur is a nice combination.
I did a lighter ABV version using a dry stout recipe and added cold brew, coffee liqueur and caramel extract for a really great little beer. The caramel extract added those notes without making things too sweet.

Oooooh, I may just mess around with these ideas!

 

[Craigerrr]

Thanks Craigerr. I am fermenting a milk stout that I plan to add coffee to. I'll use your suggestion regarding cold steeped filtered coffee. I assume you added it to the keg? How much water did you use? 5 oz of coffee in 8 gallons. My batch size is 5 gallon. I plan to reduce the 5 to 4 oz.

I split the grinds between two large mason jars, but would increase the water volume next time, and play around with some JA's ideas. Might increase the amount of coffee, use a gallon jug, and add some vodka to keep the ABV up.

 

[56 Firedome]

I split the grinds between two large mason jars, but would increase the water volume next time, and play around with some JA's ideas. Might increase the amount of coffee, use a gallon jug, and add some vodka to keep the ABV up.

So, you add a 1/2 gallon of water/filtered coffee to the keg? My batch size is 5.5 gallons & my Cornie keg only has about a quart of head space. Am I misunderstanding your comment?

 

[Craigerrr]

I actually add it to the fermenter before cold crashing. I haven't actually put much thought into volumes for the next time I brew this one. I'm not likely to brew this again until next spring.

 

[56 Firedome]

Wow, you plan your brewing sched a year in advance? I usually decide what to brew, buy the materials & spin up a starter on the same day, followed by lighting the burner the next morning.
As I brew outdoors & the weather is fairly unpredictable, especially in the winter, I usually set up 1 to 3 days before & wait out unfavorable weather, 30 F is my lowest to date. Brewing in your ski clothes