coca-cola stout

BugleBrew · 08-11-2008, 06:23 AM

I'm thinking about adding a can of coke to the secondary of a stout I'm going to brew up on Tuesday. I can't think of any way this would ruin the beer, but I think I would add a cool flavor. Is there any reason why this is a bad idea??

Arneba28 · 08-11-2008, 06:28 AM

Yeah bad idea, Beer is not a soft drink!!! And if this is a true irish stout, or even english for that matter, the true flavor of the stout will be killed by the muddy flavor or adding a can or coke. Dont forget that those cans of coke have some preservatives in them. Not sure on what that will due to yeast activity.

ThriceIn5Minutes · 08-11-2008, 01:14 PM

Wow, some posters can be real hum-bugs, huh?

I think it's a great idea, but you'll have to use way more than a can of Coke to taste anything. I had this great idea too, when I first started brewing. In experimenting to see how much of the flavor would come through, I mixed Coke with Guiness and Anchor Porter in varying quantities. In both cases I had to have at least 1 part coke to 2 parts beer for the Coke to make an appearance in the flavor profile. Roasty flavor is just too much.

When I made my Coke brew, I used a brown porter recipe and still scaled the dark grains back a little. I split the batch after fermentation, just in case the Coke totally ruined it. Then at bottling, I added Coke syrup as the priming sugar. You can get Coke syrup from any eatery with a fountain dispenser in exchange for some of the final product.

I primed 2.5 gal with 1 cup of Coke syrup and it was way to much. No bottle bombs, but the caps were popping like champagne and the beer poured out as solid foam. The other half, primed with cornsugar, was perfect.

The flavor difference was noticable, but not spectacular. Honestly, the plain half is probably the best brew I've ever made. If I did it with Coke again, I would probably add 3 cups of syrup to the secondary for a 5 gal batch.

My recipe provided upon request.

eschatz · 08-11-2008, 01:23 PM

This is an interesting idea, although I would assume that someone on this site has already done it (have you used the search function?). Arneba does bring up some really interesting ideas though in regard to the preservative power of a can of Coke. Gotta wonder what that'll do to the yeastie beasties! Now, if you use the Coke Syrup to prime the bottles then you might have a bottle bomb just waiting for you. I have no idea about the exact sugar content of Coke. I would probably use a secondary to add it if I was going to do it. However, it might REALLY dry the beer out. I dont necessarily think that the flavor profile would be bad, interestng, but not bad. I would love to see what the results are. The split batch sounds good. Who can drink 5 gal of Coke Stout?!!!

k1v1116 · 08-11-2008, 01:39 PM

I wouldnt try to ferment it, but people have been mixing coke and other softdrinks with beer for a long time.
http://www.lovecocktails.com/Recipe/Trojan-Horse/133599/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_cocktail

**Homercidal** · 08-11-2008, 01:52 PM

WOuldn't you want to use a Cola extract like for making homemade soda. You get the flavoring without the extra stuff.

Brewmando · 08-11-2008, 02:37 PM

For a long time I've wanted to try the Mtn Brew recipe from BYO magazine. According to them the preservatives didn't effect the yeasts ability to do their job. The fermentables are 8.7 liters Mtn Dew and 4#'s of DME. I pitched the yeast to this about 9 hours ago and it is starting to ferment now. The one thing I like about this hobby is the sky is the limit to what you can make. You have plenty of time for more research so try adding it to some samples of stouts and see what you think. I've added Irish Mist liqueur to a stout and it was awesome, but I tried several different Irish spirits to a stout before deciding on the final combo and research like that can be a lot of fun.

**BigKahuna** · 08-11-2008, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arneba28

Yeah bad idea, Beer is not a soft drink!!! And if this is a true irish stout, or even english for that matter, the true flavor of the stout will be killed by the muddy flavor or adding a can or coke. Dont forget that those cans of coke have some preservatives in them. Not sure on what that will due to yeast activity.

+1 on this.

If you're into that, Make a good stout, then mix it with coke in the glass. I wouldn't chance a full batch of beer on it. That just doesn't seem like a good idea at all.

Quote:

people have been mixing coke and other softdrinks with beer for a long time.

"PEOPLE" have been having bad ideas since the beginning of time, doesn't mean I want them in my beer.

I'm not being argumentative here, just saying you risk a $40 Stout with a $1.00 can of Coke...>NO THANKS.

ericd · 08-11-2008, 03:30 PM

Yeah, just mix it in the glass dude. Fermentation can break apart, scramble and rearrange flavors like nobody's business. Just look at wine. God knows what Coke would taste like after the yeast got done with it.

zoebisch01 · 08-11-2008, 03:31 PM

I have read that many Spruce beer recipes taste like Coke.