Coffee steeping

Hey folks...

got a reciept that I finshed a couple weeks ago. it is a porter.

anyway the reciept has me steeping 3 oz of coffee in seconder for 2 hours ???
never seen that before. but being as it is.

when would you steep it? at the begining of secondary or would you do it at then end of secondary right before it is kegged?

thanks

by the way... i like a "hint" of coffee not a strong coffee taste.

im thinking two hours before it is kegged...

3 oz of coffee is going to be pretty profound I used 2 oz on my coffee stout and it is very noticeable. But I like it, I also cold brew it overnight. It also depends on what type of coffee you plan on using and how strong it is. I do not know about steeping it for two hours and how much coffee flavor would be extracted? I would be nervous about infection, but it could be done.

I usually cold brew the coffee the night before in a French press that I can sanitize and seal well. I would be wary about opening up a secondary fermenter for 2 hours while you dip a muslin bag full of coffee. I followed Edworts tips for adding coffee and it has paid off well.

2 oz of coffee in about 2 cups of water. Boil the water and let cool, sanitize the French press and mix both together. I usually put saran wrap around the French press and put inside the fridge overnight. Then add it to the beer during secondary or bottling.

sounds good...

thanks for the input

I'm trying two different coffee porters right now, actually. Just put them into secondary tonight. The first: I cold brewed a gallon of coffee, then added it to secondary. The second, I ground about 4 oz of coffee that I added to a different secondary. Going to let them both sit for 2 - 3 weeks.

I'm a little concerned about contamination in both cases (especially the ground version), but I've got to try!

Let me know how your Porter turns out!

rinhaak said:

I'm trying two different coffee porters right now, actually. Just put them into secondary tonight. The first: I cold brewed a gallon of coffee, then added it to secondary. The second, I ground about 4 oz of coffee that I added to a different secondary. Going to let them both sit for 2 - 3 weeks.

I'm a little concerned about contamination in both cases (especially the ground version), but I've got to try!

Let me know how your Porter turns out!

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Will do....

I've tried both methods - adding cold steeped coffee and adding ground coffee to the fermenter - both worked pretty well.

I added the grounds for a few weeks and the coffee flavor was not too strong.

I used the cold steep method in a stout.

Measured out 80 grams of Kona coffee beans, ground them up coarsely, and mixed this with 30 fluid ounces of water in a french press. Let it sit at room temperature overnight and added it to the bottling bucket.

The coffee tasted great as is, and the flavor in the stout was spot on as well - completely noticeable but in no way overwhelming. The stout itself needs some time to age, though.

Thanks for the great info. I'm thinking about making a coffee stout in a few weeks for a new years brew.

gabeweisz said:

I've tried both methods - adding cold steeped coffee and adding ground coffee to the fermenter - both worked pretty well.

I added the grounds for a few weeks and the coffee flavor was not too strong.

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Is there any noticeable difference? I would think that adding the grounds in secondary would be essentially cold steeping (in beer instead of water). I have not tried cold steeping coffee but just added coarse ground coffee in secondary to a Surly Bender (oatmeal brown ale) clone

A little brewery here in Portland ands i believe 2 oz of coffee grounds into their 1/4bbl kegs with a small bag and it is very noticeable, but tasty.

I just used 1.25 oz of breakfast blend coffee in my breakfast stout and it is just right. I also used 1# of kiln coffee malt though too. I boiled up my bottling sugar and just used a small GSI coffee maker with the coffee in it and poured the hot solution over the grounds right in the pot with a spoon. Let it steep for a few minutes and then returned it to a boil to sterilize. So far it is my favorite beer ever (that includes all beers)!

I have also read that you get better results from using a lighter roasted coffee (i.e. one that has less oils in it). The heavier roasted coffees tend to get bitter to easily, or so I have read.

+1 on the cold steep. Ground bean placed in 2 quarts of water and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours (or overnight). Then filtered and added to secondary. Amount of bean with vary with desired taste/strength. Prost!

Forget brewing the coffee at all. Just dry hop it with beans ("dry bean," I guess) for 48 hours in secondary. If you want more coffee aroma, steep them in the keg once the beer is cold for 48 hours (in a hop bag, of course). Cold extraction makes for more aroma, less flavor/bitterness. That's how I do it.

rhern053 said:

Forget brewing the coffee at all. Just dry hop it with beans ("dry bean," I guess) for 48 hours in secondary. If you want more coffee aroma, steep them in the keg once the beer is cold for 48 hours (in a hop bag, of course). Cold extraction makes for more aroma, less flavor/bitterness. That's how I do it.

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I find that cold brewing leads to more aroma and less flavor hard to believe. Can anyone back this up?

I can't speak personally but the theory is sound in my mind. How much of the complete flavor of Crystal 80 would you get by soaking it in cold water? If cold pressing coffee tasted better we would see it more than just in the brewing world I guess. I dunno. I just like my coffee strong and bold.

I usually add the fresh ground beans at flame out and let it steep for 10 min. Then begin the chilling process. This is essentially brewing coffee in the kettle. You can always "dry bean" in the fermenter or keg later if you need I boost the coffee aroma.

funkswing said:

I usually add the fresh ground beans at flame out and let it steep for 10 min. Then begin the chilling process. This is essentially brewing coffee in the kettle. You can always "dry bean" in the fermenter or keg later if you need I boost the coffee aroma.

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I'm gonna this technique a try.

How about pouring cold brewed coffee in during the boil? Would that have any negative repurcussions? I feel like the coffee flavor would be more integrated into the beer that way...but i haven't tried it.

Now about cold vs hot brew, i prefer cold brewed coffee usually, assuming i'm having an iced coffee in warm weather. Cold brewed coffee is generally smoother tasting a much less acidic then hot brewed coffee. Brewing hot releases alot of the acids that cold brewing doesn't do.