Advice on my first coffee stout (currently in primary)

So on Sunday I brewed what looks like it will be a really nice sessionable stout (all grain), and I plan on adding coffee in secondary. I have it fermenting at my Dad's place where I brewed it and it was bubbling like a maniac when I checked it Monday. Gonna check it again tonight but expect it to still be going at a pretty good pace.

Here's what I'm looking for advice on:

This is going to be a Father's Day present so I want it ready to serve by June 16th so I don't want to procrastinate on this. I'm trying to think of what the best schedule may be on this.

1) My brew buddy thinks that racking it to secondary this Sunday will be too soon, but I really think it will be ready, and even if there's still some activity, would it matter much since it's going to secondary?

2) A general consensus from local homebrewers is that cold brewing the coffee for a few days then adding it to secondary would be the best method. I failed to get a recommendation for the amount of coffee. For a 5 gallon batch, how much coffee grinds to how much water would you guys suggest?

3) How long do you think I should keep it in secondary before bottling it to ensure that it has enough time to do it's thing in secondary, but also has enough time to carbonate and mature a bit in the bottles? I fully expect it to be OK by June 16th, but I also expect it to improve as it sits for awhile in the bottles.


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

my advice is skip the secondary, add cold steeped coffee at bottling/kegging. 2-4 oz of coffee in about 24oz of water works depending on how strong you want the coffee flavor.

Stouts usually are pretty quick. I mean i've heard of people going from a 10 day primary to a cold crash and then force carbing in a keg, basically drinking within 20 days. I've never done it but im assuming it was kinda green. I'd go about 10-14 days primary, then maybe 2-3 weeks secondary. Either way i'd use the bottle carb conditioning as ur primary factor in determining secondary time. Try and get it three weeks bottle carbing, so i'd say bottle it around the 23rd or 24th of May.

As far as the coffee, i don't have any experience there, sorry.

My opinion on secondary is that it is unnecessary, but anyways... I added 2oz of cold brewed coffee to my Mocha Oatmeal stout that I made (added during boil) and it was plenty of coffee flavor for me. It really comes down to preference as far as that goes. The coffee I added was very strong as well, so take that into account.

atom said:

my advice is skip the secondary, add cold steeped coffee at bottling/kegging. 2-4 oz of coffee in about 24oz of water works depending on how strong you want the coffee flavor.

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Just wondering here, since I really have no experience with stouts (this is my first)... is it really pointless to put a stout in secondary? Are you guys saying there's no benefit at all and I might as well just add the coffee at bottling and it will be every bit as good? Or are you guys suggesting this because of time restrictions?

I would add 4oz of coffee beans to secondary for a week and taste to see the flavor contribution. When you do the extraction it can get kind of strong. I have found that most commercial breweries who use coffee use whole beans added to the secondary and it gives a smoother taste and better aroma from the beans.

This is just from what ive read, but stouts don't necessarily benefit from it.

I've never brewed a double batch and put one in a secondary and directly bottled the other, but from what ive read most people don't. Although ill be honest and you'll find this the more u browse the site, not alot of people use a secondary, just an extended primary.

Cold brewed right in the bottom of the bottling bucket with your priming sugar should be fine. There are no fermentables in the coffee so no reason for secondary. My Irish Mocha Stout was done in secondary, but only because I added cocoa nibs that would take time to infuse their flavor into the brew.

Shred said:

Cold brewed right in the bottom of the bottling bucket with your priming sugar should be fine. There are no fermentables in the coffee so no reason for secondary. My Irish Mocha Stout was done in secondary, but only because I added cocoa nibs that would take time to infuse their flavor into the brew.

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Alright, maybe I'll skip secondary and just give it 14 days in Primary before bottling.

My next question would be about keeping this all sanitary. You can boil the water of course, then cool it down to cold brew it... but you can't really sanitize the coffee... right? How about pouring the coffee... use a coffee filter? Should I boil it or something to sanitize it first... or am I being a little too paranoid about contaminating the beer?

Pratzie said:

This is just from what ive read, but stouts don't necessarily benefit from it.

I've never brewed a double batch and put one in a secondary and directly bottled the other, but from what ive read most people don't. Although ill be honest and you'll find this the more u browse the site, not alot of people use a secondary, just an extended primary.

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I like to experiment so maybe I'll try that with the next batch and let you know.

mvdf84 said:

Alright, maybe I'll skip secondary and just give it 14 days in Primary before bottling.

My next question would be about keeping this all sanitary. You can boil the water of course, then cool it down to cold brew it... but you can't really sanitize the coffee... right? How about pouring the coffee... use a coffee filter? Should I boil it or something to sanitize it first... or am I being a little too paranoid about contaminating the beer?

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The way I did it was by submerging 2 canning jars in a pot of water and bringing it to a boil. Then I sealed them up and let them cool. Once cool, I added the coffee (I don't know of a way to sanitize ground coffee) and left it sealed, in the fridge for a couple days.

When it was time to add it to the brew, I dunked a couple coffee filters in boiling water and lined a sanitized funnel with them and poured the jars (carefully) through.

I added about (definitely about, no measuring involved) 1.5 cups of coffee to my first stout. It was VERY heavy on the coffee flavor. I added to my bottling bucket along with the priming sugar. I would definitely dial it back to about 4-6 ounces instead of my heavy handed pour. Good luck, hope he loves the stout! If not, I think I know where to find a few people who do.

mvdf84 said:

I like to experiment so maybe I'll try that with the next batch and let you know.

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Yeah please do... im sure im not the only one who would be interested here.

I just finished the last bottle of my Coffee Malt Stout tonight. I bottled 5.25 gallons and added 8oz of cold brewed coffee with 24oz water at bottling. The coffee flavor was pretty strong so for next time I would proably cut it down to 4-6oz. As far as sanitizing, there really isnt much you can do with the ground coffee. Best advice is to not worry about it and just make sure everything else you use at bottling is sanitary. Make sure you use a very fine filter on your coffee also. No one wants coffee grounds in their beer.

Last thing is use high quality coffee, no store brand or commercial (Folgers). I used an Ethiopian Yirgaffe (sp?) and it had a great aroma and flavor from the cold brewing.

SteveHeff said:

I added about (definitely about, no measuring involved) 1.5 cups of coffee to my first stout. It was VERY heavy on the coffee flavor. I added to my bottling bucket along with the priming sugar. I would definitely dial it back to about 4-6 ounces instead of my heavy handed pour. Good luck, hope he loves the stout! If not, I think I know where to find a few people who do.

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He should definitely love it! I basically interviewed him to find out exactly what he likes and doesn't like. It's his own custom beer. Gonna get him a personalized etched glass mug to go with it, should be a nice touch. He's crazy excited about getting his own beer lol

I'd use at least 4 oz (or even 6) of coffee, ground and cold brewed for a few days in 24-32 oz water. The first time I tried it, I used 2 oz in a 2.5 gal batch and the coffee was undetectable...but I ground it pretty coarse which hurt as well.

The next time, I doubled the amount and ground it finer (8 oz in a 5 gal batch) and the coffee flavor was strong, but that is what I was going for. So, 4-6 oz with a fine to medium grind should be good for 5 gals.