Any Input Welcomed- Inexperienced Homebrewer Needs Advice!!

Ok, so I recently started doing all-grain brews. They have been turning out pretty good, but I want to make a really special brew now (a coconut coffee stout), and I dont want it to be "thin". Heres the proposed recipe, see if you can offer any suggestions:

7 gallons Poland Spring Water

4 lbs. Pale Malt
3 lbs. Dark Malt Extract
1 lb. Chocolate Malt
1.5 lbs. Honey Malt
1 lb. Coffee Malt
.5 lbs. roasted barley

1.5 oz. US Fuggle Hops (60 minutes)
.5 oz. Horizon Hops (10 minutes)
.5 oz. Northdown Hops (2 minutes)

2 cups Brewed Kona Coffee

WLP001 California Ale Yeast

1 lb. Unsweetened Dried Coconut Flakes in boil
1 lb. Unsweetened Dried Coconut Flakes in secondary fermenter




I would love to hear any feedback- Thanks!!!

I don't know if two cups of coffee will come through much....I used almost a whole pot at the end of the boil and it wasn't overpowering at all......

And I've never used it before, but is that a high amount of honey malt? Just curious.....

Sounds like a neat experimental!

If you can run the coffee through an espresso machine you might get better flavor from the cups. And FYI, this is a partial mash since a good chunk of the recipe is extract, and not an all grain Overall, the recipe sounds enticing, keep this thread up to date with your progress.

I don't know how well coconut flakes are going to come thorugh either, might look into pure coconut extract. On the other hand, I like using the true fruit/vegetable when making a specialty beer. So, I'd probably use the coconut flakes as well... since it is an experiement.

Can't really speak to the coconut, but a buddy of mine got a good coffee flavor by steeping the grounds at about 150-160 after the boil.

I would suggest cold brewing the coffee in your fridge for a few days then adding it to taste in the bottling bucket or keg. You'll get fewer of the oils that can hurt your head retention this way. Also allows you to adjust the quantity to taste.

cold brewing coffee, huh? sounds like a good idea. what about the coconut- how much pure coconut extract should i use? i want to have a pretty noticable coconut prescence.

My thoughts...I've never used coconut before, but I'd be wary of the oil from it. I might stick with just the extract flavoring.

I've added a whole pot (12 cups) of brewed + cooled drip coffee (not cold brewed) to the primary fermenter of an imperial stout before, and it turned out to be delicious. At first, it was REALLY coffeish, but after a few months of aging, it mellows out a lot.

You said you don't want it to be thin, but there's not much to give you body in that grain bill. A few options: flaked barley, carapils/caramunich or maltodextrin powder. I like adding maltodextrin at the end of the boil, between 4-8 ounces, if I really want a nice body and silky mouthfeel. Just be aware, it's not fermentable (that's how it adds body) so your final gravity will be higher than you expect.

Good luck!

I did a Coffee Stout years ago, two cups of coffee and it was very, very subtle.

Umm. That's not an all grain recipe...

May I suggest switching the WPL001 to a WLP004 or Wyeast 1084 or any British Ale yeast.
These yeasts don't ferment as dryly as the WLP001, and will produce a more flavorful beer with a bit less alcohol.

-a.

BierMuncher said:

Umm. That's not an all grain recipe...

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no ****. i had mentioned that i had just started doing all grain brews, and obviously, since i just started doing them, i am not very experienced. i am adding the DME to this recipe to increase the amount of fermentables. my first few all grain batches were very thin, as i stated earlier. i am looking for any positive input or criticism. thanks.

kaj030201 said:

no ****. i had mentioned that i had just started doing all grain brews, and obviously, since i just started doing them, i am not very experienced. i am adding the DME to this recipe to increase the amount of fermentables. my first few all grain batches were very thin, as i stated earlier. i am looking for any positive input or criticism. thanks.

Click to expand...

Well, no need to get all testy. You are doing a partial mash brew (PM). You said AG. The little wink next to Biermuncher's post was in fun. All grain, as you obviously know, doesn't have extract in it.

If you have some software to run your recipe through, that would probably be a good idea. You might have a real high OG with 8 pounds of grain and 3 pounds of extract. I have no idea what the coconut will do.

YooperBrew said:

…The little wink next to Biermuncher's post was in fun…

Click to expand...

Thanks Yoop.

I been getting *****-slapped a lot lately.

Must be the way I’m parting my hair.