Coffee in a pale ale?

My second 5 gallon batch was supposed to be a coffee porter. I have no idea what I did wrong but it ended up being more like a coffee brown ale. It ended up being an awesome beer, but I have no idea how to recreate it, since the recipe was for a porter.

Anyone have a coffee ale recipe?

bCash said:

My second 5 gallon batch was supposed to be a coffee porter. I have no idea what I did wrong but it ended up being more like a coffee brown ale. It ended up being an awesome beer, but I have no idea how to recreate it, since the recipe was for a porter.

Anyone have a coffee ale recipe?

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Post your recipe.

Well C-Rider, that's another issue I have. I got the recipe from a homebrew shop, brewed it and then I'm pretty sure my wife threw the recipe away. I can tell you that it was an extract recipe with specialty grains. I cold brewed the coffee.

I'm still new to brewing so I don't know if I want to attempt to make the same mistake or if I should just try for a basic pale ale or brown ale and throw some cold brewed coffee in the secondary fermentation.

Thoughts?

I recommend getting a computer program to keep track of your recipes. John Palmer said in his book that the difference between good brewer and a lucky one is good record keeping. Being able to reproduce a good beer is paramount to being a good home brewer. As far as your situation now, go back to your LHBS and see if you can get another copy of the recipe. For taking a brown ale or pale ale recipe, it will never taste the same.

Try downloading the free copy of Beersmith. I did then bought it a week later.

Cold brewing sounds good. That's my plan for my Cinco De Mayo Stout. I bought the cold brew setup from Amazon for about 34 bucks. The SWMBO usues it all the time now. Hasn't turned on the Mr Coffee in about a month.

I don't know what device from Starbucks you are talking about, but I'm sure it works fine. All I did was fill a pitcher up with water, threw in a bunch of delicious coffee grounds and wrap tin foil over the top. I put it in the fridge and accidentally forgot about it for about ten days. T hen just run it through a coffee filter. Turned out perfect although I don't think you need to wait ten days.

There are an infinite number of beers that you can brew. Go make something else that you like drinking; a straight Pale Ale, etc. Get some practice and confidence, and then create your own expresso-mocha-Porter, or whatever you fancy.

bCash said:

I don't know what device from Starbucks you are talking about, but I'm sure it works fine. All I did was fill a pitcher up with water, threw in a bunch of delicious coffee grounds and wrap tin foil over the top. I put it in the fridge and accidentally forgot about it for about ten days. T hen just run it through a coffee filter. Turned out perfect although I don't think you need to wait ten days.

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Amazon not Starbucks, cost a bit more than yours for sure.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006H0JVW

You can always go back to your lhbs to ask for the recipe?

Calder said:

There are an infinite number of beers that you can brew. Go make something else that you like drinking; a straight Pale Ale, etc. Get some practice and confidence, and then create your own expresso-mocha-Porter, or whatever you fancy.

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Good point Calder.