coffee beers
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magno
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I've made a few stouts that I have added cold brew to after fermentation had died down. The key is to get the flavor without being overpowering, and I don't feel like I've quite dialed that in. I've heard of folks adding grounds to the mash, boil, or fermenter, but I have not tried that.
beerguyfrmsd
BeerguyfrmSD
I do a cold brew overnight and add it to the purged keg when racking in, whole beans seems to work perfectly for me as it extracts just as much flavor and aroma as grounded coffee, and you will not have to worry about possible hints of green pepper flavor extraction.
bigbadgreen
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I've always done a cold brew added after fermentation starts to die down. I was told boiling coffee makes it too bitter and results in over extraction. Even old coffee recipes when boiling was en vogue never keep the coffee boiling and only put the coffee in boiling water and then remove it from the heat. I would think this eliminates everything prior to the boil. Others might have more insight but the 3 or 4 times i've used cold brewed it's cone out with a decent amount if coffee flavor.
I will make cold brew, and after straining out the grounds boil it down to concentrate it as well as sanitize it.
Then I'll add to a sanitized keg, repurge it, and then rack on top of it.
I've found 1.5 gallons of cold brew (at 1:4 grounds to water), condensed to a half gallon or so, is a good dosing for a 5 gallon keg.
Also makes a good place to add vanilla, lactose, or anything else you might wanna add. Just boiled with the cold brew like you would wort (although I'd strain it out afterwards).
Then I'll add to a sanitized keg, repurge it, and then rack on top of it.
I've found 1.5 gallons of cold brew (at 1:4 grounds to water), condensed to a half gallon or so, is a good dosing for a 5 gallon keg.
Also makes a good place to add vanilla, lactose, or anything else you might wanna add. Just boiled with the cold brew like you would wort (although I'd strain it out afterwards).
milldoggy
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I just did a blonde coffee ale. Fantastic. I used whole bean in a stainless hop strainer. 6 days in keg. Prefect amount. Paired it with lactose, coffee nibs and vanilla bean
applescrap
Be the ball!
Cold brew at kegging. My book recommends same. 6oz coffee per 32 oz, 4 cups, quart of water. Book recommends starting with adding half and i do to. Last batch was 16 oz starbucks cold brew, no ice, and was perfect for me. So thats 3oz coffee for 16oz water. Let sit out for 20 hours and strain and add at bottling. Btw cold brew once taken off grains will store for a week or two in fridge. Pps...starbucks 16 oz cold brew has about 2.7 oz coffee. I asked for recipe.
Sheldon
Well-Known Member
To add to the various methods: I used 2 oz of crushed Sumatran coffee grinds to 5 gal of porter after primary fermentation relaxec. Bottled a gal and split (shared) the other 4 gal. Submitted to a BJPC competition and took home a gold medal.
Minority here, but for Redhook Double Black Stout I put 15 ounces (10 shots) of espresso in the bottom of the secondary.
I've done two methods:
- Cold press at kegging/bottling. I continually add too much for my taste, but I'm getting better at this method. One of the challenges I've had that's contributed to my problem adding to much, is dialing in how strong/concentrated I make the cold brew.
- Add ground coffee at flameout. I started using this approach after reading the online KBS recipe instructions that Founders shared.
markstache
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In a split batch of stout, I added 1.5 oz (weight)/gallon of beans prepared as either a) hot process (using a Moka pot), b) cold press, or c) dry beaning. The coffee flavor was certainly noticeable but not over the top, so I think the 1.5oz/gal is a good starting place. Of the three, I preferred the cold press, but the dry beaning was also good.
Do any of you guys have one of those cylindrical stainless steel strainer type things that you'd use to dry hop in a keg? I wonder if you could coarse crush some beans and add it to that and throw it in the keg. Would you get off flavors after a while from the beans?
milldoggy
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Yes, but I used whole bean. Add some cacoa nibs and a vanilla bean.
Chris-18
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I have done quite a bit of resarch on this topic, and there are a few options.
My idea going in to researching what breweries do, is that if you as a homebrewer want to make beer like they do, then you should replicate the process they use. And it sorta makes sense that you can't make cold press coffee for 2-3000 liters of beer. It's just not feasible for most breweries.
I know that Hill Farmstead, Mikkeller and Stone and others grind the coffee fairly coarsely and put it in a fine mesh hop bag/sock and soak it in the fermenter a few days before packaging. Sometimes they add ground coffee directly without a hop bag, but then they filter the beer before packaging - quite roughly filtered though, just to get the coffee out of solution.
You need to be very careful about what coffee you use, and how long it soaks. Poor quality coffee imparts a real ashtray/sour tint to the finished beer.
However, be aware that some very high grade coffee is actually fairly sour as well when brewed correctly. Therefore it's a good idea to add some unfermentables to add some sweetness to balance it out.
Don't bother using whole beans. You need to grind them. It's sort of like making wort with malt that hasn't been milled. Yes you will get some slight amount of extraction, but nothing of any real value.
If you're not making your regular coffee with whole beans, then why would you in beer?
But that said, grind the beans yourself, never buy pre-ground coffee. And make sure it's as fresh as possible!
As for the amount, grind, brand, soak time etc. that's something you'll have to experiment with.
My idea going in to researching what breweries do, is that if you as a homebrewer want to make beer like they do, then you should replicate the process they use. And it sorta makes sense that you can't make cold press coffee for 2-3000 liters of beer. It's just not feasible for most breweries.
I know that Hill Farmstead, Mikkeller and Stone and others grind the coffee fairly coarsely and put it in a fine mesh hop bag/sock and soak it in the fermenter a few days before packaging. Sometimes they add ground coffee directly without a hop bag, but then they filter the beer before packaging - quite roughly filtered though, just to get the coffee out of solution.
You need to be very careful about what coffee you use, and how long it soaks. Poor quality coffee imparts a real ashtray/sour tint to the finished beer.
However, be aware that some very high grade coffee is actually fairly sour as well when brewed correctly. Therefore it's a good idea to add some unfermentables to add some sweetness to balance it out.
Don't bother using whole beans. You need to grind them. It's sort of like making wort with malt that hasn't been milled. Yes you will get some slight amount of extraction, but nothing of any real value.
If you're not making your regular coffee with whole beans, then why would you in beer?
But that said, grind the beans yourself, never buy pre-ground coffee. And make sure it's as fresh as possible!
As for the amount, grind, brand, soak time etc. that's something you'll have to experiment with.
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There are 2 ways of brewing coffee that are generally recognized as best practice. 1) hot coffee/rapid extract .. fine grind, 195 to 205 degrees, 3 to 5 minutes. 2) cold brew, courser grind, room temp water for 12 to 24 hours. Of course, these methods vary slightly based on equipment, coffee origin, and personal preference.
There is a guy here in GA that makes a superb coffee stout at a brew pub. He grinds the coffee, I think about 1 to 2 ounces per gallon of beer, puts it in a porous bag, adds it to the cooling beer (post boil) at about 200 degrees, Lets it steep for 5 minutes and pulls the bag.
There is a guy here in GA that makes a superb coffee stout at a brew pub. He grinds the coffee, I think about 1 to 2 ounces per gallon of beer, puts it in a porous bag, adds it to the cooling beer (post boil) at about 200 degrees, Lets it steep for 5 minutes and pulls the bag.
Coconut coffee cream ale, added the beans 48h prior to kegging. Delicious.
For longer term aging I use 2 ounces of whole bean coffee. My last Russian imperial stout I soaked the coffee beans in bourbon for two weeks, poured off the liquor and added the beans to my secondary for 6 months. A nice mellow coffee flavored mixed perfectly with the aged stout. This was the beer that converted my wine drinking wife to the ways of the malt.
Here's the brew details for a Session Coffee Stout I did a few months back. I put 6oz of whole coffee beans into the secondary. I'm going to be brewing it again this upcoming weekend. REALLY good, but it is an ALL coffee flavor profile.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/index.php?threads/session-chocolate-coffee-stout.634233/
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/index.php?threads/session-chocolate-coffee-stout.634233/
I like to use 4oz of course cracked beans in the fermenter for 24-48 hrs. I do not add at flameout. When I did that I had head retention problems. I like to use Guatemalan beans. They tend to be more berry like in the finish. I do put the beans in a strainer bag. Anyway just one way to skin the cat.
fragged
Well-Known Member
I do cold brew. 4oz coffee (french or kona so far) added to quart mason jar, top with water, refrigerate overnight. Strained through coffee filter in a sieve or cheesecloth (preferred by me, but I never have any), then dumped into keg. 3 days and it's balanced just how I like.
I just did a blonde coffee ale. Fantastic. I used whole bean in a stainless hop strainer. 6 days in keg. Prefect amount. Paired it with lactose, coffee nibs and vanilla bean
What was the grain bill and hop schedule
What was the grain bill and hop schedule
jack13
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For me the best result was from whole beans, medium roast, in the keg.
Will have to disagree 100% with you on this. As we all know, everyone uses different methods to brew great beer. I have used 4oz of good quality coffee beans dumped in carboy 5 to 14 days before keging. Always came out with great coffee flavor and zero bitterness added. I guess if anyone uses poor ingredients then results could vary. But it also works. And I know I’m not the only one as I got the idea right here.
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+1 to using whole beans. I put 1oz whole beans in 1G stout in fermenter 3 days before bottling and got a really nice coffee flavor, no bitterness.
applescrap
Be the ball!
Coffee releases its flavor easy. Thus a myriad of ways ensues. Key point, it releases its flavor easily. Key point two, make sure your method matches extraction best practice. Thus brewed coffee, coffee added to 205 degree water, coffee that is ground, sits for 4 or 5 min no more. And cold brewed whether dumped straight in or not sits for 24 to 48 hours for ground coffee, and 3 to 5 days for whole beans. The idea is to extract as much good as you can without the bad.
A solid method is to make cold brew and add to flavor at kegging. An even easier way to do this is to buy starbucks cold brew. Have them fill a 16 oz cup of it with no dillution, ice, etc...dump that in your coffee and done. Once cold brew is made, i use french press, rack off beans. That will stay fresh 2 weeks off beans in fridge. Gives more options with racking. If you cold brew in fermenter, be prepared to rack on schedule otherwise, some off flavor from over extraction is possible.
A solid method is to make cold brew and add to flavor at kegging. An even easier way to do this is to buy starbucks cold brew. Have them fill a 16 oz cup of it with no dillution, ice, etc...dump that in your coffee and done. Once cold brew is made, i use french press, rack off beans. That will stay fresh 2 weeks off beans in fridge. Gives more options with racking. If you cold brew in fermenter, be prepared to rack on schedule otherwise, some off flavor from over extraction is possible.
augiedoggy
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I have done it both in the secondary (cold brewed) as well as beans in the mash. both worked well but the flavor was more pronounced when we added it to our mash... the head retention does seem to be effected negatively but in our case its an english mild which is not highly carbonated to begin with.
