Coffee Wine - interesting

[torilen]

Here is what I have brewing right now:
2 cups decaf kona, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon honey, a light squeeze on 1/2 of a lemon, 1 small scoop of cocoa powder, 1/2 packet of redstar premier cuvee.

I tasted the coffee before adding the yeast and lemon juice, and it tasted great. I figured it would be a great coffee wine/homemade liqueur, if it comes out good.

I was going to wait until Saturday to start tasting, but my curiosity got the better of me. It's been brewing for only about 14 hours, but I tasted it this morning. The lemon gives it just a touch of oddness, but I think that might diminish just a bit as the alcohol increases. Aside from that, it tastes great. I think I might be on to something.

 

[bernardsmith]

I have made coffee wine before and the better the coffee , the better the wine. That said, it took nearly two years for the wine to be pleasantly drinkable. Lots of acidity come from the coffee that need time to quieten down.. My wine was also a blend of cocoa and coffee (and coconut).. about 12% ABV

 

[torilen]

I'll see what happens. I am going to be getting some more bottles soon, so I may be able to actually put some stuff away to age a while. I only have 4 32oz growlers at the moment, and a gallon of something takes up three of those...doesn't leave much room for aging, really.

I tasted it again last night and this morning. As I thought, the lemon flavor is subsiding slowly. It has a good taste so far. I can see, though, where aging would certainly help something like this. I plan to make a bigger batch of it in the near future, and with those extra bottles, I'll put some away for a year or so.

 

[torilen]

Oh yes...the coffee I used it really good coffee. As you said, the better the coffee, the better the drink. We only buy good coffee in this house.

 

[torilen]

Second attempt at coffee wine last week.
3 cups decaf Kona coffee
1 cup sugar
roughly 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/3 packet premier cuvee yeast

I used proofed bread yeast as a nutrient for this...just a couple of small
scoops of the foam into the carboy.

This turned out quite nice. I left the lemon out and that did the trick
for getting rid of that tangy taste, as I thought it would.

Next batch I make, I think I will cut the cocoa just a touch and add some
vanilla and/or hazelnut. I also need to figure out how to thicken it up
a bit. It is just too runny for my taste, for something like this.

 

[madscientist451]

Second attempt at coffee wine last week.
I also need to figure out how to thicken it up
a bit. It is just too runny for my taste, for something like this.

Interesting idea, thanks for posting it. I'm wondering if taking 6 cups of coffee and boiling it down to 3 cups would give it some more "body".
Fermented sugar water tastes really nasty (to me) but balancing the rocket fuel character with a strong coffee is an interesting concept.
Another way to do it is to make a sugar water "wine" and then add the coffee after fermentation. Is there a benefit/downside to putting the coffee through fermentation? I would think the downside is that coffee flavor and aroma are lost through the fermentation process.
I use the technique of adding coffee after fermentation when making porter/stout beers with coffee character. Actually I forgot to add it to a batch and tried taking a shot of leftover morning coffee in a glass and adding the stout to it when I drink it and that method works pretty good.

 

[torilen]

Actually, I am drinking a bit of this this morning - it has been "aging" in the fridge for a week or so now. It still has an excellent coffee aroma, believe it or not. Of course, I only cooked it for the coffee. I didn't do any boiling or cooking after that. I did keep it warm on the stove to mix in the sugar and honey well, but that is it.

Boiling it down might give it more body. I may try that, thanks! It will certainly increase the coffee flavor, as well. So that could be a good solution.

My wife says there is still a tangy after taste. I just had a thought - could this be from the honey? Does honey ferment into a tangy after taste? Anyone know an answer to that?

I don't notice it so much. I quite like it. I could certainly see making a sugar water "wine" and adding coffee to it, but I think letting the flavors mingle more, and ensuring that the entire batch is infused with the alcohol is more for me right now. (I homebrew, for one reason, to make sure I feel what I drink - hehehe).

 

[Raenon]

Interesting idea, thanks for posting it. I'm wondering if taking 6 cups of coffee and boiling it down to 3 cups would give it some more "body".
Fermented sugar water tastes really nasty (to me) but balancing the rocket fuel character with a strong coffee is an interesting concept.
Another way to do it is to make a sugar water "wine" and then add the coffee after fermentation. Is there a benefit/downside to putting the coffee through fermentation? I would think the downside is that coffee flavor and aroma are lost through the fermentation process.

One of the chief benefits would be that in sugar-water, the yeast are starved for nutrients. Amost anything you add will be an improvement, which will mean fewer off-flavors in the first place.