CoffeeStout Flavoring

[PNP]

I'm brewing a coffee stout. The recipe says to crush coffee beans and drop them in the secondary ~24hours before bottling. However, it also acknowledges that one could cold brew the beans to a concentrate and add at bottling.

Does anyone have any recommendations for getting good coffee flavor? What's worked best for you? Or of the above 2 methods, which do you recommend?

Thanks!

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

When I do my Coffee Porter I like to put 4oz of Whole Beans in Primary when fermentation is complete. I like to leave them in there for 3 Days. The Coffee Flavor is pretty prominent, but you would have to adjust the time or amount to suit your tastes. A lot of folks on here have great results with the cold brew method. I don't think you can go wrong with either method.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

way I used to do when I was extract brewing was make 3 gallons extra strong coffee (Highlander Grogg) and use that as top off water. chilled of course. I haven't done one since I went AG, but I like the idea of the beans in a bulk age.

 

[davefleck]

Cold brew in a French press

 

[DubBrew]

I also cold brew mine. Gives a nice smooth coffee flavor.

 

[ivegot2legs]

Cold brew in a french press is the only way to go. Grounds in a fermenter will make a mess and whole beans in a fermenter won't lend much flavour.

 

[MindenMan]

I cold brewed 4 oz of ground espresso in 1 pint of cold water overnight. The coffee flavor, I thought, wasn't enough. I thought it needed more coffee flavor, so, I rinsed the grounds again and poured it in there. Oh, shi*., that was waaaayyy too much coffee a couple of weeks later. It was impossible to taste anything that was beer-ish at all. I screwed myself, as anything that has any coffee notes, I don't like it. At all. Who knows?, Maybe in the future, I will cross that hurdle.

 

[ivegot2legs]

I cold brewed 4 oz of ground espresso in 1 pint of cold water overnight. The coffee flavor, I thought, wasn't enough. I thought it needed more coffee flavor, so, I rinsed the grounds again and poured it in there. Oh, shi*., that was waaaayyy too much coffee a couple of weeks later. It was impossible to taste anything that was beer-ish at all. I screwed myself, as anything that has any coffee notes, I don't like it. At all. Who knows?, Maybe in the future, I will cross that hurdle.

What kind of beer was it in? That doesn't seem like it would be too much in a dark beer.

But I enjoy coffee and a good coffee flavour in a coffee stout.

 

[te-wa]

i brewed a FBS clone and the instructions were to add 5oz of fresh ground coffee. that was a mistake, i lost nearly (estimated) 1/2 gallon of beer, and racking it off the grounds was a nightmare.
next time: french press.

 

[Nightshade]

Cold brew, use more grounds than you would for a hot brew.

 

[Billy-Klubb]

y'all are really making me re-think grounds in secondary...

 

[BigFloyd]

+1 on cold brewing dark roast course grind, french press 12-14 hours. I do mine at room temp and add at bottling.

Grounds in secondary = too messy for my liking.

If you hot brew or add coffee to your boil, over time you will end up with a flavor that is reminiscent of nasty stale coffee that's been sitting in a heated carafe on the brew machine way too long.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

Cold brew in a french press is the only way to go. Grounds in a fermenter will make a mess and whole beans in a fermenter won't lend much flavour.

Have you tried whole beans in the fermenter? I've done many batches like that, and I get plenty of flavor.