Racking with coffee grounds

[MountainGoatBrewing]

Hey, everyone...

I've got a Breakfast Stout Clone in the primary right now, and the recipe calls for adding 2 oz of ground Kona coffee when you rack it. However, it doesn't say if you just dump it in there or use a muslin bag or SS infuser...I assume since it doesn't specify that you can just add it straight in, b/c at the end of the boil, we added 2 oz of Sumatran.

What does everyone think is the best course?

 

[cino101]

A lot of people here including myself recommend using a french press to cold brew it overnight and pour the liquid gold into the secondary then rack on top of it.

 

[shivalotus]

A lot of people here including myself recommend using a french press to cold brew it overnight and pour the liquid gold into the secondary then rack on top of it.

Cold brew is the way to go. You'll pull a lot of flavors out of the coffee. I recommend you cold brew some first and taste it just to make sure it has the flavor you want.

 

[MountainGoatBrewing]

thanks, guys.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Screw the cold brew. Rack on top of the coarse grounds in a sanitized sack. Great coffee flavor. I don't know how the coffee flavor could be improved, honestly. The cold extraction is a bunch of fussy silliness.

Edit: I used 2 oz in a sanitized nylon stocking (with extra space for the grounds to float around), very coarsely ground beans, and 48 hrs of contact time. Perfect.

 

[shivalotus]

Screw the cold brew. Rack on top of the coarse grounds in a sanitized sack. Great coffee flavor. I don't know how the coffee flavor could be improved, honestly. The cold extraction is a bunch of fussy silliness.

Have you tried cold extraction?

I appreciate that perhaps you find it an excessively complicated method but please don't try to devalued a valid technique.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Have you tried cold extraction?

I appreciate that perhaps you find it an excessively complicated method but please don't try to devalued a valid technique.

I'm not devaluing it, it clearly produces fine results. This is brewing we're talking about: everyone has their own way of doing things. I'm saying "screw it" and offering the alternative technique which produces equally wonderful/smooth coffee flavors and has less time/hassle associated with it. Figured the OP deserves to hear all the techniques that are out there before making a decision on how he spends his 2 oz of coffee beans.

 

[Andrewtherooster]

I do cold extract. It's not really a hassle at all, plust I get to control how long the coffee steeps for. I just put coarsely ground coffee in a muslin bag, put it in a bowl and cover it with water and let it steep overnight, then the next day I put the liquid in the bottling bucket and I'm good to go.

 

[C-Rider]

My wife cold brews all her coffee so I just take what I want at bottling time and add it to taste. No hassel at all

 

[geezerpk]

I'm saying "screw it" and offering the alternative technique which produces equally wonderful/smooth coffee flavors and has less time/hassle associated with it.

I'm with you on that. I think it applies to a lot of the procedures discussed on these boards. A lot of stuff gets so complicated/anal that it tends to scare away the novice/casual brewers. I frequently do some politically incorrect things with my brews and never produced anything that's even close to undrinkable.

 

[Yankeehillbrewer]

or just throw the whole beans right in the Secondary for 3-4 days. Works great for me. I like this method because I'm not adding any additional liquid to the Beer.

 

[MountainGoatBrewing]

Ok, went straight in, and man did bottling suck nads! The bottle filler clogged with grounds about 8 times. So infuriating! Next time I'm definitely gonna go with a hop bag or infuser or experiment with the cold brew method.

Beer is tasting pretty damn amazing, though, so at least the recipe is solid!

 

[Grumpybumpy]

Cold brew is the easiest by far in terms of getting the flavor intensity you want. I did roughly 11oz in 2.5g and it was barely noticeable but there. Quite tasty, better than without. I'll definitely do 30 oz for 5 gallons next time

 

[davefleck]

How long do you cold brew

 

[Grumpybumpy]

24 hours or more. Just make sure you sanitize your vessel and boil your water first

 

[kcross13]

I did grounds but couldnt settle it out. Now it does not hold carbonation. definatley using a bag next time. My only issue with the cold brew is the addition of more liquid, obviously effecting the gravity.

 

[cino101]

I did grounds but couldnt settle it out. Now it does not hold carbonation. definatley using a bag next time. My only issue with the cold brew is the addition of more liquid, obviously effecting the gravity.

Cold brew coffee is normally made with coarse grind instead of whole beans or fine grinds. My coffee press in my opinion is still the best method to filter because a small ammount if fine grind bean will be created in the grinding proccess. Would imagine a fine mesh bag of coarse grinds directly into secondary would have similar results although the coffee flavor extraction at ferm temp rather than fridge temp might make a small difference...

 

[Bishop916]

I have read that you can use cold press or cold extraction coffee to use for boiling your bottling sugar. That is what I plan to do when I make my coffee porter.

- B916