Should I Dump It Out..?

[MWM777]

Have a Java Porter currently sitting in secondary with cacao beans and vanilla beans, both of which were soaked in vodka. Took a taste sample after a week of sitting in secondary, and it just tastes like awful, room-temp bitter coffee. No vanilla or cocoa notes whatsoever. Is there even any point in bottling, and hoping for the coffee flavor to fade? Or should I just cut my losses and try again?

(I think the mistake I made was adding the coffee to the boil a few minutes prior to flameout. I was just following the BB kit directions....)

Anybody ever deal with something like this? Thanks a million for all that reply!

 

[BxBrewer]

All the notes will take time to meld together when bottled. If I'm not mistaken a porter gets better if let to condition awhile.

I'd bottle it

 

[DeeEnvy]

I would bottle it as normal because you never know what it will be like when finished.
It may not be as you may expect but you could end up with a beer you really like.

 

[Braufessor]

Any beer with that much going on I would expect to be overwhelming to start. I would bottle and let it sit until next winter before I dumped it. Could really mellow out and blend together and turn out just great. Worst case - dump it next year.
I had a spiced xmas ale that was horrible.... 2 years later it was really good. I brewed a maple brown ale that tasted like pancakes..... a year later, it was awesome. I had a pumpkin ale that was horrible...... a year later it was still horrible.... a year after that.... it was still horrible and I dumped it. Give it a shot.

 

[MWM777]

Any beer with that much going on I would expect to be overwhelming to start. I would bottle and let it sit until next winter before I dumped it. Could really mellow out and blend together and turn out just great. Worst case - dump it next year.
I had a spiced xmas ale that was horrible.... 2 years later it was really good. I brewed a maple brown ale that tasted like pancakes..... a year later, it was awesome. I had a pumpkin ale that was horrible...... a year later it was still horrible.... a year after that.... it was still horrible and I dumped it. Give it a shot.

It's good advice, Braufessor. Just so discouraged right now at how much the bitter coffee dominates the flavor. It's just awful. I'll bottle it with hope for improvement. Because right now, it's undrinkable.

 

[BigFloyd]

It's good advice, Braufessor. Just so discouraged right now at how much the bitter coffee dominates the flavor. It's just awful. I'll bottle it with hope for improvement. Because right now, it's undrinkable.

Give this one a few months in the bottles before passing judgment on it.

As messed up as kit instructions tend to be, I'm not all that surprised that you were told to put coffee in the boil. Not good. The much preferred way is to cold brew about 4 ounces of course grind dark roasted beans overnight, strain/filter out the grounds and add the liquid at bottling time. The coffee flavor will be nice and smooth with no bitter, stale flavor.