Adding Coffee Beans to Keg

[Rob2010SS]

Brewed up our brown ale this weekend (1.050 OG, 20 SRM) and I am going to take one keg and do a coffee addition. I don't want it in your face coffee, I just want a nice, smooth coffee flavor to go with the flavors of the beer. From what I read on this forum, seems like you could go either way with coarse ground coffee or whole beans. Also from what I read, with the coarse ground you COULD end up with some astringency and with whole beans, you just have to use more.

I'm thinking I want to use whole beans. It seems like 1oz/gallon in stouts was the recommendation. Given that this is a bit less robust than a porter or stout, I'm thinking 4oz of whole beans in the keg for 3 days.. Thoughts?

 

[VikeMan]

Of course, the right amount is highly subjective, and also depends on the strength of the coffee beans. That said, I don't think you could go too far wrong with your 4 ounces for 3 days (for 5 gallons).

 

[Rob2010SS]

Thanks @VikeMan. Curious what other's experiences are as well with whole coffee beans and how much to use.

 

[AzOr]

A different approach would be to brew (cold or regular) some coffee and blend it in. I did this years ago to a stout. If I recall correctly, I added about 12 oz of strong coffee to a 5g batch. I think it's a safer way as you could adjust to taste without overdoing it.

Either way good luck.

 

[Rob2010SS]

A different approach would be to brew (cold or regular) some coffee and blend it in. I did this years ago to a stout. If I recall correctly, I added about 12 oz of strong coffee to a 5g batch. I think it's a safer way as you could adjust to taste without overdoing it.

Either way good luck.

I've heard of that as well. I've heard reports of it tasting not as fresh which is why I'm thinking of going the whole bean route.

Thank you for the info!

 

[dirty_martini]

I did 2oz in a schwartzbier and it was perfect. I recommend using a medium roast and only leaving steeping it for 24-36 hours. If you steep too long you start pulling the green flavors out of the coffee that end up tasting like bell pepper

 

[InspectorJon]

I added 4 oz of whole bean medium roast Mandailing (Sumatra) coffee to 4 gallons of imperial stout and let it sit for 3 days before bottling. That was bottled at the end of October. The coffee flavor is quite pronounced. It kind of drowns out the chocolate, vanilla and pepper flavors.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Good info! So you (@InspectorJon ) did 4 oz in an imperial stout and it was quite pronounced. @dirty_martini you did 2 oz in a schwarzbier and said it was perfect. I think the overall character of this brown in closer to a schwarzbier so I think I'll cut it down to 2oz. I definitely don't want an overwhelming coffee flavor to take over the beer.

 

[couchsending]

You don’t need more than 24 hours for extraction. The longer you go the more likely you are to extract the green pepper/vegetal notes from the beans especially if they’re light roast (which they should be). Recent beer was only 2oz in 6 gallons for 18 hours and it was plenty of coffee flavor and aroma. Just crack the beans.

Where the beans came from and who roasted them makes an even bigger difference.

 

[Rob2010SS]

You don’t need more than 24 hours for extraction. The longer you go the more likely you are to extract the green pepper/vegetal notes from the beans especially if they’re light roast (which they should be). Recent beer was only 2oz in 6 gallons for 18 hours and it was plenty of coffee flavor and aroma. Just crack the beans.

Where the beans came from and who roasted them makes an even bigger difference.

So you say it should be a light roast. Is that a general rule for you or are you saying that based on my scenario and that this is a brown?

 

[VikeMan]

So you say it should be a light roast. Is that a general rule for you or are you saying that based on my scenario and that this is a brown?

In my experience, darker coffee roasts lead to less of the dreaded green pepper.

 

[couchsending]

In my experience, darker coffee roasts lead to less of the dreaded green pepper.

True but you also lose a lot of the depth and complexity and more fruit forward character of a good light roast. Less time with lighter roasts equals no green pepper.

You don’t need more than 24 hours with coffee from my experience and in talking to many professionals that make some incredible coffee beer.

 

[ejf063]

So to add a little more food for thought: I added 3oz Kenyan roast (whole bean) to a blonde ale. After 24 hours I started taking samples. They ended up steeping for 3 days before I removed them. I thought the coffee flavor was perfect. It was smooth and flavorful... not over the top, no green flavors and in my opinion, balanced.
I think you’ll be fine with whatever amount you use. If you wanna be safe, pull samples every 12 hours or so. Good luck!

 

[Rob2010SS]

Thanks all for the information. This helps. It sounds like there's varying opinions in regards to which type of bean people use but there's overall agreement in don't leave them in there too long.

This helps. I'm still undecided on which type of bean but we're going to go 2oz for 18-24 hours and see where that gets us.

 

[bwible]

The coffee stouts I’ve done were with darker roasts. At least a Philadelphia roast (can be hard to find) or Italian Roast. I never used French Roast. I used Seattles Best, the one with the bulldog on the package. Not sure the exact roast or blend that is. House Blend?

I’ve never used coffee beans in the keg. I have a French press. I grind beans coarsely and take some of the hot wort from the boil and use it as if I were making a pot of coffee. After 5 min or whatever, press it down and return it to the boil. I do that a couple times using the same beans. I believe I used 3 oz coffee for 3 gallons, so 1 oz per gallon. Had a nice coffee flavor.

 

[bmullins393]

Hey there,
I am a coffee roaster, so I want to through in my two beans . What is being shared here is interesting. The light roasts would have more fruit forward, and perhaps grassy or pepper notes. If you have a nice Columbian or Brazilian thats roasted to a nice medium, it will bring out sweet notes, chocolate, nuts etc.... for a brown ale, I would go this route. Those medium notes would really taste great and add nicely to a brown Ale. All this said, I have not tried it. Of course now I will!

 

[corkybstewart]

As a homebrewer and home roaster I would often have a coffee stout or porter on tap. I would roast a half pound of Colombian decaf(medium roast, not too dark), steep it in boiling water and let it sit until the grounds dropped out, and then strain the liquid into the keg. I had to find some way to use the decaf that often comes in bean variety packs, and I see no reason to drink decaf.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Hey there,
I am a coffee roaster, so I want to through in my two beans . What is being shared here is interesting. The light roasts would have more fruit forward, and perhaps grassy or pepper notes. If you have a nice Columbian or Brazilian thats roasted to a nice medium, it will bring out sweet notes, chocolate, nuts etc.... for a brown ale, I would go this route. Those medium notes would really taste great and add nicely to a brown Ale. All this said, I have not tried it. Of course now I will!

This is awesome info! Glad to have a coffee roaster’s two beans LOL. Sounds wrong, but moving on.

I like where you were going with the medium Brazilian. That sounds exactly like what I was hoping for! I may have just decided on that.

 

[Gusso]

I recently used whole beans (Mayorga - available at Costco) 1/2# for a 2 day dry hop. Nice coffee flavor.