Adding Coffee to my Porter

[wells11]

Cold brew coffee in secondary. If I cold brew coffee does the water need to be pre boiled or just sanitize the container to hold the coffee and water. I've seen many ways of adding coffee after primary I am just concerned about infection.

 

[Calder]

If you trust your water, no need to sanitize. Use cooled boiled water if you like.

Beer with alcohol is protected from most bacteria.

Coffee beans are OK.

 

[BigPerm]

I'll use bottled water sometimes if the beer is on the low-gravity side. These days I usually just throw some whole beans in to steep for a few days. Sanitized bag, nothing else.

 

[wells11]

Just read an article from a pro that boils water, allows to cool to 45 deg then adds ground coffee and lets stand 24 hrs to reach room temp.

 

[BigPerm]

Just read an article from a pro that boils water, allows to cool to 45 deg then adds ground coffee and lets stand 24 hrs to reach room temp.

I've done it this way, and it comes out nicely. I usually use coarsely-ground beans and steep in the fridge in my french press when I do it this way. Try to find a blend with some earthy characteristics to complement the dark malts in your porter. I like indonesian coffees for this, but that's just my tastes.

I tried whole bean steeping a couple of batches ago and was really impressed with the rich flavor I got. Been doing that ever since. Good luck.

 

[OkashiiBrew]

I soaked grounds in some Grey Goose vodka for a day, then ran through the coffee filter directly into the carboy. No infection risk there.

 

[NoPantsBrewing]

I've done it this way, and it comes out nicely. I usually use coarsely-ground beans and steep in the fridge in my french press when I do it this way. Try to find a blend with some earthy characteristics to complement the dark malts in your porter. I like indonesian coffees for this, but that's just my tastes.

I tried whole bean steeping a couple of batches ago and was really impressed with the rich flavor I got. Been doing that ever since. Good luck.

I've also had good luck with the whole bean method. 7 oz in a hop bag over 24 hours as I cold crashed from 65f to 32f was perfect for flavor and aroma. I was also going for a pale beer, so the approach also added no noticeable color.

 

[iamperplexed]

I recently picked up some Cold Brew coffee concentrate at Trader Joe's and added it right to the keg prior to racking a sweet stout. Worked great although I wish I would have added a bit more initially. I still have a good portion of the coffee in the fridge (32 oz bottle) so I've been adding a bit to my glass before pouring. Might be cheating but it sure is easy.

 

[logdrum]

I recently picked up some Cold Brew coffee concentrate at Trader Joe's and added it right to the keg prior to racking a sweet stout. Worked great although I wish I would have added a bit more initially. I still have a good portion of the coffee in the fridge (32 oz bottle) so I've been adding a bit to my glass before pouring. Might be cheating but it sure is easy.

So...how much would you recommend?

 

[dnslater]

I've read that you want to avoid beans directly in the beer as they have oils. I have added cold brewed several times. Most recently I put 3-4 ounces of dark roasted African ground beans in a french press and let it sit for 24 hours, stirring it several times, then pressed it and poured it right into my stout. Probably made about 24 ounces or so of strong coffee. I poured it into the keg and racked the beer on top of it. Coffee flavor has a strong presence. I wasn't worried about infection because of the alcohol, and I put the keg in the kegerator immediately so it will never warm up.

 

[TheZymurgist]

I've read that you want to avoid beans directly in the beer as they have oils. I have added cold brewed several times. Most recently I put 3-4 ounces of dark roasted African ground beans in a french press and let it sit for 24 hours, stirring it several times, then pressed it and poured it right into my stout. Probably made about 24 ounces or so of strong coffee. I poured it into the keg and racked the beer on top of it. Coffee flavor has a strong presence. I wasn't worried about infection because of the alcohol, and I put the keg in the kegerator immediately so it will never warm up.

Hops have oils too. There's not enough in hops or coffee beans to affect the beer.

 

[dnslater]

Hops have oils too. There's not enough in hops or coffee beans to affect the beer.

Yeah, I always wondered about that, as I understand the only issue would be head retention. Either way, the cold brewed method seems to work well. Need to try french pressing some hops........ just because.

 

[NoPantsBrewing]

I imagine the oils from the beans could affect head retention. If it did on this beer, it is not significantly noticeable compared to the head retention on beers that I typically brew, but that statement isn't worth much since it is a sample size of 1 with no control for comparison. For what it is worth, here is a picture (about 3-5 minutes after pouring) -- http://thesinglehop.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/coffee-pale-stout/

 

[NoPantsBrewing]

Yeah, I always wondered about that, as I understand the only issue would be head retention. Either way, the cold brewed method seems to work well. Need to try french pressing some hops........ just because.

Apparently my previous post never made it to the board, so hopefully this doesn't end up double posting.

It seems reasonable the the oils from beans could inhibit head retention. I did not run into that case, albeit this is based on a sample size of 1 with no control for comparison. If you're interested, the following post has a picture of the beer about 3-5 minutes after pouring. It seems consistent with the head retention of my other beers. https://thesinglehop.wordpress.com/2014/11/09/coffee-pale-stout/

 

[iamperplexed]

So...how much would you recommend?

I added 4oz to a 2.5gal batch. For my taste, I will probably double that next time and see what that gives. The taste is there but very slight. It's still an experiment in progress.

 

[m00ps]

I've read that you want to avoid beans directly in the beer as they have oils. I have added cold brewed several times. Most recently I put 3-4 ounces of dark roasted African ground beans in a french press and let it sit for 24 hours, stirring it several times, then pressed it and poured it right into my stout. Probably made about 24 ounces or so of strong coffee. I poured it into the keg and racked the beer on top of it. Coffee flavor has a strong presence. I wasn't worried about infection because of the alcohol, and I put the keg in the kegerator immediately so it will never warm up.

I heard this too but I have recently started doing WHOLE BEAN ADDITIONS int the secondary. It is by far and away the most effective method to get a great coffee aroma and flavor into your beer. I've found that flameout and cold-steep coffee additions taste fine at first, but get acrid and ruin the beer after a few months. That doesn;t happen with whole bean. And the flavor and aroma is so much more round and full than the other methods. I just take 3-4oz from a SEALED bag, and dump right in, no sanitizing. I leave it 5 days or so like a dry hop. Doesn't effect head retention that I have noticed.

 

[dnslater]

I heard this too but I have recently started doing WHOLE BEAN ADDITIONS int the secondary. It is by far and away the most effective method to get a great coffee aroma and flavor into your beer. I've found that flameout and cold-steep coffee additions taste fine at first, but get acrid and ruin the beer after a few months. That doesn;t happen with whole bean. And the flavor and aroma is so much more round and full than the other methods. I just take 3-4oz from a SEALED bag, and dump right in, no sanitizing. I leave it 5 days or so like a dry hop. Doesn't effect head retention that I have noticed.

Sounds easier, but I don't see how cold brewed would get acrid or ruin a beer. This is likely from something other than the coffee. I recently tasted a coffee stout that I brewed in 2011 through this method and saved a few bottles. Tasted terrific.

 

[TheZymurgist]

I think I've posted this exact same thing three times in as many days:

http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2014/08/blonde-ale-on-coffee-beans-recipe.html

"As with my usual process for coffee beers, I added whole beans loose to the fermentor (without sanitizing them). We pulled a sample after 28 hours, and it already had enough coffee to proceeded with kegging. It’s amazing how much character comes through thanks to the extraction by both alcohol and water. I also find that this technique produces a longer-lasting coffee aroma compared to cold brewing in water alone, although that likely won’t matter too much for this batch."

If you aren't familiar with Mike (Oldsock), he know his stuff.

 

[BigPerm]

I've also had good luck with the whole bean method. 7 oz in a hop bag over 24 hours as I cold crashed from 65f to 32f was perfect for flavor and aroma. I was also going for a pale beer, so the approach also added no noticeable color.

I did this recently with 3 oz in a 2.5 gal keg. In a boiled muslin bag. I decided to go ahead and hook it up to gas while i did this, which made the bag sink. I tried to retrieve with a racking cane, which was a bad idea. I'll report back how 3 oz steeped in the cold for the life of the keg changes over time.

NoPantsBrewing - you win the best name prize.

 

[NoPantsBrewing]

I did this recently with 3 oz in a 2.5 gal keg. In a boiled muslin bag. I decided to go ahead and hook it up to gas while i did this, which made the bag sink. I tried to retrieve with a racking cane, which was a bad idea. I'll report back how 3 oz steeped in the cold for the life of the keg changes over time.

I've had this happen with a hop bag where it clogged up the output. I used the racking cane to try to fish it out. It didn't work. I did manage to knock it loose though, so I was able to pour beer again that wasn't 90% hop matter.

In case you didn't pick up on it, I knew that the output was clogged because my beer was fully carbonated and I was trying to pour a beer. I was so set on drinking that beer that my brain failed to register the implications of what happens when you disturb carbonated liquids with physical force. When I agitated the beer with the racking cane in my attempt to fish out the hop bag, I released ridiculous amounts of CO2. The beer started foaming everywhere. I put the lid back on the keg, and it continued to foam out. I had to hook up the CO2 tank again and apply pressure to get the lid to seal before the foam stopped pouring out of the keg.

This is indeed one case where I feared the foam.

NoPantsBrewing - you win the best name prize.

Thanks. The name actually came about a few years ago after several years of pants-related brewing stories/incidents.

 

[BigPerm]

I've had this happen with a hop bag where it clogged up the output. I used the racking cane to try to fish it out. It didn't work. I did manage to knock it loose though, so I was able to pour beer again that wasn't 90% hop matter.

In case you didn't pick up on it, I knew that the output was clogged because my beer was fully carbonated and I was trying to pour a beer. I was so set on drinking that beer that my brain failed to register the implications of what happens when you disturb carbonated liquids with physical force. When I agitated the beer with the racking cane in my attempt to fish out the hop bag, I released ridiculous amounts of CO2. The beer started foaming everywhere. I put the lid back on the keg, and it continued to foam out. I had to hook up the CO2 tank again and apply pressure to get the lid to seal before the foam stopped pouring out of the keg.

Yeah, this is kinda what happened to me too. I knew what was going to happen (with the foaming) before I did it, so i was somewhat prepared. I stuck a racking cane in there and fished around for about 10 seconds to see if I could find it. As soon as brown foamy hades started rising, i got the lid back on and pressurized. Just tasted it tonight; coffee still really nice, and pouring ok for now. Going to let it ride.

In my experiences with coffee beans, it always floats. Not this time. Damn downward pressure...