Brew with coffee

[pokerloict]

Hi,

I brewed a russian stout and would like to add some coffee flavor in it. What is the best ways to do this?

Ive think about making fresh espresso and add it to the fermenter, or simply add the grain to the fermenter. What guys are you thinking is the best way to proceed?

Thank

 

[Gorm]

Course crack coffee beans of your choice, add to secondary and wait 1 week. Then bottle or keg.
That’s what I like, others will cold brew coffee and add it. Others have added grounds.

Lots of folks will add coffee in their own way and then taste every 2-4 days.

And there is coffee malt as well.

 

[TenaCJed]

I have used the recommendation from Gorm of cracked coffee beans and it worked really well. Some people cold brew the coffee as well and add that. I found the cracked coffee beans worked great though. Just keep sampling every couple of days.

 

[Steveruch]

In future you might want to consider using some of this.

 

[GoeHaarden]

I use coffee in beer a lot. My two favorite drinks...

First, skip the secondary. Most would advise against them. Including myself.

I stick with the rule of thumb of 1 ounce of beans per gallon of beer. Since this is a stout then color change is not an issue and I would go with the cold brew route. Make concentrated cold brew in the fridge overnight. I use a french press. Pour that into your bottling bucket or keg when packaging. Cold brew will minimize bitterness from hot brewed coffee.

If color change was a concern then I use whole beans and you can treat them like dry hops with minimal color change. I've done several coffee blondes and lagers this way. It's pretty cool to have a light beer smell and taste like coffee. Sensory confusion...
A course chop in a grinder or with a rolling pin will increase surface area and increase coffee flavor. I add them straight into the primary after fermentation is complete. Over time they will drop. Cold crashing will help. Again I just treat them like dry hops. Nothing fancy.

Never tried dumping ground coffee into my beer and I don't think I ever will...

Cheers

 

[pokerloict]

Thank you all! So I will prepare a cold infusion and see the result

 

[Beerstein]

Thank you all! So I will prepare a cold infusion and see the result

I did this recently with the cold brew approach. Added between 6 to 8oz of cold brew when i racked to a keg. The coffee was very present, but not over powering.

 

[gonpce]

Just finished an oatmeal coffee stout. Added cold brew at bottling. Turned out great

 

[user 268417]

Course crack coffee beans of your choice, add to secondary and wait 1 week. Then bottle or keg.
That’s what I like, others will cold brew coffee and add it. Others have added grounds.

Lots of folks will add coffee in their own way and then taste every 2-4 days.

And there is coffee malt as well.

I made a coffee milk stout and crushed my beans, dry hop in fermenter and just sample after a few days. This way you can decide to leave in longer or decide to keg or bottle. I found this is the best way get the right amount of coffee flavor you are looking for.

 

[InspectorJon]

If you do a search of HBT for “adding coffee” you will find hundreds of answers. One of the most popular methods, and the way I do it, is to add whole beans to the fermenter a week before packaging. This is essentially the same as cold brewing but you are not diluting your beer with water. You are cold brewing in the beer. No need to crush the beans, they give up their flavor just the same.

 

[Gorm]

Hmmm, I’ll try that in 2 weeks

 

[davidabcd]

add whole beans to the fermenter a week before packaging.

serious question: the surface area of a ground bean is greater. You think (maybe know) they still give up the flavor when whole?
Thank you.

 

[InspectorJon]

@davidabcd I only know what I have read and done. @Dgallo has experience with this. There are multiple references here on HBT with folks using whole beans. We use ground coffee to make the coffee we drink because we want it to infuse immediately. The beans infuse just fine over several days without grinding and are less likely to end up plugging a siphon or screen. Some people hang them in a mesh bag. I just throw them in whole. I have done it several times with good effect.

 

[Abbas]

I'd suggest adding light or medium roast whole beans for 12-24 hours in your fermenter, assuming fermentation has already stopped and you are getting ready to keg or bottle. Unless you like vegetal off-flavors in your beer, I wouldn't keep it longer that. Use fresh, good quality beans for this.

The other easy option would be making a strong cold brew. Pasteurize the cold brew (minus the coffee grounds) prior to adding to your beer. Hot brewed coffee extracts too many astringent flavors that you might want to avoid. This is probably the easiest way to control the amount of coffee flavor you get into your beer. You could always pull a sample and add some cold brew to the sample and dial in the flavor you the flavor you are looking for. This method, in my experience, has never led to those green pepper flavors that you can get from coffee beans.