The motivation for this was OddSide Ales' Bean Flicker. I plan to brew this on Monday--Memorial Day. But, being that this is my 4th brew, I basically just made up the recipe from others on this site. Specifically, I took the ingredients from Hopleaf's Simple Blonde Ale (Extract):
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/simple-blonde-ale-extract-54953/
And the hops from Paul_Aris's Vanilla Coffee Bean Blonde:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/vanilla-coffee-bean-blonde-426044/
There are a ton of different ideas and opinions on how to add coffee flavor to a brew. But only one on how to get clear coffee, so I followed these directions:
http://www.jacobgrier.com/blog/archives/3855.html
I started this process earlier this week. I'm not fancy, so I don't have a French press or a Chemex. I just brewed 34 oz. of coffee--using a blend of the "premium" store brand Caramel flavored coffee and Costa Rican Estate coffee available at my local grocery. (Note: Bean Flicker has more of a vanilla flavor, but I'm going for more caramel). I brewed the coffee a bit stronger than I usually would for my morning cup. Here's the process:
Brew 34 oz. of coffee (actually, I used 34 oz. of water, so the coffee was probably a bit less)
Combine 1/3 cup of water with 8 grams (.28 oz.) gelatin (1 packet of Knox original unflavored)
Let the gelatin bloom (apx. 20 min)
Dissolve gelatin in the microwave (15 second blasts until clear)
Add gelatin mixture to the coffee in a separate bowl
Allow the mixture to partially set in the fridge (it won't set completely like jello)--I left it in overnight
Move mixture to the freezer
Leave in until frozen through
Approximately 2 days before brewing, move mixture to colinder lined with a muslin bag that is suspended over a bowl
Leave in fridge
The liquid at the bottom of the bowl should be your clear(ish) coffee
Here's the brew plan:
Steep .5 lbs CaraPils and .25 lbs Crystal 40L (I'm substituting 40L for 10L because that's what I have on hand) at 150 F for 60 min.
Boil and add 3 lbs Extra Light DME
Add 1.5 oz. Columbus hops at 60 min.
Add 1.0 oz. Simcoe at 20 min.
Add 3 lbs Extra Light DME at 5 min.
Add 3 oz. clear coffee after flameout when temperature reaches 170 F (some say that boiling burns the coffee and 170 is an average temperature for coffee, so that's the thinking here)
Chill, move to primary, add water to bring to 5.5 gallons, pitch yeast
When fermentation ends, add 3 oz. whole beans for 3-4 days
Bottle
I'm not sure about the amount of coffee to add after flameout. I plan to sample the strength of the clear coffee and gauge whether to stick with the 3 oz. at that point--more is likely unless the strength isn't akin to espresso. I'll also sample before adding the whole beans. But I'm more comfortable adding those based on Paul_Aris's results.
I welcome any thoughts or comments on my plan.
Thanks.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/simple-blonde-ale-extract-54953/
And the hops from Paul_Aris's Vanilla Coffee Bean Blonde:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/vanilla-coffee-bean-blonde-426044/
There are a ton of different ideas and opinions on how to add coffee flavor to a brew. But only one on how to get clear coffee, so I followed these directions:
http://www.jacobgrier.com/blog/archives/3855.html
I started this process earlier this week. I'm not fancy, so I don't have a French press or a Chemex. I just brewed 34 oz. of coffee--using a blend of the "premium" store brand Caramel flavored coffee and Costa Rican Estate coffee available at my local grocery. (Note: Bean Flicker has more of a vanilla flavor, but I'm going for more caramel). I brewed the coffee a bit stronger than I usually would for my morning cup. Here's the process:
Brew 34 oz. of coffee (actually, I used 34 oz. of water, so the coffee was probably a bit less)
Combine 1/3 cup of water with 8 grams (.28 oz.) gelatin (1 packet of Knox original unflavored)
Let the gelatin bloom (apx. 20 min)
Dissolve gelatin in the microwave (15 second blasts until clear)
Add gelatin mixture to the coffee in a separate bowl
Allow the mixture to partially set in the fridge (it won't set completely like jello)--I left it in overnight
Move mixture to the freezer
Leave in until frozen through
Approximately 2 days before brewing, move mixture to colinder lined with a muslin bag that is suspended over a bowl
Leave in fridge
The liquid at the bottom of the bowl should be your clear(ish) coffee
Here's the brew plan:
Steep .5 lbs CaraPils and .25 lbs Crystal 40L (I'm substituting 40L for 10L because that's what I have on hand) at 150 F for 60 min.
Boil and add 3 lbs Extra Light DME
Add 1.5 oz. Columbus hops at 60 min.
Add 1.0 oz. Simcoe at 20 min.
Add 3 lbs Extra Light DME at 5 min.
Add 3 oz. clear coffee after flameout when temperature reaches 170 F (some say that boiling burns the coffee and 170 is an average temperature for coffee, so that's the thinking here)
Chill, move to primary, add water to bring to 5.5 gallons, pitch yeast
When fermentation ends, add 3 oz. whole beans for 3-4 days
Bottle
I'm not sure about the amount of coffee to add after flameout. I plan to sample the strength of the clear coffee and gauge whether to stick with the 3 oz. at that point--more is likely unless the strength isn't akin to espresso. I'll also sample before adding the whole beans. But I'm more comfortable adding those based on Paul_Aris's results.
I welcome any thoughts or comments on my plan.
Thanks.
