Coffee Stout Spoiled

[simonjn]

Hi everyone,

Last year, I tried brewing a coffee stout, and I'm still very new to home brewing. I made cold brew which I then pasteurized at 180F for about 15 minutes, but then after I added that to the beer in secondary, the batch spoiled. I'm pretty sure the bacteria came from the cold brew, and not the beer, as the beer tasted fine out of primary. I also don't recall sanitizing the container I made the cold brew in, which very well could be the culprit. What's the proper way to create a sanitary batch of cold brew, and ultimately, a coffee stout? Should all of the equipment used for brewing the cold brew be sanitized? Should I add a campden tablet to the cold brew, wait a day, and then pitch the cold brew into secondary? Should I boil the water used for the cold brew? I'm open to any suggestions. Thank you for the help!

 

[fluketamer]

i find adding a little extra black patent say 2 ounces and more chocolate or carafa 2 gives me a coffee flavor thats indistinguishable from adding coffee.

i have had strong coffee results with 2 ounces black patent 4 ounces carafa 2 and 8 ounces of chocolate works well.

i find this gives more of a cofffee flavor then a chocolate one.

 

[BongoYodeler]

Brown malt and Amber malt also bring the coffee. I have an amber ale on tap right now with both, and those who have tried it are certain I've added coffee to this beer, although I haven't.

But to the OP's question, I have "dry hopped" (dry beaned?), a stout with coarsely ground coffee beans and gotten a nice background coffee flavor. I just boiled and sanitized a hop sack and added beans that had been placed in a clean, unused baggie right out of the package, then smacked a few times with a hammer, then dumped them into the sack. I secured with fishing line hanging outside the lid, and dropped the sack into the kegged stout. I removed it after sampling each day until I was satisfied with the flavor.

 

[Bobby_M]

I don't "coffee" beer often, but when I do I go whole bean. I boil some water in the microwave in a pyrex ramakin or measuring cup, then dump the coffee in, stir for 1 minute, then dump the beans and water into the keg right away.

 

[Zanatrik]

I’ve made a coffee stout twice, so take my experience for what it’s worth, but I’ve just added dry whole beans to the fermenter after fermentation is complete. Between the acidity of the beans themselves and the alcohol content in a finished beer, I haven’t had any contamination issues. I did learn that a little can go a long way, so on my second batch I tasted a few times after adding the beans then kegged when I thought it was ready. For my recipe, it was 2oz fresh roasted beans for 2.5 gallons of beer, steeped for 18ish hours.

 

[bike2brew]

Same here, I just added whole beans like I would have dry hopped an IPA.

 

[simonjn]

Thanks for all of the help and suggestions guys.

 

[simonjn]

Brown malt and Amber malt also bring the coffee. I have an amber ale on tap right now with both, and those who have tried it are certain I've added coffee to this beer, although I haven't.

But to the OP's question, I have "dry hopped" (dry beaned?), a stout with coarsely ground coffee beans and gotten a nice background coffee flavor. I just boiled and sanitized a hop sack and added beans that had been placed in a clean, unused baggie right out of the package, then smacked a few times with a hammer, then dumped them into the sack. I secured with fishing line hanging outside the lid, and dropped the sack into the kegged stout. I removed it after sampling each day until I was satisfied with the flavor.

@BongoYodeler ultimately how long did you dry hop it for?

 

[BongoYodeler]

@BongoYodeler ultimately how long did you dry hop it for?

When I get back to my laptop I'll check the recipe notes to see if I documented that. I do remember the first time I used coffee beans I left some medium roast beans in too long, (or maybe it was just too many beans), and the beer tasted like a carbonated cold pressed coffee.

 

[wterry]

i find adding a little extra black patent say 2 ounces and more chocolate or carafa 2 gives me a coffee flavor thats indistinguishable from adding coffee.

i have had strong coffee results with 2 ounces black patent 4 ounces carafa 2 and 8 ounces of chocolate works well.

i find this gives more of a cofffee flavor then a chocolate one.

hi, curious what the rest of this grain bill looks like that these additions are being part of.....thanks

 

[BongoYodeler]

@BongoYodeler ultimately how long did you dry hop it for?

When I get back to my laptop I'll check the recipe notes to see if I documented that. I do remember the first time I used coffee beans I left some medium roast beans in too long, (or maybe it was just too many beans), and the beer tasted like a carbonated cold pressed coffee.

Sorry, no coffee bean notes. But I'm guessing it was just a couple days, maybe three of four tops. Just taste each day until it's where you want it.

 

[simonjn]

Sorry, no coffee bean notes. But I'm guessing it was just a couple days, maybe three of four tops. Just taste each day until it's where you want it.

Will do, thanks!