Cold brew coffee the only option?

[themanc84]

I was originally going to add about 16oz of cold brew coffee into the bottling bucket for my stout, but what would be the downside of just adding regular coffee instead?

I work at a restaurant, I was thinking I could just brew some fresh coffee from our machine and keep it in a sanitized thermos, after it cools I could leave it in the fridge overnight and add it to the bucket the next day. Poor idea?

 

[Jwin]

Oil from the coffee will kill the head

 

[DemonsRun]

This past winter I just put whole beans in a 10 Gallon batch for 3 days as it cold crashed. Had no problems with head retention, and the coffee flavor was wonderfully intense.

 

[kzoostout]

It sounds like it's too late for this batch, but the only experience I had with coffee in a stout was to add fresh grounds at flame out (see the breakfast stout recipe in the database). I didn't add any cold brew coffee and the flame out addition gave me the flavor I was looking for. Turned out quite nicely, IMHO.

 

[Jwin]

This past winter I just put whole beans in a 10 Gallon batch for 3 days as it cold crashed. Had no problems with head retention, and the coffee flavor was wonderfully intense.

Cold liquid won't extract any oils.
Cold brewed coffee can happen in 24 hours at room temp.
Strain grounds
Boil to sanitize then cool and add.
You can add to keg/bottling bucket.

 

[themanc84]

Cold liquid won't extract any oils.
Cold brewed coffee can happen in 24 hours at room temp.
Strain grounds
Boil to sanitize then cool and add.
You can add to keg/bottling bucket.

Sounds pretty easy. I'll go this route, thanks

 

[Jwin]

Np. Just make sure you get all the grounds out.
Alternatively, sanatize everything first, then boil and cool water then cold brew it.
The biggest advantage to this as opposed to adding beans etc aside from little to no oil is that you can mix a portion of it in and then sample the beer and determine if you want more coffee flavor.
If you have a good coffee parlor near by, drop in and ask the barista what beans they carry with low oil content. I don't remember the brand but I know there is a brand of coffee out there that uses a special roasting technique that draws out all the oil.
Another option is b just find a Caffè that sells cold brewed coffee. barista parlor here in Nashville sells growlers of cold brew

 

[microbusbrewery]

It also helps avoid extracting astringent flavors compared to hot brewing, http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/cold-brew-coffee-adding-coffee-beer/

 

[RyanDe680]

Cold liquid won't extract any oils.
Cold brewed coffee can happen in 24 hours at room temp.
Strain grounds
Boil to sanitize then cool and add.
You can add to keg/bottling bucket.

This is spot on.

Cold brewing coffee is at room temp. What the OP is talking about sounds like iced coffee, if you will. The difference in coffee brewed and steeped at room temp vs. hot is remarkable. Sure it takes much more time, but in your beer you will notice remarkable differences, among them less acidic feel/astringent flavors.

 

[RyanDe680]

It also helps avoid extracting astringent flavors compared to hot brewing, http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/cold-brew-coffee-adding-coffee-beer/

Ha!
word

 

[m00ps]

I've tried adding coffee 3 ways: at flameout, cold brew, and whole beans in the fermentor.

I've found that all 3 can impart a good coffee flavor, but the first two seem to fade quicker and get astringent over time. I've found that using whole coffee beans not only provides a better more rounded coffee flavor, but it actually takes less coffee. I use 4oz for stouts and porter and 3oz for lighter beers that I want a predominant coffee character. Treat them as you would a dry hop

 

[chaosdunktheory]

Cold brewed coffee also has the advantage of being delicious, not only in your beer but as iced coffee in the morning. Just be careful as it can have quite a kick!

I've been thinking about donig a coffee stout... I think the way I'd end up doing it is mixing in cold brew at bottling time. You can get as much or as little coffee flavor as you want that way, just mixing in a little bit at a time to a little bit of beer until it tastes right, then scaling up for the whole volume and stirring (gently!).