Cold brew nitro coffee

[Jtk78]

I am in the middle of a kegerator build and the idea popped in my mind to have a tap dedicated to cold brew coffee on nitro. I do know that my beer gas blend will not work and I will need a dedicated nitrogen cylinder. The equipment I would need would be the cylinder, regulator, another keg, and another faucet setup. I'm using the Intertap flow control faucets, and would add one that worst strictly serve the coffee. What else would I need to get started assuming I bought pre-ground coffee?

My other question is has anyone made the cold brew right in the keg? My thought was bag the coffee in a bag similar to those used for kettle hopping (new of course), pull the bag after 20-24 hours, top off with water, close the keg and put on gas. My only concern is ripping the bag trying to get it out of the keg.

 

[Owly055]

I just got the suggestion from Br3W4u on a different discussion and am in the process of cold brewing to make a nitro mocha that will include chocolate syrup and heavy cream for a sort of late. I have everything I need to nitro infuse as I use nitrogen for refrigeration testing, and had the keg fittings, hose, barbs, etc.

I'm using pre-ground Costco decaf. I will not even attempt to do it in the keg. I'm brewing in a 1 gallon ice tea jug, and will do several filter and strain operations, the final one through an ordinary coffee filter. It's said that one should grind your own, using a course grind about like bread crumbs. I'm not really set up to grind coffee except with the old fashion hand crank with a drawer grinder, but I drink only decaf, and finding decent decaf whole bean affordably is really out of the question. Costco coffee is head and shoulders above any other decaf I've ever seen. I don't have problems with caffeine per se, but I refuse to become an addict again, after experiencing withdrawal.

H.W.

 

[Jtk78]

I just got the suggestion from Br3W4u on a different discussion and am in the process of cold brewing to make a nitro mocha that will include chocolate syrup and heavy cream for a sort of late. I have everything I need to nitro infuse as I use nitrogen for refrigeration testing, and had the keg fittings, hose, barbs, etc.

I'm using pre-ground Costco decaf. I will not even attempt to do it in the keg. I'm brewing in a 1 gallon ice tea jug, and will do several filter and strain operations, the final one through an ordinary coffee filter. It's said that one should grind your own, using a course grind about like bread crumbs. I'm not really set up to grind coffee except with the old fashion hand crank with a drawer grinder, but I drink only decaf, and finding decent decaf whole bean affordably is really out of the question. Costco coffee is head and shoulders above any other decaf I've ever seen. I don't have problems with caffeine per se, but I refuse to become an addict again, after experiencing withdrawal.

H.W.

I've read fresh ground coffee with a course grind about that for a French press, works well.

After thinking about it a little more I am going to get a dedicated bucket for this when I'm ready. I will probably get a bag made for it from Wlserbrew on this site. I'm not to this point yet though, so I'm still researching and may change my mind 10 times before I actually do it

 

[Owly055]

I've read fresh ground coffee with a course grind about that for a French press, works well.

After thinking about it a little more I am going to get a dedicated bucket for this when I'm ready. I will probably get a bag made for it from Wlserbrew on this site. I'm to this point yet though, so I'm still researching and may change my mind 10 times before I actually do it

This AM, I filtered the grounds out using a permanent filter for my coffee maker, followed by a filtering twice through coffee filters to get all the mud out. I went through about 6 filters for a gallon of coffee, but filters are cheap. I then added a full pint of whipping cream, and a bit over a pound of chocolate syrup, (I used Walmart's Great Value brand, because it's cheap. I'll be making my own with sugar instead of HFCS in the future, using cocoa. This was a "quick and dirty" experiment.....and some potassium chloride to cut the sweetness a bit. The works went into a 1.75 gallon mini keg from Williams Brewing, and I charged it with nitrogen at roughly 50 PSIG. Shook vigorously during the process. At the moment the keg is in the fridge, and I've dispensed one cup of very foamy nitro-mocha, which of course has not had time to absorb the nitrogen yet. I got the flavor about perfect using the mix and taste method, but I would reduce the sweetness.which most people would not find objectionable, but I'm not into sweet at all.

I can very definitely see adding mint to this for a truly unique drink. I can't wait to see the results in a few days.

A brief lacto fermentation is something I will try also. Tartness and chocolate go together well.

A few spices go well with chocolate in moderation, such as wasabi, cardomom, and ginger, and others such as cinnamon, star anise, cayenne, and even cloves. Any of these in moderation of course.

H.W.

 

[Supabrew]

I am in the middle of a kegerator build and the idea popped in my mind to have a tap dedicated to cold brew coffee on nitro. I do know that my beer gas blend will not work and I will need a dedicated nitrogen cylinder.

Did you end up going with straight nitro to push your coffee, or have you tried using beer gas?

Using a blend (80/20 or 75/25) to push coffee would work much better for my kegerator setup and would allow me to serve nitro beers more easily. No room for a third tank and regulator!

 

[Jtk78]

I haven't done either yet. The project is currently on hold right now. I have 5 kegs available and 3 on tap right now. Unfortunately I cannot spend any more money on this for a bit.

Edit to add - I have read it's a bad idea to use beer gas because the CO2 will carbonate the coffee and create a bad flavor. When I do this, I will get a dedicated nitrogen cylinder and regulator.

 

[aouellette86]

Personally I only use nitrogen to push my cold brew. As Jtk78 said the beer gas will end up carbonating your coffee. I usually have both a nitro (through nitro faucet) and non-nitro version on tap at all times.