Critique my Coffee Stout

[Krane]

Coffee Stout

Boil Size: 6.41g
Boil Time: 60 min

Grain Bill:
9# Pale Malt 2 Row (UK)
.7# Flaked Barley
.7# Caramel/Crystal 60L
.7# Flaked Oats
.5# Chocolate Malt
.25# Roasted Barley

Coffee:
I'm undecided but know I want to cold brew some coffee and add to the bottling bucket. I'm looking for suggestions on how much/techniques. I'm fairly set on cold brewing, straining, then boiling with my priming sugar. Not sure I'd feel safe adding it another way, but feel free to suggest/critique. I had an estimate of 12 oz of coffee in .5 gallons of water.

Hops: (IBU estimate- 32.9)
1.5oz East Kent Goldings (60 minutes)
.5oz East Kent Goldings (5 Minutes)

Yeast:
1 Package SafAle English Ale S-04

Mash @ 155*F for 60 min. (14.8qt)
Sparge @ 168* for 10 min. (17qt)

Fermentation Temperature: 62*F
-I plan on a 4 week primary fermentation

Measured Pre-boil Gravity: 1.044 (collected 6.5g)
Measured Original Gravity: 1.058 (~5.2g)
Expected Finishing Gravity: 1.014 (estimate from Beersmith)

So I brewed this up on 11/10/2011. Things went really well, hit my mash temp and volume (from runnings) perfectly. Only thing that I would alter is I had a ton of break material and ended up with a little less in the carboy than I had planned on.

Haven't taken a sample yet but it seems like everything is going well. Temperature stayed fairly constant (rose about 2*F max) and the krausen has dissipated.

I would love to get some input about this recipe, what I can expect and areas to improve for next time.

The biggest area I need some input on is the coffee addition. I'm set on adding at bottling and cold brewing. On a scale of 1-10 for the strength of the coffee flavor (10 being the highest) I want this to be about a 7. How much coffee should I add, and how much water should I cold brew with? I want to boil the coffee after I brew it (and add the priming sugar with it), to assure it's sanitized but I am worried about the bitterness I might get. Does the coffee get bitter even if the beans are filtered out?

So, what do you think?

 

[FastAndy]

Good call on the hops. I have a very similar stout that i just kegged except i used a full pound of 120 crystal and only a half pound of oats,IMHO more than half a pound is overkill. Is flaked barley similar tastewise to roasted barley? I've never used it but would worry with that much flaked/roasted barley plus the coffee this might end up pretty astringent. Let us know how it turns out.

Cheers!

 

[Krane]

Flaked Barley: Flaked unmalted barley is often used in Stouts to provide protein for head retention and body. It can also be used in other strong ale styles. Use 0.5-1 lb. per 5 gal batch. Flaked barley must be mashed with base malt.

It's mostly there for head retention and creaminess. As far as I know, it lends very little flavor to the beer. I've read it can be used as a cheap replacement for carapils as well.

 

[drkwoods]

I researched this (Adding coffee) last year after having the best coffee stout ive ever had in my life. I spoke with the roaster and the brew master and for a 7/10 I would go 1/2# per 5 gallon, Cold steep in secondary mod grind. I would not boil any part of this it leads to bitterness. I simply hang a sanitized bag of the freshly ground coffee in the secondary. Basically I sanitize a hop bag and then pour the untouched grounds into the bag. The alcohol levels in the secondary almost completely remove the worry about contamination. Get freshly roasted coffee if you can from an artisan coffee shop. Cheers!

 

[Krane]

I've never done a secondary before, but I think I may try it out for this one. How long do you let it sit in the secondary? Is there a maximum length of time I should do this where I might experience bad flavors?

 

[Krane]

By steeping the coffee in the carboy do i risk extracting oils too? I have heard oils cause head retention issues

 

[drkwoods]

I leave the "hang bag" in the secondary up to two weeks. I've even left it in as we drank it up and never removed. I've never had a prob with it like too much coffee flavor or too much oils. Yes you will get oils from the beans and yes it will challenge the head retention but I'm drinking one right now and it's got a good 1" head that fades as I get to the bottom of the glass. Which I think is perfect for a porter or stout

 

[Stephonovich]

I'm about ready to bottle my coffee stout, and am also doing a cold extraction add to the secondary.

Based on reading various threads and a few brewing websites, I'm going with 8 oz of coffee. A full bag (12 oz) has been described as over the top coffee that dominates everything - if that's what you're going for, go for it. I'm going for a well balanced stout.

My coffee stout thread is here. Ignore the title about it being a porter... my mistake.