Favorite method for adding coffee to Porter?

[MamaMo]

I'm doing my first batch of beer. It's finishing up fermenting in the primary now. I'm doing a coffee Porter from an extract recipe. I've read a lot of different ways and times to add the coffee.
So my question is:
What's your favorite method for adding coffee to a porter.

Thanks!

 

[Natdavis777]

Adding whole or coursely crushed coffee beans to the fermenter/keg. I like to take around 4 oz, coursely crushed, and throw them into the fermenter for 2-5 days, depending on how much coffee flavor and aroma I want to impart. After the given time frame, I pull and carb. If bottling, you can slide some pantyhose or something on the end of the cane and rack off the beans into a bottling bucket and bottle away.

As for infection, I always sanitize my sack that I use (mostly panty hose), but not the beans. Ive done several coffee infused beers this way and have yet to have an infection. As a matter of fact, Im enjoying an Chocolate Coffee Milk Stout as I type this. Used whole beans for this one, and let them ride for 3 days. Coffee aroma is there but not overly dominant. Flavor is upfront, but still lets the chocolate and malt come through.

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

The whole or ground bean method works well. Another method that works is to cold brew. Grind some beans and place in some boiled and cooled water and stick it in the fridge over night. Then pour the cold brew (filtering out the grounds) into the fermenter. Some people will pour the cold brew into the keg or bottling bucket a little at a time and taste as they go until it is right.

Using a milder brew allows a little more room for error so you don't get coffee that tastes a little like beer. Also, don't add boiled coffee as boiling extracts oils that can kill head.

 

[MamaMo]

Thanks so much!

 

[Calder]

I've only done it twice. Both done recently. Both times I added 1 ounce of whole beans to 2.5 gallons and left it for 6 days and then bottled. Using whole beans makes it easy to screen out when bottling. I don't think you loose much using whole, with 6 days, the coffee flavors come out easily.

The first time I did it, it was great, maybe too much as it masked other flavors in the beer (Oak, Bourbon, vanilla). But a great beer none the less. Seemed like the perfect amount.

The second beer was bottled yesterday. It did not have the same intense coffee flavor as the first. Still has plenty of coffee flavor. Maybe it was different coffees.

Both were Porters. the first has 2X the alcohol as the second one, so that too might have affected flavor extraction. I am happy with both.

I did not sanitize the beans. Just used straight from a fresh pack..

 

[C-Rider]

I've always used cold brewed coffee in the bottling bucket. Come to think of it I just used tap water to make the coffee no pre boil. Never had an infection. I use 8 oz in a 2 gallon batch.

 

[sputnam]

i like the idea of coffee in beer but more often than not it comes out tasting like black coffee ---i'm a heavy cream and sugar drinker. Is there a way to get it to NOT taste like cold, black coffee?

 

[jsaxon90]

From my experience, the best way to have a more mild coffee flavor is to cold brew the coffee like the guy said earlier. Using a French press is always easy. Put ground coffee into the French press and add cold water ( tape water is fine). Stir up the water and coffee grounds together and let it sit in your refrigerator overnight. The cold water brings out sweetness in the coffee, while water brings out bitterness. Then, before bottling, add it to the beer. Use less and a more mild coffee if you're afraid of the coffee being the dominant flavor. Hope this helps!😃

 

[outdoorvtguy]

I've been tweaking my Coffee Stout recipe and the one I am using called for 4 oz of coffee at the end of the boil. Depending on the type of coffee, it can be rather strong so I've been whittling it down, now down to about 3/4 cup. Not sure if Porter is different but this amount imparts just the right amount of coffee flavor, not too much that it overpowers the other flavors.

 

[Wolfbayte]

The whole or ground bean method works well. Another method that works is to cold brew. Grind some beans and place in some boiled and cooled water and stick it in the fridge over night. ... Some people will pour the cold brew into the keg or bottling bucket a little at a time and taste as they go until it is right.

Using a milder brew allows a little more room for error so you don't get coffee that tastes a little like beer. Also, don't add boiled coffee as boiling extracts oils that can kill head.

^this. Cold steep beforehand and add at bottling, be careful not to splash and oxygenate your beer in the process.

Many people use Sumatran and/or Kona because of the deeper flavor surviving the conditioning. I used decaf Columbian for my first coffee brew (an Oatmeal Stout) and it was really good. Have since found decaf Sumatran at Win-Co and that's my go to.

I put boiling r/o water in a star-san sanitized mason jar and seal with factory lid. It goes in the frig for a couple of days. Then I add the coffee, mix, and reseal and back in the frig. Filter and add to bottling bucket when the time comes.

You will not be disappointed.

 

[Weezy]

I've only done it a couple ways:
One, whole roasted beans in primary,
Two, separately brewed coffee, blended to the keg to taste. I used a French press and coarse ground coffee.

Adding to primary was fail...it tasted like onions. I bottled a couple to age and it didn't help.

I just read somewhere about adding late to the mash or just sparge. I want to try that.

 

[Sailingeric]

Not sure where you live but if you have Trader Joe's near by, they have coffee concentrate. I used that for a coffee stout and added about 1/4 cup at bottling.

 

[cycomiko]

In his interview on the BN - Tony Magee from Lagunitas said they add their ground coffee for the cappuccino stout to the top of the mash tun for sparging. But their website says they add it to the brewkettle/whirlpool.

 

[RandallFlag]

i like the idea of coffee in beer but more often than not it comes out tasting like black coffee ---i'm a heavy cream and sugar drinker. Is there a way to get it to NOT taste like cold, black coffee?

Yeah, don't add coffee.

 

[cbier60]

Any recommendations on adding coffee on a limited basis, similar to a randall? I have a keg of porter I really like as is, but my wife really likes coffee porters, so I'd like to add coffee by the glass, growler, or similar.

 

[Wolfbayte]

Any recommendations on adding coffee on a limited basis, similar to a randall? I have a keg of porter I really like as is, but my wife really likes coffee porters, so I'd like to add coffee by the glass, growler, or similar.

Going forward, Brew a six gallon batch. Keg the first 5 as is and bottle the last gallon with a bit of cold press coffee in the mix.

For the keg you have, brew a coffee "tea"/extract with vodka in a mason jar and put a few drops in her glass before filling.

 

[Calder]

Any recommendations on adding coffee on a limited basis, similar to a randall? I have a keg of porter I really like as is, but my wife really likes coffee porters, so I'd like to add coffee by the glass, growler, or similar.

Cold steep some strong coffee. It is strong anyway, and is usually diluted to drink. Then add some of the concentrated coffee to the beer in the glass. that way you can make it weak or strong coffee flavored.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

I'll offer an alternative way. When I make my coffee stouts, I put course ground espresso beans (medium body, low acid) in a hopsock and steep them post boil at 203F for 5 minutes. This process is the recommended brewing method per the National Coffee Association, so I just substitute post boil wort for water. I'm not saying one way is better than the other, but there are a few options.

 

[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 cooled coffee into the bottling bucket?

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?