Clone Beer Founder's Breakfast Stout Clone

[davidst]

I wanted to be lazy so instead of cold brewing 2oz of coffee, I threw all 4oz in at flameout and left it there for 10 minutes. I didn't even think about how much stronger/more acidic it would be (I wish I would have just left it at 2oz). I tasted the wort and the coffee was very overpowering. I'm really hoping it mellows out.

Two packets of US-05 and a few hours later and it's already bubbling away. I guess I'll discover if the coffee mellows in a few months. I'm thinking a month in the primary, one in the secondary and one in the bottles.

 

[olotti]

So I asked a question earlier about yeast choices for this and I want to say be careful using US-04. I pitched two packets into 1.084 wort at 62deg fermented in the mid 60's for 3 weeks and the FG is 5 points high 1.026 which is bordering on almost to sweet. Bummer. I guess 04 just doesn't attenuate enough although I use it a lot in IPA's and other stouts, I've used 002 in my RIS although it was a huge starter and that did just fine. Next time maybe 05 probably or a starter of 002, although if I just mash lower that could help too.

 

[sweetcell]

So I asked a question earlier about yeast choices for this and I want to say DO NOT use US-04. I pitched two packets into 1.084 wort at 62deg fermented in the mid 60's for 3 weeks and the FG is 5 points high 1.026 which is bordering on almost to sweet. Bummer. I guess 04 just doesn't attenuate enough although I've used 002 in my RIS although it was a huge starter and that did just fine. Next time I'll be using 05 probably or a starter of 002.

thanks for sharing your experience. S-04 got me down to 1.022, and it tasted great. i wouldn't make a blanket recommendation to everyone that they not use that yeast. clearly it didn't work for you, but who knows why... your wort could have been less fermentable for reasons completely unrelated to the yeast.

S-04 has worked well for many people, including the OP/author of the recipe.

 

[olotti]

thanks for sharing your experience. S-04 got me down to 1.022, and it tasted great. i wouldn't make a blanket recommendation to everyone that they not use that yeast. clearly it didn't work for you, but who knows why... your wort could have been less fermentable for reasons completely unrelated to the yeast.

S-04 has worked well for many people, including the OP/author of the recipe.

Yeah you're right probably should not make a blanket statement like that. I use 04 a lot and really like it but for reasons unknown to me it just crapped out this time, I'm sure the answer is in the recipe somewhere.

 

[backsideslash]

I'm thinking about upping the ABV on this one to about 11% (and IBU's proportionately) and then aging it on bourbon oak cubes for a year. Has anyone tried this? I saw a few comments talking about it, but couldn't find if anyone actually did it or not.

I'm not trying to replicate KBS or anything (which is on tap right now at Founders with zero marketing), but I just want a relatively high ABV imperial stout that I can age on bourbon cubes for a year or so for the holidays every year and thought this one looked pretty tasty.

 

[jammin]

^been wanting to do the exact same thing. I wonder if anyone has tried it

 

[brewski09]

I think it would hold up pretty well. I might look at dropping specialty grains and would definitely drop the mash temp so it would be more fermentable.

 

[The_Nid_Hog]

Any thoughts on how much coffee would be needed to replace both additions with cold brewed coffee? I usually use a Toddy cold brew system--I think it's a pound of beans steeped overnight in 48 oz of cold water.

 

[brewski09]

To taste. I'd go over if you plan on aging at all.

 

[Pyg]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449444600.329383.jpg
3 weeks in bottle, stored in 66-64 degree basement and still not carbed to the level I want.
I wonder if I need more time , I know I used plenty of sugar. Used .75 oz per gallon (if memory serves correctly)

Taste is spectacular, chocolate, coffee.....

 

[brewski09]

View attachment 321063
3 weeks in bottle, stored in 66-64 degree basement and still not carbed to the level I want.
I wonder if I need more time , I know I used plenty of sugar. Used .75 oz per gallon (if memory serves correctly)

Taste is spectacular, chocolate, coffee.....

Most yeasts will take upwards of 6 weeks to carbonate at those temps in my experience. Bring them upstairs somewhere with an ambient of around 70 and you're golden in 2 weeks. Good luck.

 

[garynet20]

I'd think this question was made before on this post. Have anyone tried to pitch in Cocoa (Cacao) seeds instead of the chocolate? Thanks

 

[brewski09]

Cacao nibs work well in stouts. They aren't sweet at all and taste almost dirty if you put too much in. I soak them in vodka for a few weeks and then pour the vodka in as I believe I got an infection from some nibs once.

 

[cantrell00]

I'd think this question was made before on this post. Have anyone tried to pitch in Cocoa (Cacao) seeds instead of the chocolate? Thanks

2 oz for 7 days as a dry hop works well. I also added 2 oz at flame-out.

 

[garynet20]

2 oz for 7 days as a dry hop works well. I also added 2 oz at flame-out.

Thanks!, do you grind them? or just peel the nib and pitch them like that?

 

[davidst]

I wanted to be lazy so instead of cold brewing 2oz of coffee, I threw all 4oz in at flameout and left it there for 10 minutes. I didn't even think about how much stronger/more acidic it would be (I wish I would have just left it at 2oz). I tasted the wort and the coffee was very overpowering. I'm really hoping it mellows out.

Two packets of US-05 and a few hours later and it's already bubbling away. I guess I'll discover if the coffee mellows in a few months. I'm thinking a month in the primary, one in the secondary and one in the bottles.

Went to transfer this to secondary after 3.5 weeks but it already tasted so good that I bottled it. By adding all the coffee to the boil the heavy aroma is already gone and I get the roasted malts and chocolate. I missed my OG (only coming in at 1.070), but that should make it ready to drink sooner. From the sample I had, I'm looking forward to this. It's exceptionally, great recipe!

 

[applescrap]

So first try with the brew your own recipe 10 days grain to glass. And as I'm sitting here drinking it I'm thinking the coffee should be added at flameout and removed and dry hopped then removed or cold pressed in as mentioned. I did two ounces of ground at flameout and two ounces dry hopped for 5 days and it was ground btw. I bet whole bean would be better but something is bitter tasting.... like coffee you know that sat in beer for 5 days granted the beers a little green still and after the first few sips the chocolate notes come through just saying coffee in , coffee out thats the way we make it in the morning right

 

[bolus14]

I only did 4oz of whole bean dry hopped coffee for 5 days I believe and its delicious, every person that has tried it has loved it. It took about 3-4 weeks in the bottle before the coffee mellowed and all the flavors came together.

 

[TwistedHops]

So first try with the brew your own recipe 10 days grain to glass. And as I'm sitting here drinking it I'm thinking the coffee should be added at flameout and removed and dry hopped then removed or cold pressed in as mentioned. I did two ounces of ground at flameout and two ounces dry hopped for 5 days and it was ground btw. I bet whole bean would be better but something is bitter tasting.... like coffee you know that sat in beer for 5 days granted the beers a little green still and after the first few sips the chocolate notes come through just saying coffee in , coffee out thats the way we make it in the morning right

I'm going to agree with the above post, let the flavors mellow for awhile longer, my version did very well with age. Kept 1 for about a year and man I wish I had more left!

 

[applescrap]

Yeah some time will probably help it but really it will only mitigate the issue i worry. Next time I'm going to steep the coffee at flameout and then remove it and do the same thing with dry hop probably 24 hours for dry hop. The problem is the grounds sitting on the coffee for 5 days or perhaps the grounds at flame out the whole time created a less than desirable flavor. I could be wrong but I'm thinking if its not good now why is it going to be any better later. I started a debate on this topic elsewhere feel free to join in. In the case of something that is too high in alcohol that might be more true or in this case yeah that off flavor might mellow okay now I have confused myself.

 

[Hoppity]

The derivation of IPAs was hops fade with age. Wines change flavor with age. Oak fades with age. Why not coffee? Don't be confused, be patient.

 

[bolus14]

Agreed, we drank a couple of mine after 3 days in the bottle, wasn't very carbonated but the overall taste was like dirt and dark chocolate mixed. Fast forward 3-4 weeks and complete deliciousness!!

 

[backsideslash]

Just brewed a double batch of an Imperial version of this beer. Had two insanely stuck sparges, slipped and fell on ice three times, missed both gravities, broke the hop spider, and a bunch of other stupid mistakes. All in all it made for a 12 hour brew day. Thanks to DME I ended up hitting the OG of 1.110 on the nose both times. Made one batch with molasses and will make another with vanilla beans in secondary. Both will get some bourbon soaked oak cubes and sit for 6-12 months.

 

[jammin]

Just brewed a double batch of an Imperial version of this beer. Had two insanely stuck sparges, slipped and fell on ice three times, missed both gravities, broke the hop spider, and a bunch of other stupid mistakes. All in all it made for a 12 hour brew day. Thanks to DME I ended up hitting the OG of 1.110 on the nose both times. Made one batch with molasses and will make another with vanilla beans in secondary. Both will get some bourbon soaked oak cubes and sit for 6-12 months.

Sheesh bro, what a frustrating brew day. Hope the resulting brew ends up tasting amazing!

 

[brewski09]

A question for anyone dry beaning (whole or ground). I was at a local brewery and asked the Brewer about coffee additions and they said when they tried dry beaning that the beer became unstable in the bottle and tasted like crap after a couple months on shelves. Has anyone had quality/stability issues with their dry beaned beers?

 

[dlebert]

Sorry if this has already been addressed but how does the Original recipe give an OG of 1.083? Using Brewers friend, 12 lb of 2-row (with the same specialty grains) at 75% efficiency would give an OG of 1.087. Am I missing something?

 

[DonnieZ]

I have brewed this twice now. The first time it came out around 1084 OG and it held up for a good couple of months. Sumatra at flameout and Kona in secondary for about a week.

The second and most recent time I brewed it, I did Sumatra at flameout again, and Jamaica Blue Mountain in secondary. I kind of forgot about the secondary and let that sit for about 2 weeks.

With the second batch, the coffee flavor was strong and came out wonderful for about the first 3 weeks or so. It took first place in our club's homebrew competition against 8 other "big and dark" beers. I submitted it to the LHBS competition which was judged somewhere between 11-14 days later and the notes I got back said it was full of green pepper aroma and flavor. Sure enough, I took a draw from my keg and it's a green pepper bomb.

I was advised to cold press the coffee next time by the LHBS, but that was blind advice - at the time they had no idea how I added coffee to the beer.

I will brew this again, but I'll be a little more stringent on the coffee timing and I might just do both coffee additions to secondary and see how it goes.

 

[applescrap]

I have brewed this twice now. The first time it came out around 1084 OG and it held up for a good couple of months. Sumatra at flameout and Kona in secondary for about a week.

The second and most recent time I brewed it, I did Sumatra at flameout again, and Jamaica Blue Mountain in secondary. I kind of forgot about the secondary and let that sit for about 2 weeks.

With the second batch, the coffee flavor was strong and came out wonderful for about the first 3 weeks or so. It took first place in our club's homebrew competition against 8 other "big and dark" beers. I submitted it to the LHBS competition which was judged somewhere between 11-14 days later and the notes I got back said it was full of green pepper aroma and flavor. Sure enough, I took a draw from my keg and it's a green pepper bomb.

I was advised to cold press the coffee next time by the LHBS, but that was blind advice - at the time they had no idea how I added coffee to the beer.

I will brew this again, but I'll be a little more stringent on the coffee timing and I might just do both coffee additions to secondary and see how it goes.

Congratulations! How long aged before your club tasted it? Not the result i got. Mine tasted well like you would expect something that had coffee in it a week would taste. Granted a day or two later it has gotten better.

 

[sweetcell]

Sorry if this has already been addressed but how does the Original recipe give an OG of 1.083? Using Brewers friend, 12 lb of 2-row (with the same specialty grains) at 75% efficiency would give an OG of 1.087. Am I missing something?

there are different types of efficiencies, different ways of calculating it, Brewers Friend might not be calculating system loss, etc etc etc...

in the end, don't worry about the recipe - just hit the numbers. you should use however much grain your system requires to make 1.083.

 

[DonnieZ]

Congratulations! How long aged before your club tasted it? Not the result i got. Mine tasted well like you would expect something that had coffee in it a week would taste. Granted a day or two later it has gotten better.

I'd have to look at my notes, but I'm guessing about 7-10 days. I think I kegged it the week before Thanksgiving and then sent it over for the comp on Nov 30.

Two weeks later it was a green pepper bomb. Really want to brew this again and figure something out with the coffee profile.