French Press and Randal Thread

[mborden1]

... good glove ...

 

[drbenzo1]

 

[rcubed1]

Yes... But it ads good flavor... Some texture. Cocoa nibs only add good glove over a long period of time in my experience.

Always toast cocoa nibs in the oven ahead of time and get them so they are sweating and partially melting. You'll get better extraction (and flavor).

 

[drbenzo1]

Always toast cocoa nibs in the oven ahead of time and get them so they are sweating and partially melting. You'll get better extraction (and flavor).

great idea!

 

[justforrazors]

My experiment for the night: took 15 grams of ground coffee beans and 1 tablespoon of Vermont maple syrup and placed in my pourover. Drained 4 oz of bourbon county through it (ended up squeezing the filter a bit, not sure if it was the syrup or the beer just didn't want to go through) and then topped off with the remaining 8 ounces. Pretty sure I just made a kbbs clone that may be better than actual kbbs.

 

[cyde]

My experiment for the night: took 15 grams of ground coffee beans and 1 tablespoon of Vermont maple syrup and placed in my pourover. Drained 4 oz of bourbon county through it (ended up squeezing the filter a bit, not sure if it was the syrup or the beer just didn't want to go through) and then topped off with the remaining 8 ounces. Pretty sure I just made a kbbs clone that may be better than actual kbbs.

I need to tweak the infusion a bit, but this did taste pretty damn close to KBBS. I need to source a better maple syrup for this to shine. The coffee was locally roasted and 3 days old. Hnnngghhh.

 

[drbenzo1]

French pressed some coffee and blended not bad

 

[sacrelicio]

Anyone have tips for making a faux barrel-aged beer in a randall? Soaking oak chips? Anything like that? I've tried but I can never get it right.

 

[rcubed1]

Soaking in oak will require some time. You'll want to give it upwards of 48 hours soaking from what I've experienced.

Make sure to boil your oak chips before soaking them with a spirit. That will get rid of some of their harsher flavors.

 

[sacrelicio]

Soaking in oak will require some time. You'll want to give it upwards of 48 hours soaking from what I've experienced.

Make sure to boil your oak chips before soaking them with a spirit. That will get rid of some of their harsher flavors.

How long do you randall the chips in the beer?

 

[rcubed1]

I've only done it once but it was about two days in the fridge in French press. Save some beer or have another bottle to add to get back lost carbonation.

 

[sacrelicio]

I've only done it once but it was about two days in the fridge in French press. Save some beer or have another bottle to add to get back lost carbonation.

Verdict? Good?

 

[cyde]

Mmm burnt marshmallow, graham cracker pieces, and cacao nibs for BCBS S'mores infusion. I think I found my new favorite!

Verdict? Good?

I've done this for a mega coconut & cacao nib bomb that destroyed 2013 Prop. Came out great.

 

[rcubed1]

Verdict? Good?

Yeah, it was good. Still a bit different from actually aging in a barrel.

 

[BigDaddyPolite]

Two things:
1) Allow me to be the 100th person to mention how awesome homemade 2013 Prop is. Everyone should just buy a French press and stop trading for the original.
2) Anyone try to make a homemade 2014 Prop? And care to share the recipe/results?

 

[Aaron from the Wood]

Soaked the coconut for about 30 minutes in 6oz of BCBS, but will definitely go longer next time for better effect.

 

[rcubed1]

Try a lighter toast as well. I've found the higher the toast level, the less the coconut shines through in these big barrel aged imperial stouts.

 

[SirDickButts]

are you guys using 1 or 2 micron filters for your french press?

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

was at Gordon's in Waltham for their stout tasting on Friday night. they French pressed barrel aged ten fidy on multiple things

highlights were cinamon toast crunch, espresso, and coconut. they also did hot peppers and cinamon, vanilla, donuts, berries to name a few

 

[Sage1]

Try a lighter toast as well. I've found the higher the toast level, the less the coconut shines through in these big barrel aged imperial stouts.

The hell do you know about working with coconut?

Also, as with anything, you’ll get better extraction the higher your surface area is. That same company makes “shredded” coconut instead of “flakes”, which I’ve used before to good effect:

 

[rcubed1]

Agreed. Flakes, "fine shred", or "macaroon style" will get you better extraction.

 

[mborden1]

was at Gordon's in Waltham for their stout tasting on Friday night. they French pressed barrel aged ten fidy on multiple things

highlights were cinamon toast crunch, espresso, and coconut. they also did hot peppers and cinamon, vanilla, donuts, berries to name a few

Damn. Looks like I have some fun new stuff to try!

 

[ASak10]

was at Gordon's in Waltham for their stout tasting on Friday night. they French pressed barrel aged ten fidy on multiple things

highlights were cinamon toast crunch, espresso, and coconut. they also did hot peppers and cinamon, vanilla, donuts, berries to name a few

I have a crowler of BA Ten Fidy in the fridge...looks like I have a long night of pressings in my future

 

[ChicagoGuy]

You guys inspired me. I let 6oz of Darkest Hour sit in a french press with a handful of freshly-toasted coconut flakes for half an hour, then combined in a glass with cold 6oz. I am in flavor country.

 

[Fritterflip]

Trader Joe's smoked ghost pepper (I did two grinds **** is hot)
3 cacao nibs
1 regular BCBS

Poured half the beer at room temp on top of the ghost pepper flakes and cacao nibs. Threw the other half of the beer in the fridge. Let it sit for about an hour then poured the chilled beer into the French press. Let sit for another 15 mins then consumed. It was hot like fire but very enjoyable if you like that kind of thing. The smoke from the ghost pepper didn't really shine through on the taste like I would have liked but was definitely there in the nose.

 

[AndHow]

I had always assumed this was just a joke thread for some reason and never actually realized this is a thing people do now

 

[sb67]

Thanks for pointing me to this thread, arren. I think I need to go pick up that last 4-pack of BCBS that's been gathering dust at the store down the street so I can experiment...

 

[DougOLis]

Thanks for pointing me to this thread, arren. I think I need to go pick up that last 4-pack of BCBS that's been gathering dust at the store down the street so I can experiment...

Why wouldn't you do that anyway? No excuses needed to pickup more BCBS!

 

[anteater1]

Did my first french press experiment recently...

6oz BCBS in a french press with 1/8 cup toasted coconut, 1/8 cup untoasted cocout, 2 tsp coffee and a bit of vanilla extract - blended with the remaining 6oz fresh BCBS.

It was good! The coconut left things a little oily but that didn't bother me. I would be more inclined to try this again with high quality coffee (only had Peet's on hand, mistake). Besides trying better coffee, it was a fun experiment but I prefer regular BCBS.

 

[sb67]

Why wouldn't you do that anyway? No excuses needed to pickup more BCBS!

Because I'm feeling a bit poor after taking my car to the car doctor this week. And last time I walked through, they had both BCBS stout and Barleywine on the shelf, and I don't want to have to choose between the two.