Help formulating a coffee beer recipe

[brewolero]

I once brewed a coffee stout that was pretty straightforward failure largely because the only coffee I have access to here in Bolivia is very fruity, bright, and has notes of milk chocolate.

Unfortunately, paired with the roasted malts in an imperial stout, it gave off a really terrible vegetal flavor. (I pretty much cloned the flavor when I later experimented with the same beans by roasting them to varying degrees and blended them together to try and develop some complexity. Needless to say, that quickly went down the drain.)

So, my question is: can anyone suggest a recipe that could be blended with a coffee variety that emphasizes bright, fruity flavors? Think of something reminiscent of light- to medium-roasted Central American or Colombian beans, and you have a decent notion of the general flavor profile I can work with.

 

[motorneuron]

Amusingly, I made a hoppy amber that I blended with coffee, and I think it didn't quite come together in part because the coffee beans I used weren't fruity enough. So you might try that direction--fairly hoppy, with an amber or light brown type of grain bill, which will allow you to use both the toasted and fruit flavors of some coffee. For a commercial example, you could look at DFH's Indian Brown Ale, and any attempts that have been made to clone that. The brewery's page: http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-brews/year-round-brews/indian-brown-ale.htm

 

[StinkyVp]

I'm trying to put together a Coffee Chocolate Oatmeal Imperial Stout and plan to use:
FRANCO-BELGES KILN COFFEE grain instead of real coffee.

My recipe is going to use grain only for the flavors...


Ingredient Name Amount
Briess Pale Ale Malt 14 lbs, 0 oz
Briess Flaked Oats 2 lbs, 0 oz
Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee 1 lbs, 0 oz
Crisp Pale Chocolate Malt 1 lbs, 0 oz
Crisp Chocolate Malt 0 lbs, 8 oz

I haven't decided on the amounts yet but here's is my rough estimate.
It may be too much chocolate and coffee.