Steeping coffee in beer vs water

[LittlejohnBrew]

In the past Ive added coarse ground beans to the fermenter in a mesh bag with great results. However this requires opening up the fermenter multiple times and dirtying a bag. I do pressurized fermentation in corny kegs which is one reason it's not desired.

It sounds like making a concentrated cold brew with sanitized water is a common successful method, but this requires boiling water and ever so slightly watering down the beer.

Has anyone tried using a commercial beer of similar style (or draw some beer from the fermenter) and steeping coarse ground beans in with the beer? Then add this to the fermenter after about 24 hours.

I don't see any reason this would not work, but wanted to hear if others have done this.

 

[Jtvann]

I've got a coffee stout that I regularly make. I make a regular stout and keg it. I use a cold brew coffee maker, the type with the mesh infuser. I fill the infuser with the appropriate amount if finely ground coffee and then fill the container with the stout poured directly from the tap into the container. I let it sit for about 24 hours in the refrigerator and then pour the whole lot back into the fermenter.

Is that what you were asking?

 

[LittlejohnBrew]

I've got a coffee stout that I regularly make. I make a regular stout and keg it. I use a cold brew coffee maker, the type with the mesh infuser. I fill the infuser with the appropriate amount if finely ground coffee and then fill the container with the stout poured directly from the tap into the container. I let it sit for about 24 hours in the refrigerator and then pour the whole lot back into the fermenter.

Is that what you were asking?

Yeah that's exactly what I'd like to do. Maybe it wasn't worthy of its own thread, but wanted to hear if others have done that method. Seems like a better alternative to water.

 

[bobeer]

I've got a coffee stout that I regularly make. I make a regular stout and keg it. I use a cold brew coffee maker, the type with the mesh infuser. I fill the infuser with the appropriate amount if finely ground coffee and then fill the container with the stout poured directly from the tap into the container. I let it sit for about 24 hours in the refrigerator and then pour the whole lot back into the fermenter.

Is that what you were asking?

Don't mean to hijack but I'm interesting in this method too. In the past I have just thrown the ground coffee in the whirlpool and let it steep for 15 minutes or so then chill and pitch the yeast.

So you're saying brew the stout and ferment it. Then take enough of the beer from the fermentor to cold steep coffee in then add that to the rest of the beer then keg? Or do you brew 2 different beers and use part of the first beer to steep the coffee then add it to the other stout? I'm confused when you say you keg a regular stout then add the steeped coffee beer back to the fermentor when the beer is already kegged.

 

[Jtvann]

Not brewing 2 batches. Brew 1 batch, keg like normal. After kegging dispense beer from tap into cold brew infuser that's got fresh ground coffee. Put that into fridge for 24 hours, and then pop the lid on the keg and pour it back in.

I use something similar to this. Not exactly this brand, but very similar.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFLY64U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7szWDb5GH01NS

 

[bobeer]

Not brewing 2 batches. Brew 1 batch, keg like normal. After kegging dispense beer from tap into cold brew infuser that's got fresh ground coffee. Put that into fridge for 24 hours, and then pop the lid on the keg and pour it back in.

I use something similar to this. Not exactly this brand, but very similar.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FFLY64U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7szWDb5GH01NS

Got it. Thanks for clarifying! Going to try this next time I make a coffee stout.

 

[TallDan]

In the past Ive added coarse ground beans to the fermenter in a mesh bag with great results. However this requires opening up the fermenter multiple times and dirtying a bag. I do pressurized fermentation in corny kegs which is one reason it's not desired.

It sounds like making a concentrated cold brew with sanitized water is a common successful method, but this requires boiling water and ever so slightly watering down the beer.

Has anyone tried using a commercial beer of similar style (or draw some beer from the fermenter) and steeping coarse ground beans in with the beer? Then add this to the fermenter after about 24 hours.

I don't see any reason this would not work, but wanted to hear if others have done this.

I wouldn't worry that much about "watering down" the beer. Remember, beer is mostly water already, you're adding many gallons of it to your mash. Simply account for the volume of water that is in the cold brew as "top off" water in your recipe.

If you're very concerned about oxygen (which I assume you are with pressurized fermentation in the corny, but I could be wrong), I'd suggest adding the cold brew before fermentation instead. It seems to me that this would be much easier than trying to draw off beer, steep with coffee, and add back to the batch without exposing it to oxygen.

That said, I have steeped coffee in finished beer. A friend of mine had a (homebrew) brown ale on tap at home and we put some fresh ground coffee in a coffee filter, and steeped that directly in freshly poured glass of beer for 10-15 minutes. There was a lot of coffee in there for the volume of beer, but it had pretty good results for a glass-at-a-time experiment!

 

[applescrap]

Seems clever enough. What would you use? Bud light, because it has little flavor? The only coffee beer that I have and do make is founders breakfast stout clone. I cant think of any beer at a resonable price I am dumping in there. I dont boil the water but will clean and spray sani on cold brew containers. You can just dump grinds in, but get the beer off it in 2 days. I think some do whole bean, but extraction is slower, want to say 5 days, but not sure of that.

In the past Ive added coarse ground beans to the fermenter in a mesh bag with great results. However this requires opening up the fermenter multiple times and dirtying a bag. I do pressurized fermentation in corny kegs which is one reason it's not desired.

It sounds like making a concentrated cold brew with sanitized water is a common successful method, but this requires boiling water and ever so slightly watering down the beer.

Has anyone tried using a commercial beer of similar style (or draw some beer from the fermenter) and steeping coarse ground beans in with the beer? Then add this to the fermenter after about 24 hours.

I don't see any reason this would not work, but wanted to hear if others have done this.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, the restrictor plate in my stout faucet gets extremely unhappy with even the tiniest cocoa nib fragments - the ones that get through 300 micron nylon. I've taken to removing the restrictor for the first short pour - that's all it takes - rather than repeatedly plugging it up in an instant and having to clean the faucet spout assembly. I imagine a similar scenario with coffee grounds...

Cheers!

 

[applescrap]

Cool technique, I havent put a spout on my fermenter, yet. I would love to taste the beer right out of the brewer. Like a perfect sunday morning cup or golfing. Make the cold brew coffee with the chocolate oatmeal stout, yum. The only thing I will add is that fine ground can and will slip through that mesh. It will settle to the bottom in a day or two though so any carefulness will leave it there. A little coarser and i havent had that issue, ymmv. A couple days, maybe up to 48 hours is fine too, depends on extraction rate and other factors, water temp.

I've got a coffee stout that I regularly make. I make a regular stout and keg it. I use a cold brew coffee maker, the type with the mesh infuser. I fill the infuser with the appropriate amount if finely ground coffee and then fill the container with the stout poured directly from the tap into the container. I let it sit for about 24 hours in the refrigerator and then pour the whole lot back into the fermenter.

Is that what you were asking?

 

[applescrap]

My experiences were not great adding coffee to whirlpool. I suspected over extraction. I am theorizing here and only that, that most methods of coffee addition will work as long as the grounds are removed. So I think adding grounds in whirlpool or end of boil for idk, 4 minutes, and then removing could work. Adding cold brew at kegging imo has been the best method of adding coffee. A lazy easy way to do this I found was to get 16 oz of cold brew from starbucks and add at kegging. I tried to ensure they clean and sanatize well and had them not dilute it at all. It is very concentrated and pretty much the same extraction rate i use. Only problem is it will add that overroasted character which isnt the worst thing for beer. It is the flavor most noted any many of the coffee stouts I taste.

Don't mean to hijack but I'm interesting in this method too. In the past I have just thrown the ground coffee in the whirlpool and let it steep for 15 minutes or so then chill and pitch the yeast.

So you're saying brew the stout and ferment it. Then take enough of the beer from the fermentor to cold steep coffee in then add that to the rest of the beer then keg? Or do you brew 2 different beers and use part of the first beer to steep the coffee then add it to the other stout? I'm confused when you say you keg a regular stout then add the steeped coffee beer back to the fermentor when the beer is already kegged.

 

[bobeer]

My experiences were not great adding coffee to whirlpool. I suspected over extraction. I am theorizing here and only that, that most methods of coffee addition will work as long as the grounds are removed. So I think adding grounds in whirlpool or end of boil for idk, 4 minutes, and then removing could work. Adding cold brew at kegging imo has been the best method of adding coffee. A lazy easy way to do this I found was to get 16 oz of cold brew from starbucks and add at kegging. I tried to ensure they clean and sanatize well and had them not dilute it at all. It is very concentrated and pretty much the same extraction rate i use. Only problem is it will add that overroasted character which isnt the worst thing for beer. It is the flavor most noted any many of the coffee stouts I taste.

I filter the wort before it goes into the fermentor so it removes any grounds that are in there. I don't recall how much ground coffee I used when I tried it but it wasn't very much because it was a low gravity dry Irish stout and I didn't want it to be overbearing. I will def try the cold brew at kegging time method next time I feel like adding coffee to a stout. I've also thought about just adding a shot of espresso in a car-bomb type fashion to a freshly poured pint just for fun.

 

[couchsending]

If you’re really concerned with O2 pickup just add the beans (you don’t need to grind them) to a keg and use fermentation to purge it. When fermentation is done transfer onto the beans. Wait 24-36 hours then transfer off into another purged keg. It’s a lot of transferring but if you’re that concerned with o2... honestly with a beer like this I wouldn’t be too worried about o2. Stouts are left in barrels to oxidize for years...

There probably is a difference in flavor extraction when it comes to soaking the beans in water vs. the beer itself. pH and mineral content have a distinct effect on flavor extraction from coffee beans. Never tested it myself on a beer but different wanted profiles can definitely change the taste of your cup of coffee...

 

[ListerH]

My experiences were not great adding coffee to whirlpool. I suspected over extraction. I am theorizing here and only that, that most methods of coffee addition will work as long as the grounds are removed. So I think adding grounds in whirlpool or end of boil for idk, 4 minutes, and then removing could work. Adding cold brew at kegging imo has been the best method of adding coffee. A lazy easy way to do this I found was to get 16 oz of cold brew from starbucks and add at kegging. I tried to ensure they clean and sanatize well and had them not dilute it at all. It is very concentrated and pretty much the same extraction rate i use. Only problem is it will add that overroasted character which isnt the worst thing for beer. It is the flavor most noted any many of the coffee stouts I taste.

I haven't yet brewed with coffee but my plan was to use my little stovetop espresso maker to make a shots of espresso and drop them at flameout. That way I shouldn't boil off the coffee aromatics and I wont have any grounds in my boil kettle.

Are there any reasons why this wouldn't be a good method?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Whilst on the subject, this may be helpful : http://scottjanish.com/guide-to-coffee-beers/

 

[LittlejohnBrew]

I wouldn't worry that much about "watering down" the beer. Remember, beer is mostly water already, you're adding many gallons of it to your mash. Simply account for the volume of water that is in the cold brew as "top off" water in your recipe.

If you're very concerned about oxygen (which I assume you are with pressurized fermentation in the corny, but I could be wrong), I'd suggest adding the cold brew before fermentation instead. It seems to me that this would be much easier than trying to draw off beer, steep with coffee, and add back to the batch without exposing it to oxygen.

That said, I have steeped coffee in finished beer. A friend of mine had a (homebrew) brown ale on tap at home and we put some fresh ground coffee in a coffee filter, and steeped that directly in freshly poured glass of beer for 10-15 minutes. There was a lot of coffee in there for the volume of beer, but it had pretty good results for a glass-at-a-time experiment!

I didn't even think about adding cold brew prior to fermentation. This sounds like a great method and will try that next time.

 

[LittlejohnBrew]

I haven't yet brewed with coffee but my plan was to use my little stovetop espresso maker to make a shots of espresso and drop them at flameout. That way I shouldn't boil off the coffee aromatics and I wont have any grounds in my boil kettle.

Are there any reasons why this wouldn't be a good method?

The article that @Northern_Brewer suggests covers this method and appears to be a good method to achieve coffee aromatics

 

[LittlejohnBrew]

Seems clever enough. What would you use? Bud light, because it has little flavor? The only coffee beer that I have and do make is founders breakfast stout clone. I cant think of any beer at a resonable price I am dumping in there. I dont boil the water but will clean and spray sani on cold brew containers. You can just dump grinds in, but get the beer off it in 2 days. I think some do whole bean, but extraction is slower, want to say 5 days, but not sure of that.

The beer that this article pertains to is pretty much a founders breakfast Stout clone. I was considering maybe a cheaper stout like maybe a Guinness, though as others have pointed out the volume of cold brew to overall brew volume it probably makes no difference in what is used.

 

[applescrap]

Sure, I think that would work, but it will take more than a couple shots. I dont have the math/recipe in front of me but its plenty of coffee! Cold brew is too easy man. Takes some grinds put them in a Mason jar with water and let them sit for 24 to 48. Rack of the grinds and refrigerate, tightly covered. Once off coffee it will last a few weeks easily iirc, giving you plenty of time to make in advance at racking day. This is obviously a very simple method and there are brewers. I use my french press. But sure, brewed, espresso, they all likely have their nuisances and are all also all good. Make a pot with right amount and add at kegging I am sure would work too. Use a quality fresh roast that is fairly expensive and it can add a nice flavor. Maybe not that carbon flavor of a classic starbucks coffee, but something special.

I haven't yet brewed with coffee but my plan was to use my little stovetop espresso maker to make a shots of espresso and drop them at flameout. That way I shouldn't boil off the coffee aromatics and I wont have any grounds in my boil kettle.

Are there any reasons why this wouldn't be a good method?