Using coffee and vanila bean

[metalbrewer]

I want to make a imperial coffee vanilla bean porter but I've never used coffee nor vanilla bean , how would I use them and how much should I use? I've read up a little but still not sure

 

[GodsStepBrother]

It is going to depend on your recipe. I recently did a vanilla porter. I added 2 whole vanilla beans. Sanitized the outside of them and the knife I used to cut and scape them with. I just added it to secondary, however now I wish I would have used 3. I wanted a very prominent vanilla flavor though. Two is a safe bet and the vanilla was evident.

I have a coffee chocolate stout that I made to take on a recent camping trip, it came out delicious. I do not have my notes with me at work. But it has 2.5 oz of macadamia nut coffee steeped in 2 cups of water over night (cold brewed). Then added to the bottling bucket. The coffee was very obvious in this one but not overly strong. Then again it also depends on your recipe. Post the recipe you are thinking of doing and I am sure others will chime in with suggestions.

 

[kjjohns5]

I'm going to offer a different method for both, as this is the way I've done it commercially. Cut the Vanilla bean length wise and then 4 times opposite. Put them in a muslin bag and put 0.15 lbs of whole bean coffee on top of them in the bag. Tie the bag and place it in chilled beer (carbed or not). Let it sit for 5-7 days for a cold alcohol extraction.

If you really want vanilla flavor, you'll want about 5 beans per 5 gallons. Don't be surprised if the coffee takes over the flavor though.

And the only thing we've ever sanatized was the knife we were using, and maybe the surface we were cutting on.

The upside of cold is that you wont have any yeast becoming active and fermenting out anymore.

 

[Lan]

I tried an espresso stout a few months back whereby I used one of those stove-top espresso makers, added about 500ml at flameout. In the end I could pick up only slight coffee notes. That being said, I would probably double the amount next time, although I've heard that cold extraction methods are better for yielding a well-rounded flavor profile.

 

[TacoGuthrie]

I'm going to offer a different method for both, as this is the way I've done it commercially. Cut the Vanilla bean length wise and then 4 times opposite. Put them in a muslin bag and put 0.15 lbs of whole bean coffee on top of them in the bag. Tie the bag and place it in chilled beer (carbed or not). Let it sit for 5-7 days for a cold alcohol extraction.

If you really want vanilla flavor, you'll want about 5 beans per 5 gallons. Don't be surprised if the coffee takes over the flavor though.

And the only thing we've ever sanatized was the knife we were using, and maybe the surface we were cutting on.

The upside of cold is that you wont have any yeast becoming active and fermenting out anymore.

see this is interesting because i've been researching using coffee and I see differences between this board and probrewer.

Around here most folks talk about cold press and then add it to bottling bucket but seems like a lot of the commercial brewers add rough crushed beans to the brite tank.

I have tried neither but find it curious how its a pretty obvious split.

 

[Thejiro]

I work at a local microbrewery they have a coffee brown ale that they do. they just take their flagship brown ale and tranfer it to a tote tank and cut the vanilla beans in
1/4s then and rough crushed coffee beans in muslin bags then cold extract them for 14days before carbing. It comes out great this way!!!!

 

[metalbrewer]

Yeah i have noticed a lot of different methods of using coffee in brewing but I guess u have to pick one and see if u like the outcome of that method. I'll probably do the cold brew method. And go with 2 vanilla bean for my first time. I haven't formulated a recipe yet to post for u guys, it's also my first time making a porter so I have a lot of work ahead of me haha

Thanks for the help guys