Using coffee in beer

[michaelpeach76]

I'm sure there are different schools of thought on this, but I'm looking to use coffee and vanilla in a porter that I will be brewing in a few days. I know that some people suggest just throwing a pot of coffee right into the fermenter, but I'd like to make the coffee a more inherent part of the beer. That said; could I just mash with coffee beans...grind them very coarsely and throw them into the mash tun?

 

[DU99]

you can get grain's that will assist in getting the coffee flavour.also try this post
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=531184

 

[michaelpeach76]

it seems to me coffee is more for an aromatic quality rather than flavor... Is that correct? Unless of course you go with a coffee grain. From what I gather coffee beans should never be involved before or during the boil... Better used during primary or secondary fermentation?

 

[slym2none]

My advice - use lightly cracked coffee beans in the "secondary" and literally use the beer to make coffee with. A really weak coffee, true, but that's what you want in a flavoured beer.

 

[Natdavis777]

My advice - use lightly cracked coffee beans in the "secondary" and literally use the beer to make coffee with. A really weak coffee, true, but that's what you want in a flavoured beer.

This is the best method IMO. "Dryhop" so to speak, with course beans. I wouldnt recommend mashing with beans because you can get some astringency. I have had great success with getting both aroma and flavor via the secondary method.

For a mild coffee presence, 24 hours. Medium, 36hrs. Intense, 48 hours and on.

 

[Calder]

I add whole coffee beans to the fermenter a week before bottling. 2 to 4 ozs for 5 gallons. No need to crack/crush, as the beans will readily give up their flavor. We only grind beans to extract their flavor in 5 minutes.

Vanilla is best extracted in high alcohol liquor, such as vodka. Soak the beans for as long as you can and add the liquid to the bottling bucket. Add more liquor to the beans and keep for more natural vanilla extract to use later.

 

[Scriv]

I just brewed a coffee milk stout, I added cold brew coffee into the keg, I'll know how it turned out next weekend. The sample tasted great!

 

[rlonardo]

I recently brewed a porter with coffee. I "dry beaned" in the primary, which imparted a lot of aroma but I thought kind of lacked in flavor so I cold brewed some coffee and added at bottling to taste.

 

[fatom99]

Here's a great article where they interview some pro's. I've done it twice, with amazing results. "Cold" brew the coffee for 2 days, then filter and add it at bottling or kegging. The comments have some helpful details too. http://allaboutbeer.com/article/coffee-beers/

 

[C-Rider]

I"ve brewed my Coffee Stout many times over the past few years. I Cold Brew some coffee over night and then add 8 oz to 1.8 gallons in the bottling bucket.

I figured out how much to add a few years ago by slowly adding and tasting until I got what I wanted. The trouble w/adding beans is you don't really know what you'll get until you try a number of times.

 

[RocketBrewer]

I've heard that you should never boil coffee as it will become very acrid/bitter. If you added it to the mash, you will be boiling in the BK. Most pro's recommend one of the methods listed above. Good luck with the brew.

 

[backsideslash]

I recently made a coffee stout and the recipe called for 4 ounces of coarsely ground beans to be added at flameout. I think it was too much coffee to use and I would agree with others about not adding them before or during the boil (even at flameout) because it imparts an unpleasant bitterness to it. That was my first coffee stout so I don't have any other methods to compare to, but I remember listening to an old Basic Brewing show where the brewery that was on there said they tried getting coffee flavor into their beer every way you could imagine and they thought "dry beaning" in secondary or after primary fermentation worked the best for them.

 

[bierhund]

My wife and I are actually brewing an Irish coffee brown ale. It just went in the fermenter today. What we're going to do is add some cold brewed coffee just before kegging. This allows us to add exactly the amount of coffee flavor we want. Cold brewing also prevents that harsh bitterness previously mentioned.

 

[Rcbandl]

I have done end of boil, beans/coarse ground in secondary and cold brew. The cold brew gives the best control and smoothest flavor in my experience.

 

[Scriv]

So my coffee milk stout is done, I put 2 cups of cold brew in when I kegged it. First pours today taste great, coffee aroma, lots of chocolate flavor with a coffee finish.

 

[Summers]

I went for 10min of 3.5oz course ground beans at flame out once the temp was below 190 in a hop bag, it has only been three weeks in the primary and the coffee is very strong but not bitter. I am going to let it sit for a little more time to mellow out and blend a little better. But I wanted a coffee stout, its a clone for a breakfast stout.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Beer and coffee mix well. You can add the coffee however you wish.

I have used the following methods to great effect. Cold brewing the coffee and pour in at packaging time or doing the same with strong french press coffee. Adding coffee grounds to the beer and letting sit 24-48 hours before packaging. Adding coffee at flame out and 'brewing' it as I chill. They all seemed to give different flavors to the beer, but none was really all that much better than the rest. The flame out addition seemed to give a bit harsher more acidic coffee flavor (like I get from Founders Breakfast Stout or Wake n Bake).

 

[Kamgator]

I have been actively brewing for 4yrs. but am about to try my first coffee porter and have been researching like mad to find the "best" method (LOTS of good information here for sure). Seems like there are many "best" methods. My recipe calls for 170g into mash, fine with that but it also calls for racking onto 170g of beans in the primary BEFORE adding yeast and primary fermentation. This troubles me for sanitary reasons as well as leaving the beer on coffee that long. Has anyone done this? I do not secondary my beers but was thinking of adding the 170g of whole beans (sterilized in bourbon for 12hrs.) 48-72hrs. before racking to keg. Sound reasoning or off base?

 

[fatom99]

Makes sense to me. It's like the cold toddy method, only using your beer to cold brew the coffee, instead of water. A big part of coffee is aroma, and your method is basically like dry hopping with coffee beans, which will capture the aroma. As far as using whole beans, I suppose you could, but you wouldn't get all the flavors and aromas you want. I'd suggest a very course grind, and then just rack the beer off the top after 2-3 days.

 

[Calichusetts]

I just said "F it" and did most of the methods here. Added ground beans at flameout. "dry beaned" for a few day, then did a french press at kegging. Literally just kegged it.

Sample is great. Many will say this is overboard, but this was a huge stout with peppers and chocolate, I really wanted the coffee at the forefront. The french press was hot, I put a few ounces of ground chocolate in it as well.

 

[ejluttmann]

I cold brew and add it to the keg just before racking the beer into it. Super easy and great flavor.

 

[atom]

used to use the cold press technique...now i just "dry bean"...works just as well and is easier. 1 oz per gallon. i usually only do 24 hours but i don't think a few days longer would hurt....just keg/bottle/pull the bag when you've nailed what you want.

 

[Beer-lord]

used to use the cold press technique...now i just "dry bean"...works just as well and is easier. 1 oz per gallon. i usually only do 24 hours but i don't think a few days longer would hurt....just keg/bottle/pull the bag when you've nailed what you want.

When you say 'dry bean' do you coarsely crush them are add them in whole?

 

[atom]

When you say 'dry bean' do you coarsely crush them are add them in whole?

coarse crush...by that i mean, put em in a ziplock and hit em with a mallet.

 

[Beer-lord]

coarse crush...by that i mean, put em in a ziplock and hit em with a mallet.

Thanks, I like like to beat things up.
Gonna try this in a porter soon.

 

[Add]

I believe it was touched upon already in this thread or it may be common sense to others here. From my limited expirience the roasty flavours from the specialty malts in porters and stouts allow a unique ability to create a background that highlights flavours of chocolate, coffee and dark/burnt caramel, at any ratio that will allow you to blend the specific coffee bean attributes into, to create your desired result.

I have had success in a coffee porter using 1:1 mix chocolate malt and black malt for the dark grains, it created a smooth roast that accentuated the whole espresso beans I added to secondary. 4 days on the beans seemed to provide a lot of flavour and aroma without becoming acrid. The only change I would have made was dropping the amount I used from 3oz to 2oz (1.5 if I was looking for a more subdued coffee character) as 3oz made for a very drinkable, but coffee forward porter.

 

[1977Brewer]

Thinking about adding coffee to 1/2 the batch of Porter I have going now. Thinking cold press in the bottling bucket after I bottle the first half?

 

[Natdavis777]

Thinking about adding coffee to 1/2 the batch of Porter I have going now. Thinking cold press in the bottling bucket after I bottle the first half?

Sounds good. How many oz of cold press do you plan to add to the second half of the porter?

 

[1977Brewer]

Sounds good. How many oz of cold press do you plan to add to the second half of the porter?

Missed this. I don't know? I have a solid 16 oz. steeping. I'll taste the brew going in and adjust.

 

[BeavStu]

Getting ready to do a coffee stout. The recipe calls for dry hopping 2 oz of coffee beans for 5 days in secondary. I never done an adjunct like this while brewing before. Besides actually dry hopping. I'm concerned about infection. Is it ok to add the beans straight? What do I do to avoid infection? Thanks.

 

[Calichusetts]

Getting ready to do a coffee stout. The recipe calls for dry hopping 2 oz of coffee beans for 5 days in secondary. I never done an adjunct like this while brewing before. Besides actually dry hopping. I'm concerned about infection. Is it ok to add the beans straight? What do I do to avoid infection? Thanks.

I did a French press where I boiled some water and added it to the ground beans. You could do the same with whole beans. The hot water will sanitize the beans, then just pour it all in before you transfer. I wouldnt worry that much if its fresh beans that haven't been handled. A quick spray with starsan would be enough for me to be comfortable.

I did a flame out addition with my stout along with chocolate and ground peppers as well. The flavors are phenomenal but there is virtually no head retention. I heard it can affected it but I get a tiny thin layer that quickly dissipates. I don't really care, its fully carbed and delicious. Just want to pin down what contributed most to it. Its also 12.5% which can play a role.

 

[hucklb]

I cold brewed the coffee for 12 hours and then added it to the bottling bucket right before I bottled. I used 3 ozs. of espresso blend coffee to 21 ozs of water for the cold brewing for a 5 gallon batch of beer. Pour it through a strainer and into the bottling bucket. Good luck.

 

[rawlus]

i tend to do cold brew method for coffee additions...this results in concentrated, rich coffee flavor with no bitterness... youncould either purchase a bottle of cold brew like stumptown (comes in a short red stripe type beer bottle) or make your own (lots of recipes on this online)

i add at packaging/kegging...

if dry-beaning with whole beans, a vodka dunk or star san spray would be enough to sanitize.

 

[Calder]

Getting ready to do a coffee stout. The recipe calls for dry hopping 2 oz of coffee beans for 5 days in secondary. I never done an adjunct like this while brewing before. Besides actually dry hopping. I'm concerned about infection. Is it ok to add the beans straight? What do I do to avoid infection? Thanks.

I just toss the beans in - no real concerns of contamination. I've never had an issue.

Beans have been roasted (sanitized), and have no nutrients for anything to grow on them. I can't think of anything with less chance of being contaminated.

 

[BeavStu]

Appreciate, the insight. Brewing the batch today. Beans will be ready to add hopefully by Sunday! Probably going to just add the beans straight this time, but being that I am a coffee fanatic will definitely trying some cold brew. Never done it before, typically to stick to my tried and true French press. Mmmmmm....

 

[wzd]

Has anyone tried soaking beans in vodka for a tincture approach? I'm wondering about it, and will try soon if no one has. All the spice compounds have different solubility in alcohol than water; I believe that is why most extracts are alcohol based. Wondering about what it will do to coffee. I've read about vodka based coffee extract for other purposes, so it seems to make sense for beer although I have not heard of it being used.