Well, I think I ruined a good stout...

[BryceL]

I decided to make a half batch (2.5 gal) of a coffee chipotle stout, an inspiration from a local brew that I love. It started out great and after two weeks in primary it tasted really good. I was getting excited, especially since this was my first AG batch! Part of me was thinking, maybe I should just let it be for another week and bottle it up...but I stuck with the plan. I racked to secondary and added 16oz of strong cold brewed coffee and 2 dried chipotle peppers, let it sit for a week and then bottled. It's been bottled for two weeks now and I decided to see how it was coming along. I was bummed to say the least, pretty nasty tasting and not really drinkable at all. The peppers are way overpowering and the coffee is a bit strong as well. I'm hoping with a few more weeks in the bottle, maybe months, that it will mellow out. I suppose you learn by doing and are bound to make some not so great choices along the way. I think I might re-brew this one minus the coffee and chipotle and have a nice oatmeal stout.

 

[Kaz]

I would think given a few more weeks, the coffee and pepper will fade a good bit. Don't give up hope! Maybe next batch cut back on the additions.

 

[bniesen]

DON'T DUMP IT!!

send it to me for proper disposal

 

[BryceL]

I'm definitely not going to dump it. I'll try another one in a couple weeks and see how it's coming along. Worst case scenario, I'll tuck it in the back of my closet and forget about it for a while. It's pretty spicy on the back of the throat so it's got some "fading" to do.

 

[Brandonovich]

Usually when adding these kind of ingredients, I will take a pint from my secondary and add the ingredients a little at a time in measured amounts until I get the taste I want. Then you can do some math and figure out how much to add to a whole batch. With peppers or spices it is always better to err on the side of caution and go with a little less than you think. This is also a strong argument for kegging, because you can always add more to a keg after a week or so if it is not strong enough.

 

[BryceL]

Usually when adding these kind of ingredients, I will take a pint from my secondary and add the ingredients a little at a time in measured amounts until I get the taste I want. Then you can do some math and figure out how much to add to a whole batch. With peppers or spices it is always better to err on the side of caution and go with a little less than you think. This is also a strong argument for kegging, because you can always add more to a keg after a week or so if it is not strong enough.

Good ideas, I could see doing that to get the coffee taste right. I do normally keg, but both kegs were taken up and I figured a half batch would be easy to bottle. I should have at least taken a sample after a couple days to see how much flavor I was getting from the peppers. If I try this again I'll either cut back the amount, the time in secondary, or both.

 

[dirty_martini]

worst case scenario, you have a great beer as a base for chili.

 

[TopherM]

I used WAYYYY to many raspberries in my first fruit beer, a raspberry wheat for SWMBO.

Brewed it in March, opened the first ones in April, and muddled through about a case even though it was way too fruity.

Anyway, the raspberry JUST mellowed out and balanced into this beer this week. So it took about 3 additional months, but it is FINALLY a quality beer!

Your stout will likely follow a similar path.

 

[RobWalker]

Yeah, give it time. Good things come to those who wait etc.

 

[boostsr20]

Some of my best stouts have not been great in the first few weeks. One was bourbon oaked and now at a year its amazing. Peppers will certainly fade but coffee hasn't for me in the past.

 

[BryceL]

Thanks for the words of hope. The peppers are the worst and it sounds like those may fade, so that's good news. I'm not so worried about the coffee as much. This is the first time I've used and additions like this so I expected a learning curve. I've used oak before with good success!

 

[bourgeoisbee]

You could always open up a different bottle of a more neutral stout and blend it with yours in your glass while drinking it if it stays to coffee driven in a few months. Or try it now for that matter.