When to add coffee in oak aged beer

[Nilrac]

Hey. So i am doing a Foriegn Extra Stout that i am want to bourban oak age it and add coffee to. But i dont know which to do first
Should i add the coffee to it and then age it with the wood? Or age it and add coffee before bottling?
Also, while we are on tbe topic, best way to add the coffee flavour? I want to do actual coffee and I was thinking of taking the wort and doing a cold brew in a sanitized french press for 12 hours or so. Let the 8% beer strip the grounds of their flavour.
Let me know!

 

[bobeer]

I've never put coffee into any of my beers before but I've oaked many beers. I do hear of everyone cold brewing their coffee then adding it in after fermentation.

If it were me I'd oak the beer first then add the coffee. However, it really just depends how long you're going to oak the beer for. If it's for an extended period of time, say 3 weeks to months, then i'd oak it first. I've had many coffee stouts that I've cellared for a while only to find the coffee has faded far out after 6+ months of cellaring.

 

[Nilrac]

Perfect. I plan to oak it for a couple months so that sounds best.

 

[Nilrac]

Thank you

 

[Calder]

If you cold brew some coffee, you can add it in the bottling bucket.

I like to add whole beans to the fermenter/beer about 6 days before bottling. 2 to 4 ozs of beans for a 5 gallon batch.

 

[Nilrac]

If you cold brew some coffee, you can add it in the bottling bucket.

I like to add whole beans to the fermenter/beer about 6 days before bottling. 2 to 4 ozs of beans for a 5 gallon batch.

Thats sounds easier to clean up. Would you say that is a better flavour then cold brewing it? Less strong? More beer taste?

 

[Calder]

Thats sounds easier to clean up. Would you say that is a better flavour then cold brewing it? Less strong? More beer taste?

Coffee readily gives up it's flavors. Should be similar to cold brewing. I've never cold brewed so really can't compare, but I have used the whole bean method several tines and has worked well every time.

I had a Porter last night done with 4 ozs whole beans in 5 gallons, and it tasted just like drinking chilled coffee. Lots of coffee flavor. I had used coffee malt in the recipe too.

 

[Bassaholic]

I second adding the whole beans to the fermenter. I just brewed a coffee chocolate stout with 4 oz of beans and 6 oz of cacao nibs. I added both 5 days before bottling and it was pretty intense right off the bat. It's been in the bottles about a month now and the coffee flavor is still pretty forward, but not overpowering. The nice thing about adding the whole beans is that you don't get any of the bitterness from the beans.

As far as timing I think your plan off oaking first is a good idea since that imparts flavor a lot slower than the coffee. So once the oak levels are where you want you can drop in the coffee beans. Also, the whole beans make racking it out of the fermenter a lot easier than ground coffee.

 

[Nilrac]

Thank you. Okay. So i will start oaking it soon and then i will add the whole nean coffee in a couple months. Thanks guys! Looking forward to this

 

[jkwheeler]

I just bottled a coffee porter. I added a pot of strongly brewed coffee to the 5 gallons of cooled wort in the fermenter on brew day. The resultant coffee flavor is delicious.

From all my research there seems to be many options on when and how to add coffee. I chose the easiest and it came out just fine in my opinion.