Working on a New Coffee Stout Recipe (AG)

[smokiethebear88]

I am working up a new coffee stout recipe it will be an American stout with coffee and lactose. let me know what you all think.

OG 1.068 FG 1.022 ABV 6.20%

10.5 lbs Pale Malt
1.5 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.5 lbs Crystal 60
0.5 lbs Wheat Malt
1.0 lb Brown Malt
0.5 lbs Lactose

Mash 154 60 Min
Boil 60 Min
Hops
1oz Nugget 60 Min
0.5oz Nugget 20 Min

WLP001 California ale Yeas or WLP051 depending on what homebrew store has

Add 11/2 to 2 Cups of Cold brewed coffee to bottling bucket along with priming sugar.

 

[Sippin37]

I'd probably swap out the Brown Malt with 0.75lb Roasted Barley, that would be more along the line of a stout grain base.

 

[C-Rider]

I use 8 oz of cold brewed coffee to a 2 gallon batch.

 

[smokiethebear88]

well then 2 cups or 16oz of cold brewed sounds good for a 5 gallon batch sounds like a good portion.

well I ended up forgetting the crystal at the homebrew store and so the recipe ended up as so:

OG 1.072 higher than expected efficiency, I think it was due to my first dark malt brew higher acidity increases efficiency.

10.5 lbs Pale Malt
1.5 lbs Chocolate Malt
0.5 lbs Wheat Malt
1.0 lb Brown Malt
0.5 lbs Lactose

Mash 154 60 Min
Boil 60 Min
Hops
.75oz Nugget 60 Min
0.75oz Nugget 12 Min

I'll let you know how it turns out.

More bitter than expected im guessing since the crystal was for caramel flavor.

 

[BridgewaterBrewer]

Totally agree that adding cold brewed coffee to bottling bucket along with priming sugar is the way to go. But everyone's coffee will be different, so I do a "pilot batch" to decide how much coffee to add to the bottling bucket (mix about 1/2 tsp coffee extract in 1/2 cup of beer, which is 1:48 ratio, similar to 2 cups/5 gal which is 1:40 ratio) and when I get that the way I like it, I scale up accordingly.

 

[smokiethebear88]

I'll have to do that, I'm bottling next weekend.

How much ground coffee/water do you use for your cold brew? may 8oz coffee to 2 1/2 cups of water?

I'd imagine he coffee would absorb some water, planning on brewing 24 hours in advance.

Also I was thinking about siphoning a gallon into a glass jug I have for starters and 1 gallon cider batches, with something chocolate?

I read cocoa nibs work but they seem a bit pricey.

What have you all used?

 

[BridgewaterBrewer]

Hi smokie,

Ironically, I just made some today and I followed what I've done in the past, 1 oz coffee (I've tried both and freshly ground is MUCH better than pre-ground) to 3 oz of water, which is slightly more diluted than the 2 to 5 ratio you suggest, so yours should be similar to mine in strength. You can boil water to make sure it's sterile and then let it cool before adding the coffee, or you can be lazy like me and just pour the coffee into a partially emptied bottle of spring water (since good quality spring water should be close to sterile). I've usually let it sit for a few hours at room temp (giving it a gentle shake occasionally wouldn't hurt) and then put in the fridge overnight. Next day I boil or starsan a stainless steel mesh filter and filter the extract through that. I don't recall exact numbers but I think about 60% of the water will stay in the grounds. For me, about 1.5 oz of extract is enough for 1 gal of beer, which would only be about half of the amount you will extract. So I would suggest doing a pilot batch as I mentioned above, in contrast to just adding all of the extract to the bottling bucket. Extra extract can be stored in the fridge and you can make excellent coffee with it by mixing 1 or 2 spoonfuls with hot water. However, cold brewed yields a lot fewer cups per lb of coffee than hot brewed so it's an expensive way to make your every day coffee (although some people do this).
I haven't experimented cocoa nibs yet (haven't had that many choc beers and the ones I've had haven't impressed me enough to bother with it). One thing I suggest (if you're the curious type) is to mix in the priming sugar very well (but gently) and bottle a few beers without coffee, then add the coffee extract, mix well and bottle the rest. This way you can compare the beer with and without the coffee.

P.S. It's a good thing you "liked" my post because for some reason my subscribe setting was off and otherwise i would have missed your question.

 

[smokiethebear88]

Thank you for the good info! I'll have to make a test batch this week since I'm bottling this weekend.

Also good call on bottling a couple coffee free bottles to see how the beer turned out.

All good suggestions.

Still thinking about going for the cocoa flavor in the gallon jug, might drop by the local hombrew store and see how much a few ounces of cocoa nibs are, recently tried a commercial stout that is aged on cocoa nibs.

I'll post an update and let you know how it all turns out.