MollyHatchet
Well-Known Member
A port does sound good, have you tried that yet? And if so,how much port did you use?
A port does sound good, have you tried that yet? And if so,how much port did you use?
Look up the Kate the great stout recipe here on HBT for more specifics. I used a lot and it was awesome.
What does it put your IBUs at? The original posted recipe is a little light on hops I think
How much of a difference will using 1 Oz of Nugget @ 60 min be compared to the .5 the recipe calls for ?
Don't want it too hoppy , but I need some bite!
So I am thinking of brewing this recipe this weekend, atleast the extract version.
I am hesitant because I feel like if ever the was a a batch that was a massive undertaking with the capacity for failure, this is it.
couple questions:
1-
recipe calls for:
2.5 oz. dark, bittersweet bakers chocolate
1.5 oz. unsweetened chocolate baking nibs
however my LHBS only has Coco powder. .
Would the Coco powder be a good subsititue for the unsweetened chocolate baking nibs?
And then I would just use the dark bakers chocolate.
All the talk about fat and grease a few pages back has me concerned!
Just go to the grocery store and look for the chocolate baking bars they sell in the baking aisle. I always get Ghirardelli Dark Bittersweet baking bars and Unsweetened baking bars. I've used Nestle baking bars as well with success.
2-
should the Kona coffee be added for a 1 week secondary?
Or just prior to bottling?
I've always added my second coffee addition at bottling. I rack the beer on top of the coffee.
3-
should the 2 oz Kona coffee be cold brewed? or can the grounds be added to secondary and the cold crashed for removal?
How much water should it be brewed with?
And does this mean I have to purchase a french press?
I cold brew my 2nd coffee addition. I just think adding the grinds straight to secondary could get messy when trying to rack the beer to the bottling bucket.
I brew with 1 liter of water for 2 oz of coarsely ground coffee
And I would recommend buying a french press. Not to mention, French presses make damn fine coffee as well!!!
4-
would you recommend adding a vanilla bean considering this is my first time brewing this recipe?
I don't add any vanilla, but that's just a personal preference for me as I'm not a big fan of vanilla in my stouts. I have heard of people doing it though so it wouldn't hurt anything if you did.
5-
Am I just over thinking this brew and letting myself get overwhelmed for nothing?
Probably. As the old saying goes... RDWHAHB
Sent from I-Phone
Hope this helps!
Yes, it was a great help, set me at ease.
now means I have buy yet another piece of equipment for brewing......
Last question:
Do you add the 1st coffee addition as course ground coffee or run through the press 1st?
I noticed the extract version uses debittered black malt and the all-grain uses Black Patent. is this a mistake? i am about to brew up the all-grain version and i picked up my black malt, but should i switch to the debittered instead?
LOL. Coffee presses are relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things...
As for my first coffee addition, I coarsely grind the coffee and put it in a hop sock along with the chocolate. I add it all with 10 minutes left in the boil and then I remove the hop sock when I rack the wort to the fermenter.
I am thinking I may throw the grounds in a sack and toss & dunk in for the last few minutes of the boil.
I am torn between this method, brewing in my coffee maker or just buying the French press.
Since I intend to brew tonight I am running out of time to French press
Some people get too much bitterness/astringency from adding the coffee this hot. It's all personal preference. I like to cool to about 180f and add the coarse beans then for a while before finishing cooling. I feel that it's a better coffee flavor. Next time I think I'm just doing a dry beaning to see what that's like.
I wanted to try beans, but SWMBO bought fine coffee grounds
It happens. What temp you add them at matters though. There's a whole elite coffee association that's even more extreme than most homebrewers with their rules if you care to look it up.
It happens. What temp you add them at matters though. There's a whole elite coffee association that's even more extreme than most homebrewers with their rules if you care to look it up.
I used whole beans after fermenting for 3 weeks. I used 4oz total, 2oz Sumatra and 2oz of Egyptian. I let the beans sit in the fermenter for 4 days and then bottled. The coffee flavor is great, but overpowers the base stout. The coffee isn't bitter really its a real smooth taste, like cold brewed coffee, really no acrid flavor.
Next time I will either reduce the amount of coffee beans or reduce the amount of time that they're in the fermenter.
Considering same method for second addition .
Jut surprised how little coffee aroma I smelled and that this is 2 oz of weight
View attachment 312187
Are you using ground coffee, whole bean, cold brewed? What type of coffee, Sumatra, kona, ethopian, etc?
I don't get a big coffee aroma but taste wise its there, not hidden, not a note of coffee, it's present but starting to blend nicely. At first it was very prominent, almost too earthy like, but after a few weeks its coming together.
I pitched enough slurry based on my calculations. I'm more worried about how the how the carboy looks stratified between wort (top) and grains. It's confusing to me because it looks like the carboy is half full of grain/slurry and only has about a gallon of wort on top. It was not such a sludge when I transferred it.
This is the beer with the biggest grain bill for me so far and maybe I am just seeing the grain sticking to the sides. It just looks weird to me.
Hopefully when I get home today it is going along fine.
1st addition- ground Sumatra, brewed on stove top.
2nd addition - ground Kona. Most likely brewed on stove top
I did mine as a steep at the end, in my hop sack, then did the final at bottling as cold brew in a $6 french press, as I have all my other coffee beers.
Popped my first bottle last night, and while undercarbed, I can tell it's going to be a winner. I may not even mess with the hops next time, I shot for 60IBUs
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