Question to my Cofee expert buddies

[Metalhead_brewer]

HI guys i recently did a batch of coffee stout basically was a base stout recipe, and added just before kegging 4 liquid oz of coldbrew in a ratio of 1 oz of comercial canned coffee per 1oz of water and let it sit overnight in fridge, to my taste it needed a whole lot more of coffee smell and taste, i'm planing to brew it again as it was a very tasty one, i love coffee but i'm not an expert in coffee types and its characteristics so i'm asking you to please help me a bit in this one, i want a coffee type with strong flavor and aroma that i can use for my next batch, i don't care if i have to buy green and roast and grind myself, what would you recomend? i'll really appreciate it.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I am no coffer expert however when I use coffee beans in my beer I use whole beans in the secondary phase of fermentation. 4 oz of coffee beans will give some coffee flavor how much comes through will depend on the grains as well, in a cream ale that's enough in a stout its a little light for my liking.

 

[Deckheadbrewing]

I agree with OG-wan. We have tried both Cold brewed coffee and bean in secondary and the bean turned out to be quite more coffee flavored than the cold brewed. Both were awesome though. We did a golden ale.

 

[thehaze]

Coffee beans ( you need to crack them before adding ) in the fermenter work best. I did a 8% Imperial Brown Ale to which I added 3.5 oz coffee beans, some cacao beans and vanilla, and the coffee dominated. This was a 6 gallon batch and after 1 month it was really good. And don't do secondary, there's no need and you only risk introducing too much oxygen by transferring the beer too much.

I recommend buying your favourite coffee beans/blend and adding it to the fermenter. I also recommend avoiding highly roasted beans. You want a low-medium roast, with any flavours that might come with it. Highly roasted beans, just like roasted malts, add perceived bitterness and dryness to the beer. Start with 3.5 oz, maybe 4 and go from there on your future batches.

Cheers!

 

[NTexBrewer]

Last year I judged the category that included coffee beers. The brewers listed the ingredients and method and by far the dry beaned beers had the best coffee aroma and flavor compared to liquid coffee being added.

I have brewed a blonde stout which had coffee. I dry beaned with 8oz. at 68 degrees for 24 hours for a 5 gallon batch before racking to the keg. The aroma is great. The coffee flavor is more subtle which was perfect for my taste.

I used Columbia’s Supremo Coffee which is described as light roast medium acid, balanced flavor.

https://www.coffeeam.com/colombia-supremo-la-valle-verde-gourmet-coffee.html

This is the coffee I used.

 

[catdaddy66]

Last year I judged the category that included coffee beers. The brewers listed the ingredients and method and by far the dry beaned beers had the best coffee aroma and flavor compared to liquid coffee being added.

I have brewed a blonde stout which had coffee. I dry beaned with 8oz. at 68 degrees for 24 hours for a 5 gallon batch before racking to the keg. The aroma is great. The coffee flavor is more subtle which was perfect for my taste.

I used Columbia’s Supremo Coffee which is described as light roast medium acid, balanced flavor.

https://www.coffeeam.com/colombia-supremo-la-valle-verde-gourmet-coffee.html

This is the coffee I used.

I just got a blonde stout recipe from a member here at HBT and he also used 8oz of fresh beans. His palate told him it was too much. I plan to use 4oz and adjust as needed.

If the beans do need to be cracked or crushed for best flavor, what will that add to the srm value?

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

I just got a blonde stout recipe from a member here at HBT and he also used 8oz of fresh beans. His palate told him it was too much. I plan to use 4oz and adjust as needed.

If the beans do need to be cracked or crushed for best flavor, what will that add to the srm value?

I never cracked the beans but with whole beans it's minimal IF it even changes it at all

 

[NTexBrewer]

I just got a blonde stout recipe from a member here at HBT and he also used 8oz of fresh beans. His palate told him it was too much. I plan to use 4oz and adjust as needed.

If the beans do need to be cracked or crushed for best flavor, what will that add to the srm value?

I used whole beans. Starting with 4oz and adding more sounds like a good plan. People’s perception of coffee varies greatly.

 

[couchsending]

The difference between great coffee and the crap you buy at your typical grocery store is pretty shocking. It’s just like beer. Your favorite local brewery that makes an awesome coffe beer is most likely working with a local roaster. I suggest people do the same. Go to that local roaster and try some coffee. Pick the one you like and add it to beer. Fresh, well roasted beans taste virtually nothing like most store bought coffee.

Either make some cold brew and dose to taste or crack some beans, bag them and add them cold to a keg for max 2-3 days. Longer than that and you’ll start to get green pepper flavors from the beans. I don’t go more than 2 days. Dosage rate depends on the base beer.

 

[mashpaddled]

Adding whole beans a day before packaging your beer is the easiest and IMO best way to get coffee flavor into your beer. Beans roasted within the past few days are best if that's an option for you. Generally a medium roast, low-medium acidity coffee works well but Indonesian coffees also work well but are normally roasted darker than medium. 1oz/1gal is a good starting point.

 

[Metalhead_brewer]

Really good tips from you guys, i'm trying to replicate the strong coffee flavor of Smog City Coffee Porter i read in a review made at kegerator.com that it has more than 5 pounds of locally roasted coffee per barrel so escalating to 5 gallons are around 13oz of coffee if i'm not wrong, i already have a really good robust porter recipe that i love, so i'll check for a good coffee blend in the local coffee brew shops in the city and play with the techniques you gave me.

 

[couchsending]

You might want to think about dialing the roast back on your base recipe when adding coffee. Have you had mocha machine from Beachwood? I never have but it seems to do well in competitions. Julian says the base beer would be a very bland porter before they add the coffee. Adding a ton of coffee on top of an already somewhat toasty beer can be a little overload sometimes.

 

[Metalhead_brewer]

You might want to think about dialing the roast back on your base recipe when adding coffee. Have you had mocha machine from Beachwood? I never have but it seems to do well in competitions. Julian says the base beer would be a very bland porter before they add the coffee. Adding a ton of coffee on top of an already somewhat toasty beer can be a little overload sometimes.

Haven't tried it out yet, i thinked about the roastiness as well as the ibus when i was building the recipe so with just 20 ibus and 5% of chocolate and 3% of black malt i guess it won't hurt too much when adding a big load of coffee.

 

[dreaded_rust]

I made a coffee stout last summer that finished at 8.6%. I added 10 oz of cold brew to the keg and then racked the beer in on top. Then it sat about 3 months before it got put on tap. Best beer ive ever made by a mile and the coffee flavor and aroma were so smooth. I used a local coffee and did a course grind right before adding water and putting it in my fridge for about 24 hours.
That will be my go to method from here on.