FNG Stout HELP!!!!!!!!!

[speedyG]

I just bought this extract kit from Austin Homebrew. I want to make it a Coffee Stout..... Should I use whole or ground coffee? Should I do it in a secondary...This is going to be my first brew...

Thanks in advance,

Speedy



Specialty malts: Black Patent, Crystal 75L, black roasted barley, chocolate malt
Featured hops: Nugget

O.G. = 1.052
F.G. = 1.014
Approximately 5.0% ABV
Approximately 174 Cal / 12 oz
Makes 5 US gallons

Fermentable Sugars:
Extract: 7 lb Liquid Malt Extract, 2 lb Specialty Grains

 

[yso191]

Do you keg or bottle? I recently did a Coffee & Cream Milk Stout. For it, I ground 8 oz. of beans and filled a french coffee press with the grounds and cold water. I let this sit overnight. Cold is important so you don't extract tannins and other bitterness. After fermentation was complete, I added it to my bottling keg along with some priming sugar, and bottled.

What I'm thinking about doing next time is using Starbucks VIA. It is instant coffee so it disolves completely, but all it is is super finely ground beans, so it has great flavor. That seems like an easy way to go. Hope that helps.

Steve

 

[speedyG]

I'm going to bottle this bad boy.

Thanks

 

[TahoeRy]

I just brewed a stout and wanted a coffee taste so I used 4oz of whole beans that I ground up and place in a pint of water overnight. A couple of notes here rom my experience. Don't go longer than 24 hours as I did two extracts, one for 3 days and one for 24 hours, the 24 hour extract was better and had more flavor without any harshness. Also, I added this 24 hour extract to the last 5 minutes of my boil and it completely took over all the flavors in the stout. If I was going to it again, I would either add 2oz of the extract during the last 5 minutes of the boil or I would add 2 - 4 oz of whole beans to the secondary. If you want a super dominate coffee taste use 4oz of freshly ground beans in a pint of water and let it sit overnight at room temps and add that to the last 5 minutes of the boil. If you want a more mild coffee taste, try using 2oz with this method and I think it would be dead on or go with a secondary addition. DONT USE MORE THAN 4oz OF BEANS IF YOU ADD IT TO THE BOIL!

 

[masskrug]

4 oz freshly ground coffee into a muslin bag. Cold steep that in ~12 oz. bottled or sanitized (boiled) water overnight. Remove the bag and dump the coffee into your bottling bucket with the priming sugar.

From what I understand you should not boil coffee, as it extracts bitterness.

 

[speedyG]

Thanks for the feedback. I have decided to add the coffee at bottling as mentioned a few times.

Just a few issues, since it is my first brew:
I did a starter two days before the brew, it went well. I had fermentation with in 9-10 hours.
The hops were pellets, when I transferred the wert into the carboy, I used a screen to get most of the pellet gunk out of the wert. Will the gunk screw up fermentation?
I want a clear beer, should I place in secondary and if so, how long?

Thanks guys

Speedy

 

[Red_Scooter]

Thanks for the feedback.

...
I want a clear beer, should I place in secondary and if so, how long?

Thanks guys

Speedy

If you want a clear beer, you probably shouldn't have brewed a stout!

There is a lot of debate about secondary fermentation not being needed. I don't usually put any of my beers in secondary unless they have a high ABV to give it more conditioning time, and then let them bottle condition for awhile too. If I were you, based on the OG/FG, I would just leave it in Primary for at least 3 weeks and then rack to bottling bucket.

 

[speedyG]

If you want a clear beer, you probably shouldn't have brewed a stout!

There is a lot of debate about secondary fermentation not being needed. I don't usually put any of my beers in secondary unless they have a high ABV to give it more conditioning time, and then let them bottle condition for awhile too. If I were you, based on the OG/FG, I would just leave it in Primary for at least 3 weeks and then rack to bottling bucket.

I should be clear. I want to keep from getting sediment in the beer.

 

[speedyG]

The fermentation stopped already. Did I do something wrong. The carboy is in a cool dark place.

Any suggestions.

 

[StrongBad42]

What kind of yeast did you use and how long has it been fermenting?

 

[speedyG]

It has been fermenting since Wednesday morning with a starter made of white labs Irish ale yeast. I plan on taking a gravity reading tomorrow

 

[StrongBad42]

I would say its probably done fermenting. My first brew was a dry Irish stout and it fermented out in two days. I thought something was wrong but the gravity reading showed that it was right on the money.