Coffee Cream Ale

[tjperry52]

Brewing a cream ale tomorrow. Was thinking of maybe turning this into a coffee cream ale if it’s easy enough to do from an extract kit. Any advice?

 

[OSULumberjack]

I haven't done a coffee cream ale yet, but it is one of my new favorite types of beer. I don't see any reason you wouldn't be able to do one from an extract kit. I would bet you could add the coffee after fermentation, so you should have some time to think about it and brew up different types of coffee before you really had to pull the trigger and I can't think of any changes I would make to a generic cream ale recipe in order to incorporate coffee.

If you are worried about it, you could wait until it is time to bottle/keg and do a little taste test to figure out how much coffee to add into the beer. Pour a glass of the cream ale and slowly add coffee to it until you like the flavor and then scale that up to the whole batch. You could also choose to skip the coffee at that time if you end up not liking the flavor.

 

[mistertinkle]

I realize that you have probably already brewed your cream ale and it is in the fermenter. However, you can definitely add the coffee later.

A couple options are to cold brew some coffee and add it to your cream ale after fermentation is complete. If you are kegging, you can add a little cold brew at a time to get the coffee character you want.

Also, you can add ~1oz whole bean/gallon to your fermenter or keg (if you have a hop tube) for 1 - 3 days depending on how much coffee character you want. I like using whole bean in the keg because I find it adds coffee aroma and flavor without the harsher brewed coffee characters.

Sam

 

[Yesfan]

.....Also, you can add ~1oz whole bean/gallon to your fermenter or keg (if you have a hop tube) for 1 - 3 days depending on how much coffee character you want. I like using whole bean in the keg because I find it adds coffee aroma and flavor without the harsher brewed coffee characters.

Sam

Do you crack the beans and put them in a hop tube or just put them in whole? I've thought about racking a gallon of stout to a 1gallon keg for a coffee addition. What's the best coffee for a dry stout? My stout has a lot of roastiness to it so I'd like to add a coffee that has a lot of chocolate tones to it if possible.

Thanks and sorry for the off topic OP.

 

[mistertinkle]

Do you crack the beans and put them in a hop tube or just put them in whole? I've thought about racking a gallon of stout to a 1gallon keg for a coffee addition. What's the best coffee for a dry stout? My stout has a lot of roastiness to it so I'd like to add a coffee that has a lot of chocolate tones to it if possible.

Thanks and sorry for the off topic OP.

I use whole beans; not cracked or ground.

I think that an espresso roast would work well in a dry stout, but then I like espresso roast. I suggest reading the coffee roaster's notes about the bean if available. Look for one that has comments that specifically mention chocolate character.

I used espresso in my cream ale because my wife really likes coffee cream ale and wanted to use espresso. If I make a beer for her, she gets to decide the ingredients. If I had made it for myself, I probably would have used a medium roast.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

Brewing a cream ale tomorrow. Was thinking of maybe turning this into a coffee cream ale if it’s easy enough to do from an extract kit. Any advice?

For a 5 gallon batch 4 ounces of whole coffee beans added to the fermenter will add a solid coffee flavor. I do it all the time , super easy to do and does not mess with the color

 

[Yesfan]

I use whole beans; not cracked or ground.

I think that an espresso roast would work well in a dry stout, but then I like espresso roast. I suggest reading the coffee roaster's notes about the bean if available. Look for one that has comments that specifically mention chocolate character.

I used espresso in my cream ale because my wife really likes coffee cream ale and wanted to use espresso. If I make a beer for her, she gets to decide the ingredients. If I had made it for myself, I probably would have used a medium roast.

Thanks! There's a place down the road I'll try. It's one of my brother's favorite haunts when he comes into town. I don't drink coffee at all, but love it in a stout, so thought I'd ask.

So, what about sanitation? Do I soak the beans in vodka like with cocoa nibs and vanilla beans?

 

[mistertinkle]

Thanks! There's a place down the road I'll try. It's one of my brother's favorite haunts when he comes into town. I don't drink coffee at all, but love it in a stout, so thought I'd ask.

So, what about sanitation? Do I soak the beans in vodka like with cocoa nibs and vanilla beans?

I don't feel that roasted coffee needs to be sanitized before adding it to the fermenter. pH in the fermenter is already fairly low, and as I understand it coffee is roasted at 350F+, so if it is fresh and unopened I don't think it presents a high risk of infection.

There is a higher risk of infection if you grind it due to exposure to possibly contaminated equipment.

Oh, be sure to talk to the staff at the 'place down the road'. They will probably enjoy talking about their roasts and how you plan to use it.

Sam