I've been reading around the various internet fora, and recipes seem to vary a fair bit — is there any consensus on dosing rate for coffee in a "session" mead (i.e., 7 - 8% range)?
Dosing rate for coffee mead
- Thread starter Drewch
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I'm not sure your going to find a concensus on the dosing amount for coffee flavor. (There are a lot of options.)
What I can do is tell you what works for me.
5 gallon batch.
1 pound of medium roast coffee beans. Cracked (not ground) with a rolling pin. Place in a glass mason jar. Add enough vodka to cover them plus a bit. Let steep for 5 to 7 days. Strain the beans through a fine mesh bag or cheese cloth. Add a small amount of the tincture in secondary until you hit the flavor profile you prefer. Yes it adds some ABV due to the vodka.
i typically dont do tinctures like this for flavor but for coffee it is really easy to get those real bitter or "muddy" flavors if you brew it or just add beans to the mead like you would for spices. I have seen others on this forum recommend cold brewing some coffee and adding it to secondary. ( I personally have not tried it.)
What I can do is tell you what works for me.
5 gallon batch.
1 pound of medium roast coffee beans. Cracked (not ground) with a rolling pin. Place in a glass mason jar. Add enough vodka to cover them plus a bit. Let steep for 5 to 7 days. Strain the beans through a fine mesh bag or cheese cloth. Add a small amount of the tincture in secondary until you hit the flavor profile you prefer. Yes it adds some ABV due to the vodka.
i typically dont do tinctures like this for flavor but for coffee it is really easy to get those real bitter or "muddy" flavors if you brew it or just add beans to the mead like you would for spices. I have seen others on this forum recommend cold brewing some coffee and adding it to secondary. ( I personally have not tried it.)
I have made a couple of coffeemels, the first on came out the best tasting for me. The second, while tasty, I used too much coffee for the 2 gallon batch I made.
Most of my meads wind up @ around 16%, so I can't offer much in the session meads part of it.
This is what I made the first time...
Post in thread 'Show us your Mead in a photo!!!'
P.S. In my post I said very coarsely ground coffee. I used a hand crank coffee grinder set to it's maximum (course) grind setting, however, I believe that as @CKuhns stated, the rolling pin to barely break the beans would be a better method. There was fine sediment in mine, not much, but, any more wouldn't probably made me have to rack it again.
Show us your Mead in a photo!!!
Most of my meads wind up @ around 16%, so I can't offer much in the session meads part of it.
This is what I made the first time...
Post in thread 'Show us your Mead in a photo!!!'
P.S. In my post I said very coarsely ground coffee. I used a hand crank coffee grinder set to it's maximum (course) grind setting, however, I believe that as @CKuhns stated, the rolling pin to barely break the beans would be a better method. There was fine sediment in mine, not much, but, any more wouldn't probably made me have to rack it again.
Show us your Mead in a photo!!!
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