Favorite way to add coffe to stouts?

[vanwolfhausen]

I have always added at Flame out and had great results. But, was thinking of trying this time adding course crushed beans to secondary for a week. Then I was going to try cold brewed coffee at keg time. I am doing 10gallon batch and have little less than 2lbs of beans which were very expensive. Only thing I am working on now is amounts and how to sanitize beans added to secondary and keg?

 

[509inc]

The best way to add coffee.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/coffee-randall-216661/

 

[mrkstel]

I'm no expert and have never tried a coffee stout, but wouldn't the natural oils in the crushed coffee beans in the secondary affect the head retention of your finished beer? On the other hand, I guess the oils would be present if added to the boil as well unless the heat of the wort breaks them down somehow. . . Like I said, I've never tried either technique. I'm just thinking out loud here.

 

[Golddiggie]

The best way to add coffee.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/coffee-randall-216661/

Interesting... I'll have to try that at some point...

Another home brewer, that I know, makes coffee for his priming solution (obviously adding sugars to it)... He says it gives a nice flavor to the stout, probably more of a background than a coffee smack.

I think it all depends on how much coffee flavor you want to add. You could try brewing some, letting it cool, and add it to the fermenter (once fermentation is complete of course). Give it a few days, or a week, to blend in and taste. Brew it strong, so that you don't need to add as much liquid to the brew. You could also brew up some to use in priming.

I'm planning a mocha stout, which will use coffee and cacao nibs (cracked/crushed) in it... Still working on when to add the cacao nibs, but thinking it will be post primary fermentation. I might brew up a half pot with the nibs, and add that along with the brewed coffee.

 

[cactusgarrett]

I'm a big fan of cold steeping. No astringent or harsh flavors.

 

[SamBrewer]

I've tried to add coffe into my porter at the flame out using a hob bag full with beans. The result was quite good but I think i didn' get all the aroma I was aspected to have in the final beeer. Maybe cold steep is the best solution but I've never tried it!

 

[Golddiggie]

I brew my coffee with the lowest temperature settings available on my pot/maker... The hot plate under the carafe is also set to it's lowest temperature. Since using that method, along with the proper amount of beans, I've had great coffee (not astringent and no harsh flavors) every time. I do use a KitchenAid burr grinder for the beans (they fall through the grinder) that's running at low RPM's (no heat to the beans)...

Not going to say cold steeping isn't a good choice too. You could do something like use a french press with warm/cool/cold water, letting it go long enough to extract what you want. I've not done that method, so I can't say how it works. I would imagine that once you have a method that works for you, you'll stick with it.

Ultimately, most of us are brewing for our own enjoyment. So as long as YOU like the results, who really cares what anyone else thinks??

 

[vanwolfhausen]

What is best way to sanitize beans added to secondary as well as cold brewed coffee going into keg? I was going to add beans to vodka and let them sit overnight. The cold brewed I was going to add to sanitized jar then sit overnight and then drain with sanitized filter.

 

[Golddiggie]

What is best way to sanitize beans added to secondary as well as cold brewed coffee going into keg? I was going to add beans to vodka and let them sit overnight. The cold brewed I was going to add to sanitized jar then sit overnight and then drain with sanitized filter.

Brewing in a coffee maker/pot should eliminate any need to sanitize... But if you want the cold method, I would avoid heating the coffee, since that can roast them even more. Using vodka could also be bad, depending on how much beans you're looking to add. The coffee will go into the vodka, and not as much will make it into the stout.

The way I see if, if the coffee beans are stored properly, from a reputable source, and handled properly (by you and where you get them) then you shouldn't have that much to worry about. I get all my coffee beans in 5 pound bags, still sealed from the supplier.

Of course, if you brew a stout with a decent ABV level, the alcohol in there could kill off any potential nasties right then...

 

[SimonSays]

What is best way to sanitize beans added to secondary as well as cold brewed coffee going into keg? I was going to add beans to vodka and let them sit overnight. The cold brewed I was going to add to sanitized jar then sit overnight and then drain with sanitized filter.

There's microbrewery nearby that makes my favorite coffee beer in the world, and I asked him this very question. He actually doesn't do any sort of sanitizing, which surprised me. Just cold brewed it and added to the secondary fermenters, saying at that point he relies on the low pH and the alcohol content to ward off infection. YMMV.

I'd be wary of sticking the beans in vodka overnight, the ethanol might extract out some of the flavors you want.

 

[cactusgarrett]

Similar to fruit, adding anything to the secondary shouldn't (IMHO) need as rigorous sanitary measures as if they were added to the primary, due to the already present alcohol. When i cold steep, i just filter and dump the runnings in as-is (no boiling, heating, etc.)

 

[vanwolfhausen]

Thanks guys! I keeps overthinking this I think because I am soo used to adding at FO. I wonder if skipping that and adding to secondary and to keg will enhance the coffee flavor as opposed to adding at FO?

 

[Golddiggie]

Adding it when the wort is hot, will produce different flavors, or characteristics, than adding it cold post fermentation.

You can do all of them in the same brew if you want. Such as some during the last few minutes of boil. Some more at flame out. Some more post fermentation, and then even more duing priming/bottling/kegging... If you do that, I would use a little for each stage, and taste before adding more. You want to make sure you're not going overboard with how much you add.

 

[ConiferAles]

I asked this same question a while back, and one of the most interesting answers I got was to take some of the wort and add it to a french press with desired coffee, and cold-brew it in the fridge. I haven't tried it yet, but I think I will do that next time. Could either go in primary, secondary, or both I suppose...

 

[sideshow_ben]

I'm wondering something similar but using espresso. I have a REALLY nice machine, and roast my own beans, and would love to combine my "little cup" of morning heaven with my "big mug" at the end of the day. Obviously pulling 1-2 lbs of beans worth of shots sucks, but I was torn between dumping them into the wort at knock out or in the secondary. From the above it sounds like secondary is the way to go?

 

[vanwolfhausen]

Adding it when the wort is hot, will produce different flavors, or characteristics, than adding it cold post fermentation.

You can do all of them in the same brew if you want. Such as some during the last few minutes of boil. Some more at flame out. Some more post fermentation, and then even more duing priming/bottling/kegging... If you do that, I would use a little for each stage, and taste before adding more. You want to make sure you're not going overboard with how much you add.

That is a good idea. I can always add some at FO, in secondary and do the cold brew at kegging time. That way tasting at each step.

 

[Golddiggie]

That is a good idea. I can always add some at FO, in secondary and do the cold brew at kegging time. That way tasting at each step.

I think the real key to getting what you're looking for, is tasting at each step. Just remember you can always easily add more flavor components if it's light. But, if you go too heavy, it can be a real biotch to get it to reduce (usually needing to age in order to mellow)...

One thing I'm thinking of doing for a mead, is adding a small amount of the flavor elements into the bottles. You could do the same thing, adding one or two whole coffee beans into each bottle just before you fill them. Or do that with some, marking them, to see how they differ after X weeks/months... You might want to set two of each aside (two with and two without) for a couple of months to see how they bottle age...

 

[vanwolfhausen]

When adding beans to secondary or keg/bottle do you still crack them? I am going to use a bag most likely when adding to secondary.