Fermenting with ground Coffee

[BrewBrotha707]

I made the mistake of brewing with people who can not follow directions. I was making a expresso stout. But instead of steeping the ground coffee and grain and straining the liquid out it was all dumped into the kettle along with the priming sugar... Will the coffee grounds settle to the bottom of the carboy during fermentation? Will leaving coffee grounds make the flavor of coffee too intense? Is my stout ruined?

 

[nmendres]

I'm a new brewer so I'm not sure I can help you. I just finished my third 5 gallon batch and it was a coffee stout. I added 4 ounces with the specialty grains prior to boil. I thne added 4 ounces at flame out. I strained the grounds and hops while adding the boil to the fermenter. I thought about adding coffee ground directly to the fermenter, like dry hopping, but I was worried about the coffee taste being too bitter. Beer sitting on coffee grounds didn't sound right to me. I bottle my coffee stout last weekend and it tasted fine going into the bottles. Coffee taste was definitely there, but not overwhelming.

I guess the first question would be how much coffee grounds were added. Maybe some of the more experienced folks will respond with more advice.

 

[TipsyDragon]

Chock this one up to experience. We have all made similar dumb mistakes in our quest for beer. The solids will settle in the fermenter. Depending on how much got in there the coffee flavor will be different than intended. As to whether or not your brew is ruined only time and your taste buds will tell. I say take this one all the way to the end and remember to read and follow the instructions next time.

Also you will need to buy more priming sugar before you bottle.

 

[dxbq48]

Usually things added at primary fermentation tend to get mellowed by the yeast. I think you may need to even add more coffee during secondary if you like a more pronounced influence on the final product.

 

[BigFloyd]

If you want to add coffee to a batch of brew, buy 4oz of freshly course ground beans (like dark/french roast) and cold brew it about 12 hours. Add the liquid to taste either in the keg or bottling bucket.

Exposing coffee to heat (like in hot water) causes the extraction of acids that give it a somewhat bitter flavor. Over time, that becomes an astringent, stale, bitter flavor.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

Also you will need to buy more priming sugar before you bottle.

One of several things possibly gone wrong. This is indeed meant for bottling time post-fermentation. Definitely pick up more corn sugar for priming later. While your at it, it would be a great idea to get a good kitchen scale and weigh out your priming sugar, rather than go with a pre-packaged one-size-fits all approach that come with most kits. Online priming calculators will help you shoot for a good carbonation profile for your particular batch. I wouldn't worry much about the rest. What's done is done. Hopefully it'll turn ok! It may be one of those great mistakes - or you'll live and learn...