First Clone Recipe: Boulevard Coffee Ale

[eyeimbibe]

EyeImbibe's Boulevard Coffee Ale Clone (partial)
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Typeartial Mash
Size:5.25 gallons
Color:89 HCU (~32 SRM)
Bitterness:28 IBU
OG:1.083 (est.)
FG:1.019 (est.)
Alcohol:8.2% v/v (6.5% w/w)

Grain:
1 lb. 8 oz. American 2-row
1 lb. Pale Ale Malt
8 oz. Rye Malt
4 oz. Golden Smoked White Wheat
4 oz. Golden Naked Oats
1 lb. 8 oz. American crystal 120L

Mash: 80% efficiency
Boil: 60 minutes
Boil vol: 6 gallons
1 lb. Corn sugar
7 lb. Dark malt extract

Hops:
1 oz. Perle (8% AA, 60 min.)
.5 oz. Styrian Goldings (5.5% AA, 45 min.)

Yeast:
S-05 or Nottingham
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Background:
I had this on tap at the Saucer one day a couple of months ago. I was surprised by the amber/caramel malt and intense coffee aroma yet light on the coffee taste.
I can't seem to find it anywhere nor a recipe so I decided to review their stats and give it a go.
Here is the link:
http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/coffee-ale/
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Their Stats:
Color (EBC) 83.5
Bitterness (IBUs) 26
Original Gravity (Plato) 19.4
Terminal Gravity (Plato) 4.1
Alcohol (ABV) 9.3%
CO2 - Bottles 3.1 vol. (6.1g/L)
CO2 - Kegs 2.6 vol. (5.1 g/L)
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When converting to SRM I came up with 32.
With the OG I came up with 1.083.
With the grain bill and extract I was able to get the SRM and OG numbers but my estimated FG and ABV is all wrong.
My concern is also this statement from their site:

The first round of tests set the stage for a second round… and then a third round. By the end, we had narrowed our options. A unanimous vote elected Ethiopian Sidamo as the varietal. The brewers discussed a new recipe for the base – something with a smooth mouthfeel, maybe a touch of malt spice to complement the roast, reddish-amber color. In considering which coffee concentrations everyone preferred, we agreed on an important aspect of what this collaboration would become: a beer that utilized coffee as a main ingredient, but not in an overpowering way. We also didn’t want other ingredients to dominate the coffee. This is the main reason we chose a lighter beer for the base rather than a stout or porter. Highly-roasted malts tend to exhibit their own chocolate- and coffee-like qualities, as well as burnt/roasted characteristics that we felt would detract from the nuances of the Ethiopian roast everyone enjoyed so much. -- Boulevard

I am afraid my crystal choice will impart too much of a caramalized flavor but it is what they ask for in the link above. Another fear is that my hop schedule only pitches at 60 and 45 so no real taste hops. However on the link above they mentioned bittering only... Also I'm not too sure on what yeast I should use and was planning on falling back on Nottingham.

For the coffee aroma I was planning on doing a coarse ground in the primary after the fermentation has stopped and cold crashing a couple of days before bottling. Since its aroma I'm not too worried about quantity but I figured I would be safe with roughly 2 oz.

Any ideas, suggestions or comments regarding the recipe please let me know. I'm planning on brewing this this weekend so I have a chance to add to the grain bill or change hops/extract/coffee additions.

Thanks!

 

[KTDubs]

How did this turn out? I was looking at doing a brew of this myself, but using either Chinook or Citra hops. I'm not sure if I want to add them in the boil or dry hopping though.

Also, how did the coffee work out? Did you steep it or "dry hop" with the coffee?

 

[Brewery690]

A few months ago I decided I wanted to make a coffee ale, after having boulevards coffee ale earlier this year. This is the first year Boulevard has released this brew. Because of the newness of the beer, i knew there would not be a perfect match to a clone out there. I began my search and stumbled upon eyeimbibe's recipe. Before really sitting down to look at the recipe to evaluate it, i found myself at my local HBS with a friend buying his grains for another brew. Long story short, I quickly and hastily bought this recipe and made few changes on the go.
First and foremost the Dark LME should have been a red flag. Boulevards coffee ale is an ALE, so that much Dark LME would take the SRM's way to far in the dark. Oh well. This quickly became known as the Coffee Porter. Which I named Percolated Porter. I added the coffee just as I would in future coffee ale attempts just to begin that process as well, of finding the right aroma a flavor balance of the coffee. The porter turned out fantastic and was a huge hit amongst my following beer drinkers. So all was not lost. I enjoyed this brew more than most. However, I LOVE coffee, and there was a good amount of that in it.
Now onto try #2. I replaced the Dark LME with 2-row and upped the amount of specialty malts to get the correct ABV and correct color I was looking for. Only altering the original recipe slightly. Brew day went well and #2 was on its way to fermentation. Because the coffee aroma and flavor were to my liking, I did the exact same steps as I had in #1.

Here below is my recipe for #1 and #2 also detailed instructions on my coffee additions.

#1 (Percolated Porter)

OG: 1.069
FG: 1.021
ABV: 6.29%
SRM: 31.2
IBU's: 31.6
Batch Size: 5 Gal

1.5lbs 2-row brewers malt
1lbs 2-row pale ale malt
0.5lbs Rye malt
2 ozs Smoked Malt
2 ozs Kiln Coffee Malt
2 ozs White malt wheat
4 ozs flaked oats

7lbs Dark LME

Hops:
1 ozs Pearle 8% 60 min
.5 ozs Styrian Goldings 5.4% 45 min

Yeast
Nottingham Dry

Full body 158* mash temp


#2 (Coffee Ale)

OG: 1.084
FG: 1.015
ABV: 9.04%
SRM: 15.9
IBU's: 23.76

12lbs 2-row brewers malt
14ozs Caramel/Crystal Malt 120L
8ozs Rye Malt
4ozs Kiln Coffee Malt
4ozs white Malt Wheat
4ozs Flaked Oats
4ozs Flaked Barley
2.5lbs dextrose

Hops

1ozs Pearle 8% 60 min
.5ozs Styrian Goldings 5.4%- 45min

Yeast
Nottingham dry

Full body mash 158*

Coffee addition for both as follows:

1/2 lbs whole bean in secondary 3 days prior to racking into Keg or bottling

6 Tbs ground coffee into 24oz cold water set in refrigerator for 24 hours. (add directly to keg or bottling bucket)

I really hope this helps someone along the line, and I really hope someone gives it a shot and lets me know how it goes.

 

[tomlerner]

Hey all - Any other updates on this one? It seems to fit exactly what I want to try for my next brew. I'm especially curious about sanitizing the coffee beans. Can you throw them right into the secondary or do you have to soak them in vodka or something else? Same with the cold press, can you toss it right into the keg or do you have to boil it for a few minutes?