Adding Coffee to a batch of Stout?

[DC]

Hi all, I have just brewed a 10 gallon batch of Stout which I have split into 2 five gallon batches and I am looking to add coffee to one batch (hence the title of the post). I was just wondering if anyone has any experience if making coffee stouts? Just wondering how much coffee to add to a 5 gallon batch and do I cold steep and add to secondary FV? or add when kegging/bottling? Or do I just make 1/2 a dozen cups of coffee and chuck it in the secondary FV? I have bought some of my regular Esspresso and just need to work out how much & when to add?



Cheers DC

[Normski]

Do a search, I remember Critch advising someone about the amounts a few months back.

[Redimpz]

I added about a cupful of ground coffee to a coopers stout a couple of years ago. threw it into the bucket and poured a kettle of boiling water over it.
The results were a very distinct coffee flavour, a bit of an acquired taste, kinda like Vodka red bull were the alcohol gets you sleepy but the caffeine don't let you.
If I did it again I would use about half as much.

[jimp2003]

I am following Michael Tonsmeire's recipe HERE where he adds the coffee grounds to the beer in a mesh bag a bit like dry-hopping. I will be putting 50g in for a day or possibly two before bottling.

I have seen others add the coffee grounds at the end of the boil, brew the coffee and add it at various stages or cold steep the coffee and add it just before packaging the beer. Cold steeping is supposed to reduce the possibility of adding any harshness to the beer.

At the end of the day I think with something like this you need to go with what you think is best for your overall recipe and be ready to make adjustments in the future. If you read Tonsmeires blog he has tried 3 versions of the coffee stout in an attempt to perfect it.

Edit: I would rather err on the side of caution and end up with a nice stout with a hint of coffee than a nice stout ruined by too much coffee. Then I can brew it again and ramp up the coffee if needed...

[sunny_jimbob]

At the end of the day I think with something like this you need to go with what you think is best for your overall recipe and be ready to make adjustments in the future.

This. I made a coffee porter recently and did some research beforehand and you can find instructions to add the coffee to pretty much any part of the brewing process! From what I read I think adding it to the boil can risk bitterness being extracted as well as coffee flavour, and adding it any time pre primary means that fermentation can drive off some of the aroma. However, you will also find plenty of people swearing by adding it to the boil! As Jimp says, weigh up the information and decide what sounds best for what you want from it.

FWIW, I added some cooled filter coffee to the bottling bucket with the priming sugar, and it really brought out the smooth coffee tones of my porter. I think I added around 25ml per litre.

[AnthonyUK]

I haven't tried it yet but the best method from what I have read appears to be cold steeping for the coffee.
I added regular hot brewed coffee once and it wasn't good.

That Cherry syrup looks interesting. Is it the sour type like in Kriek?

[DC]

Hi Anthony, I think the Cherry Syrup is just the normal one, but I think they do a sour cherry one also.

Cheers DC

[Matt12398]

I agree with Anthony, cold steeping. It's the same with iced coffee where you cold steep to avoid extracting any of the harsh bitterness that you get from hot water. Not sure how that aroma will fair through fermentation though so perhaps it should be added at bottling but it's not something I've tried myself.

[Dave S]

I've had a few bitters lately that have a coffee/chocolate taste to them, which I believe comes from chocolate malt. I haven't tried using chocolate malt yet but am intending to do a ported soon with some in. So I'll see how it turns out.

[AnthonyUK]

Hi Anthony, I think the Cherry Syrup is just the normal one, but I think they do a sour cherry one also.

Cheers DC

Cheers DC.
A trip to my local Polish deli is in order I think
I've been drinking some Kriek and Bacchus Raspberry recently and would love to make something similar.

[dedken]

Definitely cold steep overnight. No harshness, just smooth subtle coffee flavour. I did a coffee dark mild once and it was absolutely magnificent. I haven't done a coffee beer since but I've got a new plan for one up my sleeve.... BTW you can use the cold steeping technique with coloured malts as well.

[orlando]

I currently have a Porter that has had coffee added to it and went through the same agonies as you are with a lot of conflicting advice. I decided to follow the advice of Seymour on here and have to say it worked brilliantly. The key phrase he used is " a dab'll do you". The problem is at what point are you drinking a beer with a hint of coffee and a coffee tasting of beer. It is so easy to over do it. What I did is brewed a normal strength coffee using fresh grounds and added it to the fermentor, once cooled to 20c, at the beginning of fermentation. I added it as 250ml to 25 litres. So, how did it turn out and would I change anything? I was told that adding it at the start of fermentation might kill the head and indeed it was a little less than I normally get but not enough to worry about, but would add at the end just to see if it made a big difference. The flavour was distinct enough and I might dial it back to 200ml if doing it again, but we are now in subtle, personal choice territory but I urge you to think about the phrase "less is more".

[DC]

Hi Orlando, Thanks for the reply regarding the addition of coffee to my Stout, my stout is just about fermented out and I should be syphoning it into my secondary FV this weekend. I see you went with 250ml for a 25 litre batch. I was thinking about using the same amount but struggling on exactly how much coffee to use. I am going to use the coffee pictured below which is measured out in the scoop below and made in my Espresso machine (like the one pictured on the coffee packet). Which results in a small coffee cup which I have just measured and its around 200ml in the cup once brewed. I dont think 1 cup made with 1 scoop of coffee at 200ml of water will be enough coffee for a 23 litre batch

Any suggestions



Cheers DC

[orlando]

Go with your normal strength of coffee and add that, err on the side of caution too little is easier to live with than too much.