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Author Topic: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?  (Read 2674 times)

Offline rgonzalez_me

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Re: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?
« Reply #15 on: April 04, 2015, 06:57:56 am »
Probably been said before but on my chocolate mocha stout I got whole coffee beans and ground them coarsely. I put them in a muslin bag and dry beaned inside the keg (which I use as secondary sometimes). Before dry beaning I let the beans soak on white rum for about a day. Depending on how much coffee aroma/taste you want don't let it go more than 24 hours. Mine turned out awesome with 16 hours.
“Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer”  -Henry Lawson

Keg #1: DD Pilsner
Keg #2: Sauvin-Mango-Hibiscus Ale
Primary: Saison
Primary: Paters Bier - Saison du Vin
Bottled: Chocolate-mocha peanut butter stout

Offline syncopadence

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Re: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?
« Reply #16 on: April 04, 2015, 07:32:07 am »
My only concern with dry beaning is head retention. To anyone who dry beans - do you have trouble with head retention? All those oils would be going straight into the beer.

Offline rgonzalez_me

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Re: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?
« Reply #17 on: April 04, 2015, 08:33:23 am »
My only concern with dry beaning is head retention. To anyone who dry beans - do you have trouble with head retention? All those oils would be going straight into the beer.

So far no problems with head retention.
“Beer makes you feel the way you ought to feel without beer”  -Henry Lawson

Keg #1: DD Pilsner
Keg #2: Sauvin-Mango-Hibiscus Ale
Primary: Saison
Primary: Paters Bier - Saison du Vin
Bottled: Chocolate-mocha peanut butter stout

Offline corkybstewart

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Re: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?
« Reply #18 on: April 04, 2015, 08:51:54 am »
I steep about 6 oz's of dark roast Colombian decaf (home roasted)in a pint of 160F water, for an hour or 2, then strain the liquid into the keg directly.  Works every time.
Life is wonderful in sunny White Signal New Mexico

Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?
« Reply #19 on: April 04, 2015, 09:30:15 am »
I steep about 6 oz's of dark roast Colombian decaf (home roasted)in a pint of 160F water, for an hour or 2, then strain the liquid into the keg directly.  Works every time.

What's your roast profile on the Colombian? I recently picked up a mix pack of beans that included a few south American origins but I don't have much experience roasting out of that region.
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Offline syncopadence

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Re: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?
« Reply #20 on: April 04, 2015, 11:38:30 am »
I steep about 6 oz's of dark roast Colombian decaf (home roasted)in a pint of 160F water, for an hour or 2, then strain the liquid into the keg directly.  Works every time.

Hmm seems like that would make it too acidic. Nothing comes out overpowering from that formula?

Offline toby

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Re: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?
« Reply #21 on: April 06, 2015, 09:33:05 am »
I have tried just about every permutation available (cold brewing with various devices, brewing a pot, flameout, etc.).  I find that cold brewing concentrate in my Toddy gives me the most control (I take 2 oz samples and add varying amounts to each until I hit on the taste profile I like and then scale up).  However, I also find that cold brewing also gives me a quicker drop off in flavor (coffee starts to fade quicker and steeper).  So, I'm pretty much committed to a flameout addition (basically treating the coffee like whirlpool hops) for 15 minutes while letting the trub settle.  It gives me the best combination of flavor and stability over time.

A pro brewer friend swears by 'dry beaning' in secondary.

Offline hangdog10

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Re: Using coffee in stouts - what works best?
« Reply #22 on: April 06, 2015, 06:00:38 pm »
I've found that the flavor of the cold brewed coffee fades fast as well, but I'm wondering if the coffee isn't separating out and settling to the bottom of the keg. I'll have to try adding at flameout next time to see how that goes.

Thanks for the info.