Coffee Addition - What I Learned From a Pro Brewer

[spiderwrangler]

I think it was mentioned elswhere in this thread, but Spike from Terrapin talked about how he methodically worked through both hot and cold tastings of each coffee variety he considered using to find the ones he liked the character of the most. Using expensive, fair trade, free range, organic, civet cat processed coffee doesn't guarantee you will like the character you will get.

[brewindruid]

Good points. I used to drink Cafe Du Monde a fantastic louisiana based coffee with lots of chicory allowing for strength without the bitterness. Not expensive either. This really does approach a evaluation situation as everyone's taste varies so, a little goes a long way.

[Customstox]

I have a question (or lots of them) on adding coffee. I am looking at adding ground or cracked (food processor) beans to a stout I am making and want an idea how much for a 5 gallon batch and when to add. I was thinking about 5 ounces of beans and put it in the primary fermentor. Your help would be appreciated.

[Ozwald]

I have a question (or lots of them) on adding coffee. I am looking at adding ground or cracked (food processor) beans to a stout I am making and want an idea how much for a 5 gallon batch and when to add. I was thinking about 5 ounces of beans and put it in the primary fermentor. Your help would be appreciated.

I would run the beans through a regular coffee grinder at a rather coarse setting - about the same grind you'd use for standard drip coffee makers, maybe just a touch on the more coarse side. There's many ways to do it, everyone has their style and a lot of times that goes hand in hand with their brewing style. A good place to start would be 3 level, not packed, tablespoons of grounds in 12 ounces of cold water (I prefer pre-boiled to ensure there's no spoilers in there, but there are some brewers out there who would tell you it's not necessary). Leave it in the fridge overnight, 24 hours is better, beyond that I would taste it regularly to see if you have the flavor you're after. You can add it before you pitch your yeast, but personally I like the flavor I get from adding it to the bottling bucket.

As I said, there's as many ways to do it as there are 'perfect' cups of coffee. Everyone has their own taste, palette sensitivity & opinion. The best advice I could give is after you get your base recipe down, start experimenting with different approaches regarding the coffee.

Edit: Your grain bill can affect the perception of the coffee. You could use the same coffee procedure with 2 batches and adjust your grains by a few ounces & get a different flavor from the coffee. Nail the recipe first & stick with it. It should be a solid recipe you enjoy even without the coffee presence. Think of it as a chef's secret seasoning to (I hate to say this) 'kick it up a notch'.

[Ozwald]

I think it was mentioned elswhere in this thread, but Spike from Terrapin talked about how he methodically worked through both hot and cold tastings of each coffee variety he considered using to find the ones he liked the character of the most. Using expensive, fair trade, free range, organic, civet cat processed coffee doesn't guarantee you will like the character you will get.

Agreed. That's why my first suggestion on choosing your coffee is start with the one you like to drink & work from there. It's always great to see others (especially those who aren't financially invested) doing these same kinds of experiments. I didn't go that direction when I got real heavy into my coffee experiments, mostly because I already knew the coffee that could bring the exact character I was looking for, from being such a coffee nut. I focused on several dozen batches trying to find the best way to impart that character. 1 gallon jugs & 3 gallon carboys are your friends!

[brewindruid]

...and thoughts on responsible hopping....Fuggles and EKG?

I definately agree with the cold brewed dosing post ferment. I like the conrol over flavor at werving temprature that method allows. Were I to use grounds I would do a secondary on em and not drop em in primary, as has been said, who knows what nasties are on those beans! T think even free trade organic might be a risk...better safe then sorry.

[spiderwrangler]

That's why my first suggestion on choosing your coffee is start with the one you like to drink & work from there.

So the 24 hour old gas station coffee should work just fine? You're probably right in that most people interested in adding coffee are already drinking better quality stuff, but doing cold vs. hot may highlight different characters.

...and thoughts on responsible hopping....Fuggles and EKG?

I'd say it would depend on the beer you are brewing, unless you are looking to build the whole recipe around the coffee. General consensus would likely say to avoid highly hopping for aroma and flavor to keep from competing with your coffee, but I've seen (but not tried) more coffee IPAs and the like recently...

who knows what nasties are on those beans! T think even free trade organic might be a risk...better safe then sorry.

Though I would expect that ones sealed in bags would be better than the ones that you can buy in loose bulk ...

[Ozwald]

...and thoughts on responsible hopping....Fuggles and EKG?

I definately agree with the cold brewed dosing post ferment. I like the conrol over flavor at werving temprature that method allows. Were I to use grounds I would do a secondary on em and not drop em in primary, as has been said, who knows what nasties are on those beans! T think even free trade organic might be a risk...better safe then sorry.

I prefer irresponsible hopping myself

Every decent coffee beer I've ever seen has had it's base in a traditionally low-hopped style. Porters & stouts for the most part. Without looking at my brewing sheets, I believe those two hop varieties are the most prominent in the porter I use for my coffee beer. If you have a solid recipe that tastes like it could work with the flavor of coffee you're looking for, you're in the right ballpark.

So the 24 hour old gas station coffee should work just fine? You're probably right in that most people interested in adding coffee are already drinking better quality stuff, but doing cold vs. hot may highlight different characters.

I've never had to intentionally make cold coffee, usually the end of the 2nd pot is already there. The scene plays out with me discovering that it's gone cold, shrugging my shoulders & draining the pot anyways. Good coffee is good coffee. Even cold.

I would recommend against iced coffee though. The gentle nuances that can still be detected in a beer just aren't there in my experience. Could be from the melted ice, but since I don't really care for iced coffee I've never bothered to figure it out.