Coffee Stout

Hi All

Still pretty new to this brewing malark and i've just started my second kit, Muntons Gold Imperial Stout.

I'm a big fan of coffee stouts, and just want to know if it would work adding freshly ground coffee beans to this brew?

Anyone with anybexpwrience of doing this I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks guys

MackemBrew said:

Hi All

Still pretty new to this brewing malark and i've just started my second kit, Muntons Gold Imperial Stout.

I'm a big fan of coffee stouts, and just want to know if it would work adding freshly ground coffee beans to this brew?

Anyone with anybexpwrience of doing this I would appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks guys

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I don't bother with beans.
I just make up four measures of strong espresso coffee from my coffee machine and chuck that in.
If you have already started your brew and want to give it a go just let it cool before you add it to the FV.

terrym said:

I don't bother with beans.
I just make up four measures of strong espresso coffee from my coffee machine and chuck that in.
If you have already started your brew and want to give it a go just let it cool before you add it to the FV.

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Awesome, so literally just make 4 espresso and chuck it in?

How strong is the coffee taste following this method?

Thanks

MackemBrew said:

Awesome, so literally just make 4 espresso and chuck it in?

How strong is the coffee taste following this method?

Thanks

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Yes, simple as that.
Just noticeable but not overpowering. I only do Coopers stout kits so I have no idea how much the kit itself contributes.

Also take a look at Cold Steeping, not something I've tried yet but its said to:

When brewing coffee with hot water you not only extract the flavors of the coffee beans, but also astringent and bitter qualities that can come across as burnt characteristics. In hot coffee, this can be pleasant, but when it is chilled and served on ice, the burnt qualities can overpower a lot of the coffee’s delicious nuances

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So although you need this for a stout and not an Iced Coffee it should help give more of the coffee flavors as you should already be getting the roast from the kit.

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/cold-brew-coffee-adding-coffee-beer/

The good thing with adding things after its fermented means you can experiment with a few bottles of each method, just add it directly to each bottle before bottling and see what you like best.

Cheers

Have done two coffee stouts,both with cold steeped 'ESE' pods.First one was with 'regular' pods and second was with Regular and Mocha mixed. Second one had far more flavour.
If you have a 'Hema' store anywhere nearby you can get a packet of them for a quid:thumb:.
I did 4 mocha and 2 regular,steeped 24 hours in the fridge(cooled boiled water) and added to bottling FV. That was for an 8 litre batch

fuzzy said:

The good thing with adding things after its fermented means you can experiment with a few bottles of each method, just add it directly to each bottle before bottling and see what you like best.

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Thanks guys, I was hoping to add it to little batches just so if it turns out bad the whole brew isnt ruined!

Will look into this cold steeping a litle more.

Thanks!

I have to say that I have not noticed any unpleasant burnt flavours from adding espresso coffee, and we use dark roast Italian coffee.
Remember you are making 20 plus litres of stout not a glass of iced coffee. Stout also contains highly kilned grain, which does give it a roasty taste, so the contribution of a few grammes of coffee in a 20 litre plus brew is subtle, as I said, not overwhelming, and is complimentary to the depth of many different flavours already present. But if you added coffee to a lager :-o the impact would be completely different.
What I would not do, however, is to add instant coffee, in any shape or form, because at the best of times compared to bean coffee it's frankly rubbish and IS bitter on its own, just compare a cup of instant black coffee to a cup freshly made bean coffee to confirm.

Yes, I wonder where he got that from?

Cold steeped coffee is a hipster thing invented by people with little understanding of science and cooking. Like hops, there are important flavour compounds that are not released without heat and some that will be lost by boiling. The reason Espresso is so good is that water at 90C is forced through the the coffee, providing a much better extraction of the important aromatic compounds. As to whether a significant amount of these will survive fermentation is debatable of course and you would probably be better off using instant coffee. My stout has sufficient coffee-like flavour from the grains I use so I haven't tried a ******* brew of this type for many years.

This is one thread which highlights why I sometimes find forums frustrating. A new brewer simply asks a question if adding beans to a kit is Ok to do, and some helpful users post a few alternatives and a discussion happens, this is the basis of a helpfully forum then .....

TheQuokka said:

Yes, I wonder where he got that from?

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...is posted.

"HE" got that from the quoted webpage and the years of drinking stouts, coffees, coffee stouts, adding filtered coffee to brewed stouts and personal preference.

Now TheQuokka I am not calling into account your own experience or qualifications in the matter I was simply helping a user by highlighting different possible methods.

My own personnel preference of coffee stouts is that they can sometimes be too bitter / have too much roasted coffee taste which throws the balance off outside of the parameters of what I like in a coffee stout. Then terrym has said he has never found this to be a problem....in my mind this is a good healthy discussion.

TheQuokka, I also find your quote of...

TheQuokka said:

Cold steeped coffee is a hipster thing invented by people with little understanding of science and cooking.

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...to be unnecessary ( I am an not a "Hipster" just to be clear). Surly its about personal preference in what you prefer to drink.

Anyway MackemBrew, sorry for hijacking your post to bring up this issue but I hope your experimenting on adding coffee to your own brews works well for your taste preference.

fuzzy said:

Anyway MackemBrew, sorry for hijacking your post to bring up this issue but I hope your experimenting on adding coffee to your own brews works well for your taste preference.

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no need to apologise my good man! I think I'll try a couple of methods and see what I prefer although I do like the sound of the cold steeping (perhaps my hipster beard is influencing my choice)

Problem I have at the moment is the beew seems totally lifeless...for a kit described by many as lively I was expecying a liitle more activity.

Cheers