Adding coffee - Stuck Farbucks Coffee Porter

Hi all,

Still trying to make that elusive beer that the wife will like. She recently showed interest in a coffee brown ale which was brewed with real coffee. A BeerSmith Recipe database search brought me to "Stuck Farbucks Coffee Porter" (http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/5154/stuck-farbucks-coffee-porter), which I plan to brew this week.

Keeping in mind that I am NOT a coffee person, (i.e., almost zero knowledge on brewing/preparing coffee, though I do like its flavor when incorporated in other foods), my questions are:

1) "(Primary 7 days)"... I assume this means add it to the primary while racking from the brew pot and LET IT SIT for [at least] seven days? Or something different?

2) What form is the coffee? Beans, ground, brewed?
Of course I've already done some research and read several discussion threads on the topic, and my head is spinning from all the possible methods. The easiest for me given my lack of "coffee knowledge" is to simply dump the specified weight of ground coffee to the primary. A better option though, I assume, is to cold-steep the grounds then add the resulting brew to the primary? But how to do this? The recipe calls for "14 oz" coffee... if I cold-steep, does that mean 14 oz of liquid coffee brew? If so, how much coffee grounds do I use to produce that? Or does it mean 14 oz of coffee grounds are used to make the brew? and if that's the case, how much liquid?

I realize there are many methods and many different preferences for types of coffee, but the reason I'm posting this question (instead of experimenting with the buckets of information already gleaned elsewhere), is that I hope some of you with coffee beer brewing experience can offer advice based on THIS SPECIFIC RECIPE. I already checked the author's profile page and he's yet to respond to the same question asked by another member last year, so I thought I'd solicit you, the forum members, for your generous wisdom!

Thanks!

I incorporate coffee into my Russian Imperial Stouts sometimes. 

I've tried ground coffee, but didn't like the results.  It gave a bitter astrigent flavor, not the smooth flavor I was after. 

I've used my espresso machine and put in concentrated espresso, and the flavor was good.  I used 8 ounces of expresso.  This was just ok.

My best results was from making regular coffee and pouring a pot of it into my secondary.  I make the coffee, just like I would normally make it.  I put it into my empty secondary fermentor and rack the beer from the primary onto it.  This has been the way that I've gotten the best flavor. 

When I've put it into the primary, the yeast are so active, that I think they have an effect on the flavor.  In the secondary, it seems to leave the flavor profile of the coffee the way that I want it.

I definitely wouldn't put it into the boil.  Coffee that is boiled too long takes on a bitter flavor, even if you dilute it back to the proper strength.

I've made an espresso porter that was very well received by adding 4 shots of espresso at room temperature to the primary when pitching the yeast.

Hmmm... thank you, both. Seems like both of you have different experiences wrt adding coffee to the primary. But you both agree to NOT use grounds. So I appreciate that.

I've read elsewhere that adding a cold-brew coffee is a good way to go. So I'll try that. As I have no intention of using a secondary (I usually leave my beer in the primary for 2-3 weeks, even if I reached my target FG within a week), I may draw a compromise on both of yours' advice, and add the cold-brewed coffee 7 days after pitching. Perhaps that's what the "7 Days" from the recipe means!

Adding a flavored coffee is one way of getting flavor into a beer.  I sometimes use Millstone Brand Velvet Chocolate coffee to get a chocolate flavor in my beer.  I had a Russian Imperial Stout that had the chocolate added this way and it scored 43.5 at a brewing competition and took a blue ribbon.  I'm entering it into another competition this month.

Thanks, Scott...

Did you add the coffee to the primary, secondary, or at bottling?

I added it to the secondary, because it was the perfect time to taste it and make sure that I didn't over do it.  The fermentor is already open for the racking.  As your siphoning to the secondary, put 6 ounces of your beer into a glass and add the amount of coffee that would be equivalent to half of the amount you have prepared and taste a sip of it.  I can't give you an actually amount of coffee, as every coffee carafe is a different size.  Taste it and see how much coffee and/or chocolate etc. flavor you have.  If you want more flavor, add a little more coffee to your glass until you get the taste you want.  I've found that one of my carafes (12 cup carafe) works well for 5 gallons of the millstone velvet chocolate.  If I were to use a different flavor of coffee in a future beer, I'd do the tasting from scratch, since the flavors in flavored coffees are all different.

By the way, there are 128 ounces in a gallon of beer.  If you divide that by 6, you get approximately 21 samples of 6 ounces of beer.  21 samples x 5 gallons = 104 samples in a standard 5 gallon batch.  Once you determine the amount of coffee (lets say 2 teaspoons per sample is perfect to your taste, you'd multiply 2 teaspoons x 104 = 208 teaspoons of coffee.  A teaspoon is .17 fluid ounces, so you'd have .17 fluid ounces x 208 teaspoons = about 35 fluid ounces of coffee.  My carafe holds 36 fluid ounces, so I'd be good to go with the entire carafe of coffee, at a 2 teaspoons per 6 ounce sample.

Great advice! And some good math, too.

Thanks!

Cold brewing and adding to secondary seems to be a popular way of doing things.

A few months back, I started a thread here about Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout.  I added some coffee grounds during the chilling phase.  When the temp got down to about 170F I added fresh grounds.  I also added fresh grounds to my secondary.  Great results.  Coffee can give some overly bitter flavors if you try to add it to the boil.  The national coffee assoc recommends coffee to be brewed @ 195-205F.  I added mine at a little bit lower temp to curb bitterness and seems to have worked well.

hey just wanted to add my two cents, and re-hash this topic which is forever a topic of discussion..

i'm a coffee lover (good coffee) and have used it in various stages, various methods..finished brewing (what will be) an espresso porter last night..i've done breakfast stouts and coffee stouts, etc etc..cold brewed coffee at kegging is your best option..you are using coffee primarily for flavor, and adding it anywhere other than kegging will take away from the flavor in part..cold brewed coffee keeps acidity way down as give a smoother and fuller flavor, less astringency, and not destroying the head of the beer..look up recipes/instructions for cold brew, get yourself a Toddy on amazon, thats what i use to drink iced coffee all the time,its a great investment (like 30 bucks) and you'll use in brewing often..hot coffee and espresso is ok to do but will bring more astringency to your beer, so it all depends what you are aiming to do for your beer.

side note: my own mantra for fermentation is to move/rack/transfer as few times as possible..the less the beer touches air and running through tubes, etc,  the better, if you dont need a secondary, don't do it..also, a 7 day primary (though i know is what most kits tell you) is quick..i'd give any and every primary at least 2 weeks..i normally go 3-4 weeks and then keg, instead of 7 days, transfer to secondary for a week or two, and then keg..i've had much better results with no secondary and a bit longer primary..

I make a recipe based on Heretic's Shallow Grave Porter that has very nice coffee and chocolate flavors.  My wife and her friends do not typically like beer.  However, they all like this one.  While it's on the high end of category for a robust porter, it is very smooth and drinkable.

On brew day, I brew a good quality coffee (on the strong side), typically Peets.  I fill an 8 oz sanitized mason jar with the coffee and place it in the refrigerator until kegging day.  Prior to transferring the fermented beer, I pour the coffee in the keg.  Simple step, but it adds a nice touch.  The additional coffee, combined with the chocolate flavors, has been a hit.  Cheers!

Diamond Chocolate Coffee Porter

Started a thread on this a few months back when I brewed an espresso milk stout. Check it out here:

http://www.beersmith.com/forum/index.php/topic,13684.0.html

My method was to cold brew coarse ground coffee 24 hours before bottling/kegging. Add that coffee at bottling time (I figured 3% of my whole batch). I'll find out how it was this Saturday and post the results in my thread.

You can find different answers there too. I've heard of people aging with whole beans in secondary at 50 degrees as well.

Also when cold brewing coffee, you generally want a 4 or 5:1 ratio of water:coffee.

I chose 5:1 for mine.

I know this is a late entry into this conversation, but I wanted to share my success with brewing with coffee.

I do not use ground or pre made coffee; and I don't use powdered or espresso.  I use whole coffee beans!  About a quarter cup in a muslin bag for about the last 15 minutes of the boil.  It imparts a wonderful coffee flavor and aroma into my Coffee Porter without changing the SRM at all.  In fact, I simmer coffee beans in my ice cream recipe and it freaks everyone out because my vanilla ice cream tastes like coffee yet the color has not changed.  Try it, you'll like it!