Volume cold brew coffee per 5 gal stout

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by Montanabeerz, Dec 22, 2017.

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  1. Montanabeerz

    Montanabeerz Savant (1,073) Oct 31, 2016 Montana
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    i have 10 gallons of milk stout going in 2 carboys and plan to rack into 2 kegs in about a week. I want to make this a coffee milk stout and I think the coffee addition method I've decided on is to cold brew coffee and add it to the keg immediately before racking from primary.

    I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this method and importantly how many fluid ounces of cold brew did you add to your beer. I'm thinking 16oz of properly made cold brew per 5 gal to start. Any advice on the volume?

    Thanks!
     
    #1 Montanabeerz, Dec 22, 2017
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  2. crcostel

    crcostel Initiate (0) Feb 26, 2006 Illinois

    Sounds about right - I used 6oz coldbrew in my mocha porter and that's a 2gal recipe.
     
    #2 crcostel, Dec 22, 2017
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  3. GormBrewhouse

    GormBrewhouse Pooh-Bah (2,111) Jun 24, 2015 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    Usually around a half coffee pot for me.
     
    #3 GormBrewhouse, Dec 22, 2017
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  4. csurowiec

    csurowiec Initiate (0) Mar 7, 2010 Maryland

    I combined 4oz coarse ground beans with 1 quart of water and let it steep in the fridge for 24 hours. It was strained and added to 5 gallons of a rich creamy porter that had lactose and maltodextrin. I was very pleased the coffee was definitely noticeable but it didn’t taste like a cup of coffee.
     
    #4 csurowiec, Dec 22, 2017
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  5. BreakfastStout

    BreakfastStout Zealot (727) Oct 15, 2013 Michigan

    Last week, I used 16 oz of cold brewed verona coffee. I added it to 5.5 gal of oatmeal stout in my secondary, a day before bottling. The coffee flavors are a little sharp a week later. I'm hoping it mellows over time.
     
    #5 BreakfastStout, Dec 22, 2017
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  6. Montanabeerz

    Montanabeerz Savant (1,073) Oct 31, 2016 Montana
    Trader

    Thanks for the replies so far. I've got a lactose stout going that should end up around 6.5% and will hopefully taste delicious on its own, so not looking to overpower the base beer with coffee flavor, but would like a noticeable coffee taste to blend in there nicely. I don't think I'm going to go any bigger than 16oz of cold brew, may even dial it down to 12oz. I suppose I could open the keg up and add some more later if I wanted to get a stronger coffee flavor in there.
     
    #6 Montanabeerz, Dec 22, 2017
  7. Bryan12345

    Bryan12345 Initiate (0) Mar 17, 2016 Texas

    For a hint of coffee I do 1 cup (brewed in the keurig) per 1 gallon. For a substantial coffee flavor, 2 cups per gallon. :slight_smile:
     
    #7 Bryan12345, Dec 22, 2017
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  8. SFACRKnight

    SFACRKnight Grand Pooh-Bah (3,348) Jan 20, 2012 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    4oz espresso roast in a quart for 5 gallons stout. Make sure your water is boiled ahead of time and you sanitize your press. I had a slow infection set it off my coffee addition.
     
    #8 SFACRKnight, Dec 23, 2017
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  9. JohnnyChicago

    JohnnyChicago Initiate (0) Sep 3, 2010 Illinois

    Coffee is one of those things where everyone has their own method, and many work just fine!

    Here’s mine:
    For an average strength and intensity of flavor beer (say 6% oatmeal stout), I use 5.5oz whole beans.
    High quality, lightly roasted beans that have been roasted no more than a week, but no less that 2 days ago.
    Add to a muslin sack, or something similar (I use a stainless ‘keg hopper’). Put beer in, taste daily then either pull beans out, or transfer beer to another keg when the flavor is right (usually 2-5 days). Too much contact time and you start to get a weird green pepper/jalapeño flavor.
     
    #9 JohnnyChicago, Dec 23, 2017
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  10. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,421) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    It's not so much the quantity of liquid coffee as it is the quantity of beans. Use whatever varietal you like to drink. For subtle, yet easily identifiable coffee flavor, I've found 2 oz of very coarse grounds to be about right in 5 gallons of a 6% Stout. A heavier beer needs more coffee, a lighter beer less. Obviously, ymmv. The beans must be as freshly roasted as possible (mine are typically within 24 hours of roasting - just long enough to outgas the beans sufficiently). I use a 32 oz French Press with room temperature, previously boiled, filtered water. Let it sit overnight in the fridge, then pour it into the keg. Others in my brew club have gotten excellent results "dry-beaning" the beer using whole beans which are later removed. I've never done that so I can't give any details.
     
    #10 mikehartigan, Dec 26, 2017
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  11. Montanabeerz

    Montanabeerz Savant (1,073) Oct 31, 2016 Montana
    Trader

    Alright folks. Thanks so much for the responses. I'm racking 2 carboys into 2 kegs tomorrow and going to experiment

    One keg is getting 3oz of beans in cheesecloth that will be left in 24-72 hrs depending on how it tastes

    The other keg is getting cold brew brewed at 3 cups water per 3 oz whole beans. Water boiled and cooled, press sanitized, beans ground coarse. Left to soak for 48 hours.

    Beans are good quality, Longbottom out of Oregon. Black Gold roast.

    I'll report back on the results. Will be an interesting comparison as the base beer is identical other than the coffee addition.
     
    #11 Montanabeerz, Dec 27, 2017
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  12. Prep8611

    Prep8611 Savant (1,208) Aug 22, 2014 New Jersey

    I used cold brew concentrate. 8 oz for 5 gallons and it was great
     
    #12 Prep8611, Dec 27, 2017
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  13. mikehartigan

    mikehartigan Maven (1,421) Apr 9, 2007 Illinois

    It's good that you're able to use two different techniques on the same beer. Most of us do it one way and say "hey, this was pretty good", learning little in the process other than how to make pretty good coffee infused beer. Let us know the comparative results.
     
    #13 mikehartigan, Dec 27, 2017
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  14. Montanabeerz

    Montanabeerz Savant (1,073) Oct 31, 2016 Montana
    Trader

    So for anyone still following this or folks scrolling through in the future, here is my feedback from the two different coffee addition methods:

    10 gallons of milk stout brewed, fermented in 2 glass carboys and racked into 2 corny kegs. OG was 1.064, FG of 1.017, 6.2% abv.

    keg 1 got a cold brew coffee addition immediately before racking. cold brew was made 3 oz of coarse ground dark roast with 3 fl. oz of water, left to sit for 48 hours in a french press, then pressed and added to keg, poured through an additional mesh strainer when adding to keg. Everything was sanitized and water had been preboiled for the cold brew. Put on at 40 degrees and 11 psi.

    keg 2 got the same weight and beans from the same bag, 3 oz. Put into muslin sack and tossed into keg 2. left to sit for 4 days in the keg then removed. keg on at 11 psi and 40 degrees.

    2 weeks after carb and cold conditioning my brew partner and myself held a small tasting to see if we could see any difference between the kegs............and no one could.

    They tasted literally exactly the same, the appearance is identical, and there's no way I can tell them apart. Really happy with the brew, body is slightly thin, but that's my only picky complaint. The taste is strong coffee, chocolate, roasted/smoky malts, nuttiness, toffee, etc. I think 3 oz is a really good weight of coffee to add per 5 gallon batch and I recommend adding it as late as possible (bottling or kegging). Whether you make cold brew or just dry hop with coffee beans doesn't seem to matter at all. If anyone wants to brew it, here's the recipe we brewed, substituted a few things from the base recipe we used per what was available at the brew shop:

    10 gallon batch

    16.5 # 2 row
    1 # C-40
    1.5# Munich
    1# chocolate malt
    1# flaked oats
    1# roasted barley
    1 # flaked oats
    1# flaked barley
    1/2 # carapils
    1 # C-120
    1 # rice hulls

    0.75 oz Simcoe (90 min)
    0.4 oz US Goldings (15 min)
    2 # lactose sugar (90 min)

    White labs English Ale 002

    90 min single infusion mash at 151
    90 min boil

    3 oz coffee dry bean or cold brew with 3 oz water at racking

    Cheers.
     
    #14 Montanabeerz, Jan 12, 2018
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  15. Montanabeerz

    Montanabeerz Savant (1,073) Oct 31, 2016 Montana
    Trader

    *correction, cold brew was made 3 oz coffee combined with 3 cups of water.
     
    #15 Montanabeerz, Jan 12, 2018
  16. ECCS

    ECCS Pundit (755) Oct 28, 2015 Illinois

    Did you have any significant volume lost due to beans soaking it up? I guess my question is if you started with 3 cups of fluid (water) in the press, how many cups of fluid went into keg?

    Thanks for the write up!
     
    #16 ECCS, Jan 21, 2018
  17. Jesse14

    Jesse14 Initiate (0) Jul 21, 2011 Massachusetts

    Thanks for the follow up. If you think of it please report back on how time affects both methods. Curious if one holds up better than the other.
     
    #17 Jesse14, Jan 21, 2018
  18. Montanabeerz

    Montanabeerz Savant (1,073) Oct 31, 2016 Montana
    Trader

    I'd say just a minor amount of loss in the grounds, probably about 2.5 cups liquid cold brew ended up in the keg.
     
    #18 Montanabeerz, Jan 22, 2018
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  19. invertalon

    invertalon Pooh-Bah (2,249) Jan 27, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I used 4oz of coarse grind coffee, cold steeped overnight via french press and then pasteurized at a low temp (160F for 1 minute) before adding directly to keg. Really nice coffee presence without being too much. Very smooth flavor. The beer also used 2-3 oz at flame out as well.
     
    #19 invertalon, Jan 22, 2018
  20. Montanabeerz

    Montanabeerz Savant (1,073) Oct 31, 2016 Montana
    Trader

    Yeah, I dig it. From what I've read and know, it really looks like 2-4 oz coffee either made as cold brew (1 cup water per 1 oz coffee) or added as a "dry bean" addition to the kegs for 3-5 days is in the right neighborhood. I wouldn't go bigger than 4 oz per 5 gal unless it was a heavily adjunt or high ABV beer.
     
    #20 Montanabeerz, Jan 22, 2018
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