Adding vanilla beans and coffee

Cut vanilla lengthwise, scrape seeds, cut bean into square pieces, toss it all into a small bottle with 2-4 oz neutral spirit and let it sit for a few weeks to extract the most flavor. Add it all into secondary. I add 2-4 oz course ground coffee in a hop bag at flame out and let it rest for 20 minutes before I cool the wort...I have gotten great results like this but many folks dislike this method claiming it adds overpowering bitterness.

 

You aren't really sanitizing the vanilla beans, you are using the alcohol for extraction.

 

I've gotten really good results with coffee by doing the cold steep method. You get a clean coffee flavor, but it doesn't taste burnt/roasted. Just soak some fresh coffee grounds in a mason jar for a few days, and run that mixture through a strainer, and into the bottling bucket. I wouldn't worry about sanitizing the coffee.

And what FATC1TY said on the vanilla. Just cut up the bean, scrape out that caviar, and throw all of the bean components (even the skin) into a mason jar. I normally use whiskey, but I use just enough to coat the beans and let those sit for a few weeks before adding to secondary. Simple as that!

 

Ive even soaked cracked coffee beans in the same vodka as the vanilla , really nice!

 

I am in your exact same position. I brewed a coffee stout about 2.5 weeks ago and actually used perhaps 6 oz of ground coffee at flame-out and let it steep for 20 minutes or so before cooling. On brew day, I soaked 5 vanilla beans, cut and scraped in just enough vodka to cover them.

Fast-forward to this past weekend at the 2 week mark, I dumped the entire vanilla bean + vodka solution into the fermenter. Before adding, there was a subtle but evident coffee aroma coming from the carboy. I am going to taste test before bottling, but will cold brew some coffee for bottling day just in case I want to add more coffee flavor.

 

I added coffee to my abraxas clone a week ago. It's now one of the best beers I've ever had.

I just put whole beans in a mesh bag inside a keg. Best coffee flavor and aroma I've ever got, and I've tried every method imaginable.

 

I just want to say that coffee can infect a beer. My FBS clone slowly evolved into a geyser stout because of my cold steeping coffee in water without sanitizing the vessel or boiling the water ahead of time. While an infection is unlikely, it can happen and suggest not being so lax about it.

 

I've used coffee numerous times with zero issues myself, though have had some commercial coffee beers that have been infected. Most of my coffee infused beers are over 10% abv though, so just sure that helps.

 

Mine came in at about 8%. It was slow to develop, but it did.