Additions to an imperial stout

I just did an Old Rasputin clone this past weekend, and it's already tasting pretty darn hoppy, especially considering I didn't hit my OG on it, and it's still at around 90 IBUs. I still plan on adding cold-steeped coffee at bottling. I think you'd still be ok adding coffee to that imp stout; don't think it'll add any additional bitterness. If anything I think it'll just accentuate the flavor of the dark malts – chocolate, roasted barley malt, etc..

Figure this, if you've had any coffee IPAs before and liked those, it could be an interesting twist on the style!

 

licorice, if you're into that kind of thing. I've got a clone recipe I hope to get brewed by the end of the year. I'll be oaking the bejesus out of it and letting it sit for a while.

 

I think you are right that the coconut will get lost in that beer. In my experience coconut is fleeting and weak anyway unless you resort to an artificial coconut flavoring.

Vanilla is always good in a big stout, just use good quality vanilla beans not the dessicated, overpriced garbage from your local supermarket. This is my source: https://www.beanilla.com/

Coffee will work nicely as well and shouldn't contribute much bitterness if you use it properly. Just add about 1/4# of beans, dry hop style, per 5 gal for 24-36 hours. By far the easiest and best way to add coffee to beer. Don't brew or cold press coffee to dose in, its a common but inferior method. Directly adding beans produces a superior flavor/aroma and minimizes the bitterness, oxidation, and especially astringency that the other methods can produce.

 

I've done a lot with Coconut in big imperial stouts, and if done correctly it's absolutely fantastic and in no way takes a back seat.

It takes a lot of coconut, but it's worth it.

 

Nickfl, I'm interested in your coffee bean method. Are there concerns for contamination by adding coffee beans?

 

Nothing wrong with dropping the beans for a quick soak in some starsan.

 

Nope, unless you leave the beer open to airborne microbes for a long time. Coffee has some anti-bacterial properties, so dry beaning is not a likely source of infection.

 

Not really, theoretically there could be but I've done this quite a lot and never had issues. Finished beer is fairly resistant to infection and as mentioned above coffee is a relatively unlikely source of contamination. I think the danger is well below the threshold for worrying about in homebrew.