French Press help

I may try this with Expedition Stout. Can you try to estimate what your 'decent amount' of coffee was?

 

Hot brewed coffee changes the character of the flavor and you lose some of the mouthfeel which is prominent with cold press, cold brewed coffee, and it becomes more of a pronounced bitter flavor, even bordering on rancid over very short time. It's just thinner, and lacks depth and snap due to the temp it is brewed at.
In my time as a barista, we routinely used timers on our pots and dumped them after an hour. Cold press, we'd dump after a week.
And p.s. for proper cold brewed coffee. Steer clear of the oily dark roasts.

 

There are video's (on the u tube) and other threads here that go thru this. I have not done it, but if I was starting out trying it I would probably get a cheap throwdown stout that is petty good and experiment on this until I had the formula down. I would hate to jack up a good bottle of stout. Most of the video's I have watched they use the french press with about 1/4 the beer so you still have a good 3/4 a bottle that is carbonated. Good luck and post your results

 

Interesting. Dark roast is my first choice for a cold brew, though I generally prefer light roasts when brewed hot. Why do you make this suggestion? The Oil? Would a less oily dark roast be your preferred coffee?

 

By the way, it is VERY EASY to make good cold-brewed coffee with a French press and 24 hours

 

Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro. Drop some dark chocolate in the bottle and re-cap for an hour. Add an ounce of cold brew to the glass and then dump the bottle in, chocolate and all. My go to for cheaper tasty stout the last couple of months.

Still gotta try an ounce of coffee and an tsp of bourbon vanilla without the chocolate. In fact, tonight sounds perfect for an experiment.

 

Google dark roasted vs medium/light. The darker the roast the more coffee nuance you lose. You lose brightness, gain bitterness and fuller body

 

I was a barista for years as well, so I'm not unfamiliar with these things (trying to figure out how to say that without coming off as defensive)... but we always made our cold press with dark roast. Turned out great. I guess I feel like a cold press made with a light roast would lose that slick roasty character I enjoy and would be too bright and acidic.

 

Not a barista, and that is fine, not my area of expertise, this is what I have heard from others when researching coffee purchases and talking to roasters in Houston

 

It ultimately comes down to what works best for your individual taste / preferences. Try a darker roasted coffee and then compare it to the results you get with a lighter roast. It's the only way you'll know for sure - brew it and taste it yourself.

 

Coffee works pretty easily through the French Press
Bourbon County Brand Stout:
Blueberries and Raspberries: 9oz 2hrs 3oz to re carbonate = Amazing
Pear:9oz 30 minutes= Good
Honey Toasted Coconut Chips: 9oz 2hrs 3oz re carbonate = Amazing!!
Vanilla extract and Templeton Rye oak chips= Same schedule as above Pretty close to VR!!
Cinnamon stick, Vanilla Extract, and Coffee= " " Great
Cherry and Coffee= " " Amazing

 

Probably about 1/3 cup of freshly ground coffee beans.

 

My mistake, I must have mistook you for someone else who mentioned their experience as a barista.

 

Anymore, yeah. I prefer lighter to medium roasts for the perkiness in mouthfeel they give a cup. I've drank my share of motor oil thick dark roasts in my time as 20 nothing in the 90s, but. Yeah... one of my coffee shop jobs schooled me about making not just good, but amazing cold brewed coffee, and I haven't looked back.
There's an acidic fruit brightness and snap that gets lost when the bean is roasted till it's black and oily. That fruitiness (imho) is kind of an essential part in making a really good iced coffee, and it works really well in beer.

 

I'll have to give it a shot. I'm an Americano drinker (Iced Americanos when the weather is warm) so I'm more accustomed to an espresso-like iced coffee.

 

Did you used whole blueberries? Did you cut them in or so?

 

Have fun with it.

 

I used them whole, I should have cut them though.

 

I tried this the other night with Expedition stout and a very good peaberry light roast from Costa Rica. It was perhaps a little overpowering and a bit bitter on the finish. I think a little less time and/or coffee... less time for sure... and I would have been golden. It was hard to identify the beer as Expo.

 

Sorry, but can you provide more details around this as I'm thinking of doing the same thing with Expedition. You used iced coffee? Hot? How long did you let it sit in the fridge? How much coffee did you actually use? Thanks for providing the feedback, it is appreciated!