Hey Guys, I'm putting together a clone of Java the Hop and hoping for some group input. So far all I know about the beer is that it's a single-hop IPA with Amarillos and whole coffee beans after the krausen falls. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, the result is a balanced coffee flavor with no added color. Any thoughts on this method/recipe? Especially the coffee qty and time. All thoughts appreciated... Mash at 152 for 60min: 2-row Pale 9.0lbs Crystal 60 1.00lbs Vienna 0.75lbs Carapils 0.75lbs Torrified Wheat 0.5lbs 60min - 1oz Amarillo 30min - 1oz Amarillo 10min - 1oz Amarillo Add to primary after 3-5 days: 1 oz Amarillo (7 days) 1 lb Whole coffee beans (1-3 days?)
How hoppy is this beer? Personally I would say you're a little on the low side for an IPA, but with the coffee you not want a hop bomb. Also, Personally I would say you are a little heavy on the crystal/carapils. Again, the coffee aspect might make a maltier beer desirable.
It has a 1.0 IBU:OG ratio, so I'm not too worried about the hoppiness vs. maltiness. It won't be a hop-bomb, but still plenty hoppy to go with the coffee.
I know Fort George is usually pretty forthcoming with their grain bills, hops and yeast. Have you reached to them for guidance? Seems like part of the challenge is getting the pronounced coffee flavor without the color. This is what really caught me off guard. I was expecting something more in the realm of CDA, which this beer was not.
I brew a coffee blonde pretty regularly with coarsely crushed coffee steeped in the keg (or secondary). The beer is golden and extremely clear - little to no color from the coffee but all of the flavor. 1 lb is way too much coffee unless you want a coffee bomb. 1-1.5 oz per gallon is all you need. Also, steep the coffee in the keg or in secondary for best results. If you must do it in primary, make sure it is in a suspended muslin bag that doesn't touch the bottom of the fermenter. You'll get some really undesirable flavors from the coffee if it gets mixed in with the yeast cake and trub.
Good to know! Yeah, I threw a pound in there as a total SWAG number (not to be confused with whatever 'swag' the kids have these days.) When you say coarse ground—are we talkin' french press, or even coarser still?
I typically go somewhere between a standard French press grind and whole bean. I'll put the coffee in a freezer bag and crush it with a metal roller that I got from work. I basically just crack and coarsely crush the beans. I tried a French press grind but had too much trouble keeping all of the coffee out of the finished beer.... and extracted some harsher flavors as well. Coarse crush works best for me.
I have been loving this beer. It has an SRM of about 5, so I would use less Crystal. The malt bill seems light to me. I would also take your 30 min addition, and add it to flame out. It has a juicy hop character and aroma, that I can only assume comes from late Amarillo additions. I'd shoot for about 65 IBU. And definitely use whole beans because that's what Fort George says that they do. 1lb sounds about right to me, as you wont be extracting a ton of flavor like if they were ground. Otherwise it looks great. Let us know how it turns out.
Quick update: I stopped by Coava today on my way in to work (perks of living in Portland...) and chatted with those kind folks for a bit. While the same Ethiopian Kochere coffee is readily available locally, the batch they used was a special 'naturally processed' run. This means that they left the fruit on the beans as they dried, leaving a raisin-like meat on the finished product. After discussing this with them further, I have decided to try two things: 1) Use Crystal 120 or Special B instead of Crystal 60 to *hopefully* replace some of that missing dark fruit and/or raisin flavor from the natural beans. 2) Definitely not crush the beans at all.
