Coffee in a porter recipe

Ingredients
1

Hey brewers, I am thinking of making a coffee porter today but I need some advice on how to add coffee to this recipe. How much coffee should I add and when should I add it? Here is the recipe to help:

Recipe Specifications

Batch Size: 5.00 gal     
Boil Size: 6.84 gal
Estimated OG: 1.078 SG
Estimated Color: 60.0 SRM
Estimated IBU: 39.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:

Amount        Item                                      Type        % or IBU     
11.00 lb      Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)            Grain        69.40 %     
1.75 lb      Special B Malt (180.0 SRM)                Grain        11.04 %     
1.10 lb      Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM)                Grain        6.94 %       
0.50 lb      Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM)          Grain        3.15 %       
0.50 lb      Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)                Grain        3.15 %       
1.00 oz      Nugget [13.00 %]  (60 min)                Hops        39.9 IBU     
1.00 oz      Chinook [13.00 %]  (0 min)                Hops          -           
1.00 items    Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)          Misc                     
1.00 lb      Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM)            Sugar        6.31 %       
1 Pkgs        American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056) [Starter Yeast-Ale

2

I’d go with maybe 3-4 oz of coffee.  If you’re brewing it today you could steep it in the boil after flame out while you chill.  That will add some amount of bitterness to the beer so adjust your hops accordingly.  I prefer to cold steep the coffee in the fridge for a couple of days and then add it in at flameout.

3

A local brewer prefers to “dry bean” in the keg.  I would probably could steep like tygo said, but then add it when kegging.

4

I use espresso vodka @ bottling… also a little freeze dried espresso in the secondary or @ bottling… get great flavors just let it age a while.

5

I dry bean for aroma and add brewed espresso to taste at kegging or bottling.

6

Do you crack the beans or just put them in whole?

7

Not the Denny, but I crack mine for sure.

8

I make a cold coffee concentrate then put it in the beer at bottling / kegging time.  I made a coffee porter earlier this summer using 1/8 lb ground coffee and 16 oz water.  Steep the coffee/water mixture in the fridge for a couple of days then strain.  The fresher the coffee, the better.

Happy Brewing,
Brandon

9

How much actual espresso do you add?  8 oz for a 5 gallon batch?

10

That is what I do and it is ultra-smooth that way. A very nice approach.

11

I’ve always wondered what kind of coffee people are using for these techniques. Each of the techniques listed probably works best with a particular coffee, or, at least, you’d think some would work better than others. I drink darker roasted coffees - not sure if the bittersweet oily-ness of a french roast would be right for end-of-boil - seems like it would come out either (a) vegetal or (b) bittersharp - french/italian/espresso roast is probably best for cold-steeping I’d think.

12

I used a cold extract of Peet’s decaf french roast, added at bottling time. It was excellent, but I’ve since switched to Philz (a local roaster), and will use their decaf french roast next time. Part of the reason I did this was so that the coffee flavor and aroma wouldn’t be scrubbed away in the end-of-boil or fermentation process.

13

Any reason for de-caf beyond personal preference?  Any negatives to caffeinated?

14

I really enjoy african coffee so I tend to use those in my coffee porter.  I roast my coffee city+ to full city+ depending on the variety.  This allows the varietal character to shine more so than the roast character.  I don’t really like the more acrid notes you can get with a very dark roasted coffee, even when blended with beer.

15

not a brewing consideration. :slight_smile: I can only tolerate a little caffeine any more, and definitely not at the end of the day. the cold extract isn’t a huge amount, but I’d rather not chance it.