I’m going to add whole coffee beans and cacao nibs after primary is complete. Is the vodka soak/tincture method used to extract flavor from the ingredients, “sterilize” them, or both. Can I just add the ingredients without doing that due the low pH and alcohol in the beer being enough to worry about infection?
I never use the vodka tincture method. I don’t like the extra alcohol heat. However others don’t seem to have that problem. I add pretty much everything directly to secondary. That includes everything from coffee to unsanitized wild mushrooms.
I have the same problem with this method. I did it twice and both batches had that same distinct alcohol heat. When the beer was perfectly fine before the addition.
I usually do my coffee additions, directly into the fermenter, 24 hours before bottling or kegging.
I do coffee two ways…first, I dry bean in secondary for some aroma. Then I add some brewed coffee to taste at packaging for flavor.
Just wondering, do you brew the coffee with water or do you use some of the beer you are dosing?
Personally, I add coarse ground beans directly to the secondary and let them sit which I find adds both flavor and aroma (kind of like cold brewing coffee). The disadvantage to the cold steep method is that you get what you get. There is not really much room for adjusting to taste, unless you want more coffee flavor.
I add coarsely cracked coffee beans (and/or vanilla beans) to the keg in a fine mesh bag and pull it when the flavor gets where I want.
Water…
Yep. Have done exactly this a few times with coffee and have gotten exactly what I wanted after about 24 hrs. If I were to change anything it would be the roast/bean of the coffee.
That’s what happened to my vanilla porter. I’ll just add once primary is complete. Thanks!
My local roaster, who has worked with a number of breweries on their coffee beers, says that you’ll get full extraction from the beans in 24 hours, so going longer is not necessary.
I add coarse cracked beans to the keg and pull them after a day or so. I get flavor and aroma this way. I’ve also added espresso to the keg, but I prefer the flavor from adding the beans directly. Just make sure that you enjoy the flavors you’ll get from the beans before you add them.
I stopped using vodka tinctures years ago, as I did not like the impact of the vodka.
I’m a cold brew guy. I make a very concentrated brew using about 40oz of water to 1/2 lb of course grind in my press pot. I leave it in the fridge for about 18 hours before pressing. I often add the full amount to the keg, but I like to pour some and mix 1:1 with cream.
1/2 lb? Wow.
I find I get a very solid coffee flavor from 3 oz coarse cracked beans added to the keg.
The very first coffee stout I ever made, back in the early/mid 90s, we added a full pound of Kona beans to the boil. Did that a couple times before deciding it was overkill.
When I add to the keg and pull when I like the flavor, the exact amount really doesn’t matter as much. I use from 4-8 oz of beans, depending on the intensity, then usually pull a day or two later.
I have used and liked a blend that a local roaster makes specifically to be cold brewed. (Makes a nice pour over too) I’m surprised to hear how much you guys re using. I get a nice strong coffee flavor and aroma in my coffee oatmeal stout that I am drinking right now with only 24 g. for 24 hrs.
I like coffee, a lot
I put three ounces of coarsely ground breakfast blend in an IPA for a week before kegging and it worked pretty well. I may add a bit more in a bag in the keg though.
I do, too. And I like chiles, and fruit, and spices, and a whole lot of other things that I would never put in beer. 
I put 1/2 oz. of whole, un-crushed coffee beans in 5 ounces of water over night (12 hours). Gave me the right amount of coffee flavor i’m looking for. So I’m thinking 2-1/2 ounces in my pale/white stout for 24 hours should be just about right. Or nah?
