i am about to add some espresso beans to a stout, im sure this is the millionth time this question been asked but will whole beans add aroma without adding flavor? thats what im going for, should you spray beans with star san? or no worries about contamination
It will add a lot of aroma, but will definitely add a decent amount of flavor. What it won’t add is color which is why it’s a good trick for blonde stouts.
I’ll leave weighing on in the sanitation to others.
We have made a coffee stout before, using a lb of ground beans. Just added it to the mash, and proceeded as usual. It turned out very good!
I rarely worry about sanitation when adding post fermentation though I’m usually adding zest or fruit
My buddy makes a real nice Coffee Stout by adding coarse ground coffee in a fine mesh bag right into the keg. He takes out the mesh bag when he’s happy with the flavor.
I add my whole beans in the last 5-15 minutes of the boil, depending on how much coffee flavor I want. I have never experienced any occurrence where I got aroma without flavor; not sure that’s possible. And, as Ortizer said, adding whole beans will not add any color.
I add whole beans post fermentation to the secondary (more correctly Brite vessel) without sanitizing them. The alcohol in the finished beer will prevent any infections.
Also you will get both flavor and aroma from the beans. You should taste the beer every day to insure that you don’t overdo it. Three days on the beans is the norm for me.