Coffee & Nibs during Barrel Aging

[jakecpunut]

Hey folks, looking for a little input on something I've never done. We have a few Bourbon Barrels left and want to utilize them before they dry out. We have a session oatmeal stout recipe that we already have in some bourbon barrels but I want to do something a little more aggressive.

My thoughts are to up the recipe to an Imperial and leave in the Bourbon Barrels until the end of summer. I want to incorporate Cocoa Nibs and Coffee but not exactly sure of the best time to introduce them since we would be barrel aging.

I know many steep the coffee beans in cold, strain and add them to the FV post fermentation and also use the nibs kind of like a dry hop post fermentation.

On the coffee, would this be the best technique for the barrel aging or should we wait until we transfer the aged beer back into the FV (uni-tank) for carbonation and then add it there? My thoughts were it may lose much of the coffee flavor/aroma sitting in the bourbon barrel or would it be best to let the flavors meld in the bourbon barrel?

Same with the nibs, go ahead at post fermentation before it's put in the bourbon barrel or wait until it's transferred back out of the barrel? Also would love some input on an amount of nibs to use (10 bbl )

Thanks for any input or advice.

Jake

[MJMurphy]

I would recommend processing with the coffee or nibs once you are out of the barrels. That was our process for the coffee and chocolate beers we brewed from some bourbon-barrel aged imperial stout.

Stout is fairly robust and can likely handle the travails of barrel aging, but the more delicate and fleeting aromas of coffee and chocolate will likely be lost before making it to packaging. The taste may stand up a little better, but when the idea is to bring together the flavors and aromas when they are just right, leaving them to the relatively harsh (compared to a purged stainless vessel) environment of the barrel-aging process may leave them muted or perhaps changed in an unexpected manner.

We have had great success with the steeping method for the coffee, adding it back into the bright tank before racking off the fermenter. The dry-nibbing process with has also worked well. We have seen great aroma and a clear but not overpowering or lingering flavor. In the case of barre-aged beer, when you pull the beer from the barrels and into a bright tank, you could transfer some into a purged secondary vessel with the nibs and then transfer the steeped beer back under pressure once the steep had achieved the flavor you like.

Cheers,
Matthew

[jakecpunut]

Matthew, Thank you for your very informative response! Greatly appreciated and helps ease my mind :-)

Thanks!
Jake