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Dry hopping with whole coffee beans

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  • Dry hopping with whole coffee beans

    Good afternoon;

    Looking for information on dry hopping a finished beer with whole coffee beans. We have a smaller brite tank and would like to draw off some beer from conditioning and steep it in coffee.

    1). What is a typical addition of whole beans per volume of beer?
    2). What would be a typical steeping time?
    3). What should I expect from the whole bean addition on the beer? Obviously, we will taste it as we go, but I would like a bit of an idea of what we can expect.
    We have a barista we can draw some information as well.

    Aroma?
    Colour?
    Flavour?
    Tannins?

    4). Has anyone gone with less beans and a longer steeping time? Can you achieve the same result with that method, or is there increased colour and tannins?
    5). Does one need to steep the whole beans in alcohol before addition? A few quick dips in hot water to sterilize the surface?

    Any information is appreciated.
    Thanks for your time

    David

  • #2
    I have had good luck with smaller batches, using one pound of whole beans in 10 gallons of beer. I bagged them, sprayed them liberally with Everclear, then put them in secondary for a couple days. That was all I needed for plenty of aroma and flavor. In a porter, the coffee was less noticeable, but it definitely highlighted the beer's roastiness without adding astringency, or that bell pepper flavor you sometimes get with ground coffee. In a blonde, the aroma was strong without being sharp, the roast balanced the sweeter malt notes, and the beans added almost no color. Now, I never scaled the coffee beers up, but I have no reason to think that the same ratio (~3 lbs/bbl) isn't a good place to start. You can always add more. But check it every day. I was surprised at how quickly the beans infused.

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    • #3
      I made a really nice CMS with 1 lbs./bbl of whole coffee beans. Great aroma and flavor at 1 week. I added just like DHs into fermenter and roused everyday for maximum extraction and mixing.

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      • #4
        Several ways.

        1) Best: Roughly crack beans, rough = break into 4-8 pieces, your selection of roast. Put into medium muslin sacks that can easily be retrieved through the manway. Clean and sanitize bright tank and toss the bags of rough cracked coffee in. CO2 purge from the bottom and pressurize as normal. Filter or transfer slowly into BT. Adjust carb as normal. Allow to steep for 24-36 hours. Bag(s) will settle to the bottom, usually directly over the outlet port. Rack out directly to keg using a long mesh strainer in a sight glass. Set up valves and Ts so you can clean the strainer out if necessary. It should come out very clean anyway. With this setup, every drop of beer that has been steeping makes direct contact with the coffee once again as it is racked. If going into a packaging line, it is best to rack first into a second bright tank as the coffee bags can slow down transfer.

        2) Less PITA: Same as above, but put the coffee bags in a closed hop back and recirculate for 12-24 hours back into the bright tank. Recirculate slowly and make sure you have a strainer on the outlet. Works faster. Less pain in the ass to clean out the BT.

        3) In keg: Use bung sided kegs and small muslin bags. Add the coffee bag prior to pressurizing and filling. Wait overnight and tap. Presto. Recommended for use in the tap room only. If going out into distro, who knows what may happen.
        Todd G Hicks
        BeerDenizen Brewing Services

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        • #5
          I've had great success just doing an overnight cold brew. I put some in the whirlpool in a bag, and then about add the cold brew to the brite, re-purge and transfer onto it. By keeping the beans out of the tank my foam retention is staying great, and if you pick a good, fresh variety it comes through wonderfully. I do the cold brew in a sanitized bucket with 2kg in a bag, mixed with 10L (less than 1% dilution v/v) of RO, then wrap it up and leave it in my cold room for a day. I should use de-aerated water, but my surroundings make that practically hard and I've had no issues with it.

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          • #6
            I myself am a big fan of cold brew, but we would like to try a different method in this run.

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