Subject says it all. Actually, it doesn't :) it needs to be
preservative-free and whatever-else-free suitable for home brew :)

Richard

Richard wrote:
[color=blue]
> Subject says it all. Actually, it doesn't :) it needs to be
> preservative-free and whatever-else-free suitable for home brew :)
>
> Richard
>
>[/color]
You can always use real coffee beans, ground very coarse. About a 1/4lb
for a 5 gallong batch for the last few minutes of the boil will give
anything a pretty strong coffee flavor.

On one batch I added 1/2 lb for the last ten minutes, and I ended up
more with beer flavored coffee than coffee flavored beer, but it's all a
matter of preference.

Ben

--
One person's dumb is another person's dada.
-Daryl, ABSFG

"Ben" <eggplantontoast@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Hsgze.17291$XB2.4980038@twister.nyc.rr.com...[color=blue]
> Richard wrote:
>[color=green]
> > Subject says it all. Actually, it doesn't :) it needs to be
> > preservative-free and whatever-else-free suitable for home brew :)
> >
> > Richard
> >
> >[/color]
> You can always use real coffee beans, ground very coarse. About a 1/4lb
> for a 5 gallong batch for the last few minutes of the boil will give
> anything a pretty strong coffee flavor.
>
> On one batch I added 1/2 lb for the last ten minutes, and I ended up
> more with beer flavored coffee than coffee flavored beer, but it's all a
> matter of preference.
>
> Ben
>
> --
> One person's dumb is another person's dada.
> -Daryl, ABSFG[/color]

I would recommend using actual coffee beans, preferably from a good mid to
low acid coffee (Sumatra, Columbian, Java, Kenyan, etc). The higher the
acidity of the coffee, the more you are going to lose the taste aspect from
the hops.

Also, I would recommend purchasing freshly roasted coffee rather than what
you would buy at your corner market. If you have a local roaster, give them
a call and see if you can arange the purchase of ~1/2 lb of coffee. Not
only would you be guaranteed fresh beans, but they should also be a great
source for info on relative acidity levels of their beans. You may luck out
and find a roaster who is also a home brewer.

Personally, I am more fond of the lighter roast rather than the darker
roasts, but it will depend on what taste you're looking for. Darker roast
coffee will lend more flavor from the roast than the bean; lighter roasts
get more flavor from the bean than the roast. But bottom line is pick a
coffee and roast you like.

I did make a batch of Brown Ale (recipe was to be similar to Newcastle) and
threw in almost 3/4 lb of Kauai Peaberry, which is a somewhat higher acid
bean, in the last 5 minutes of boil. I would not recommend having the beans
in the boil any longer than 5 minutes; the longer the extraction, the more
bitterness you will encounter and the more acids you will extract from the
beans.

The batch turned out OK, but in retrospect I should have used Sumatran or
Java and somewhat smaller amount of coffee. The coffee taste was definitely
there ... and so was the alcohol (~8%).

One last thing. If you do use beans, get them ground course (along the
lines of the grind for a percolator or a presspot) and I would recommend
placing the ground beans in cheesecloth or boil bag (kinda like making a
large "teabag"). It will keep the vast majority of the grounds out of the
mix after the boil.